Meditation

Why is there a photo of toes?

The reason is simple. We had our third guest for our UOI unit visiting us on Wednesday. Ms.Naglee came to talk to us about meditation. She spoke about our brain constantly thinking. The thoughts go on and on and on, like runaway horses. Meditation is a way to get control of your brain. She said that it takes hours of practice to become really good. 

She taught us some techniques.

The first one was focusing on the pinky toe (hence the picture). For example, when you are in pain or nervous, you can concentrate on your pinky toe and try to make it move the way you want. Your brain is so busy with commanding the toe that you forget about the bad feelings.

The second technique was counting your breaths. When you are nervous, your breathing gets mixed up, you don't get enough oxygen to your brain, and you start sweating. Focusing on your breath helps you to calm down. It would be best to count to seven when breathing in and seven again when breathing out.

The third technique was becoming mindful. It means thinking of just one thing that you are doing at the moment. Doing one thing at a time is the best way of doing things, whether it is listening to someone, writing something, solving a problem, brushing your teeth, eating a cookie, or playing ball or walking. 

We practiced all three techniques with her.