The Mindful Educator | Run Your Life #8

Mindfulness is a buzz word being passed around educational circles at the moment. Despite there being a mountain of research to support the power of mindfulness in enhancing student and teacher well-being, there are still many misconceptions about what it actually means. In today’s episode, Neila Steele, discusses specific strategies and approaches that she puts into practice across all grade levels and how she strives to develop a mindful mindset with both teachers and students alike. Neila also dives into the power of visualization and yoga as being critical components to any mindful practice being delivered in schools and provides examples of how this can be done. Being a mindful educator allows teachers to make use of specific strategies that help to better deal with the daily stressors that can pile up in their lives. In this episode, Neila shares multiple ‘go to’ resources that have had a profound impact on her teaching practice helping to shape how she integrates mindfulness in every aspect of her work in education. Bio Neila Steele graduated from the University of Windsor in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree which led her to accepting a position working in the orthopedic ward of a private hospital in Detroit, Michigan. She had the opportunity to take time away from nursing to travel and work in Hiroshima, Japan in 1997. Many doors continued to open for Neila which resulted in her finding her place in the international schooling system as a school nurse and ESL teacher. She worked at the Hiroshima International School until 2007 before moving on to fully authorized IB schools in Baku, Azerbaijan, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, and currently Nanjing, China. Neila is a certified English language teacher and has additional elementary teaching qualifications through the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. She has been a certified yoga instructor since 2005 having completed an intense teacher training program in Ubud, Bali. Her path in yoga eventually led her to finding and connecting with the art of mindfulness which she now integrates into many aspects of her personal and professional life. Neila continues to bring mindfulness to the teaching faculty and the students at the Nanjing International School community in China. She has presented mindfulness in Europe, Asia, and North America over the past couple of years. Her goal is to continue to share the positive effects of mindfulness through presenting, speaking, and running workshops worldwide. Connect With Neila Twitter: @neilasteele Website: www.mindfulandpresent.com Major Themes Explored What is mindfulness? Specific mindfulness strategies The power of visualization Teacher and student well being The importance of breath awareness Mindfulness resources Meditiaton