From the Chair: Mindfulness for Us

Stop what you’re doing. Close your eyes. Imagine you are in a place that makes you most happy. Maybe it’s the beach. Maybe it’s walking a beaten path through the woods. As you imagine yourself there, take a deep breath in...1...2...3...4....5... and out slowly 1...2...3...4...5. Repeat four more times. Open your eyes when you’re ready.

Mindfulness is such an important way to help us relax, focus and re-center ourselves. It works wonders for so many of our students, but we often don’t take time out for ourselves to be mindful. This summer I had the privilege to attend a two-day retreat at the Copper Beech Institute in West Hartford with 13 other educators from across the country. The retreat was called Mindfulness and Self-Compassion for Educators. Over the course of the retreat, instructor Jelena Popovic led us in several workshops where we practiced meditation, mindful eating, self-reflection, and other mindful activities.

This retreat was so important to my well-being. As counselors, we are often the ones who take on the struggles and sorrows of others. We are the problem solvers, the listeners and the ones who help others pull it altogether. But what about us? Who counsels the counselor? Who helps us pull it all together? When do we have time to self-reflect, meditate, grieve for our losses and celebrate our victories? There is always time, and as counselors we need to start walking the walk with the mindfulness talk.

The school year is just beginning and the stress levels for many will start rising soon enough. Schedule at least 10 minutes each day for mindfulness activities. Find a quiet location to do some deep breathing, read your favorite book and enjoy a cup of tea. Take a mindful nature walk and focus on the sights and sounds around you. Journal about your day or take time to reflect and give gratitude. Whatever you do, it needs to be uninterrupted time for you. You need to make yourself the most important aspect in that time. You spend all day taking care of others. This time is about you and attending to your own needs for self-care. I like to think of the airplane analogy. When the oxygen masks fall, they always tell you to put your own oxygen mask on before you help others. Why? Because if you can’t breathe, you will be useless to anyone else. The same applies to your well-being. You must take time out to practice self-care, even when you don’t think you need it. In order to help those we work with every day, we must help ourselves first.

I wish you a most successful and mindful school year. Remember that the work that you do is so important to the success of our students, so go out and be amazing!
 
Contact Virginia A. DeLong, CSCA board chair, at cscachairman@gmail.com.


CSCA leaders gather at the Leadership Development Institute and Delegate Assembly at the ASCA Annual Conference in Los Angeles in July.


Virginia DeLong accepts the plaque from Julie Hill, ASCA board chair, recognizing CSCA's 55th Anniversary as a chartered division of ASCA.