Episode #4

November 13, 2019

SHOW NOTES – Interview with Janet Etty-Leal

EPISODE 4, SERIES 1

Mindfulness in Education with Janet Etty-Leal

About Janet:

Janet is an author, speaker and Mindfulness Educator. Her consultancy, Meditation Capsules has provided Mindful life-skill programs for organizations in Victoria, interstate and overseas. She has worked across a diverse range of sectors; including education, health, the corporate sector, sport and community wellbeing. Janet’s key focus is to bring Mindfulness to life in Education, with heart, mind and hands-on practices. Her creative Mindful Meditation programs have enhanced curriculum for thousands of students from ELC to Year 12. In 2010 she published Meditation Capsules: A Mindfulness Program for Children. Studies based on this Program have been undertaken by Masters/PhD candidates in Universities in W.A., S.A., Victoria, New Zealand, Hong Kong, the US and Puerto Rico. In 2015 Janet developed Primary and Secondary Nature- Based Mindfulness curriculum for ‘Cool Australia’/ ‘Planet Ark’. Janet’s new book: A Head-Heart Start for Life: Creative Mindful Discoveries for Young Children was published in April 2018. Janet is Secretary of the Board of the Meditation Association of Australia and a member of the ‘Confluence’ Committee with the University of Divinity, which aims to promote dialogue between Meditation traditions.

Key information:

Practical ways to engage school communities with wellbeing and mindfulness practices.
How can stories such as Alice in Wonderland or the Wizard of Oz be used in mindfulness classes?
What age should you start teaching mindfulness practices?
Teaching mindfulness in a religious school.
What is the relationship with mindfulness and religion?
How to engage with a new group of students that may be apprehensive about a new teacher and lesson structure.
What to avoid when teaching mindfulness.

Episode Content:

00:00 – Introduction and welcome

02:16 – What inspired Janet to begin her work in mindfulness education?

04:15 – What is Janet’s professional background?

04:39 – What advice does Janet have for teachers?

10:13 – How does Janet use stories and metaphors in her lessons?

12:05 – Janet’s insights on mindfulness from working in religious schools

14:44 – When is the best time to introduce young people to mindfulness?

17:50 – Using Alice in Wonderland in Janet’s lessons

21:36 – Using the Yellow Brick Road lesson prop

22:59 – What are some of Janet’s observations of the impacts and benefits of mindfulness classes?

27:30 – What are some of the things that have worked when training teachers to engage in mindfulness with their students

30:05 – How does Janet approach mindfulness with students that are affected by trauma?

31:57 – What are Janet’s thoughts on breathing exercises and the way that mindfulness is usually taught in schools?

33:27 – What advice does Janet have for teachers who work with secondary students on how to get them to engage with mindfulness?

35:47 – What advice does Janet have for schools who aren’t able to fully implement an all-in approach to their mindfulness program?

38:10 – An example of one of Janet’s lessons involving visual props that the students make.

40:45 – Where can people find out more about what Janet does?

42:23 – Where would Janet suggest that educators start with mindfulness if they’re at the beginning of their journey?

43:57 – Wrap-up and farewell

Episode Resources:

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Episode #4

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