Living in the moment by Marusya Price

About the author Marusya Price has been an English teacher for over twenty years. She is also a blogger and resource creator. Currently, she provides English classes online and creates empowering teaching materials that promote positivity. After experiencing the benefits of living mindfully, Marusya completed a Mindfulness course for educators and boldly uses various mindful tools in her English lessons. She creates lesson plans with her own visualisations which help the students become more mindful and learn English successfully. Seeing the powerful effect that her mindful lessons have on her students, the teacher feels really passionate about bridging the gap between mindfulness and modern language teaching as well as sharing her experience with other inspiring teachers. You can find more information about her work at http://www.inspirationalenglish.co.uk/.

Living in the Moment Lesson 1 3

Teacher’s notes Step 1 Show Oprah Winfrey´s quote and ask the students to fill in the gaps with the missing words.

past , future, moment (2) Living in the _________means letting go of the__________ and not waiting for the_________-. It means living your life consciously, aware that each ____________ you breathe is a gift.

Key: Living in the moment means letting go of the past and not waiting for the future. It means living your life consciously, aware that each moment you breathe is a gift.

Step 2 After you reveal the correct answer, discuss what Oprah means by LIVING IN THE MOMENT. What does LIVING IN THE MOMENT mean to them?

LIVING IN THE MOMENT means…

Step 3 Hand out the worksheet ( See the STUDENT HANDOUT on page 6) with the lyrics of Jason Mraz´s song "Living In The Moment". Explain that six lines have been removed and ask them to find the right line for them. Then play the video so that they can check their answers. Link here.

Key: 1-c, 2-e, 3-f, 4-a, 5-d, 6-b

Step 4 Discussion 1. What kind of traps do we put in our path according to the song? 2. What gives us peace in our mind and heart? 3. What thoughts do not make us strong? 4. What do you think the songwriter means by “Wherever I'm going, I'm already home”?

Key: 1. worries, things he´s done in the past, unpredictable future 2. living in the moment 3. our regrets: "I'm letting myself off the hook for things I've done" 4. He´s found peace within himself. This is the place he feels home: "I got peace in my heart Got peace in my soul"

Step 5 Debriefing

1. Do you think that you often live in the moment? 2. What prevents you from doing it? 3. How do you think we can “live in the moment” daily?

Homework For homework ask the students to find a photo, which illustrates a time when “they were living in the moment.” It could be a special celebration, admiring beautiful views or being with someone they love. Ask them to prepare a short monologue in which they share what helped them “live in the moment” when this photo was captured.

Student Handout I. Six lines have been removed from the lyrics of Jason Mraz’s song “LIVING IN THE MOMENT”. Can you find the right gap from them?

a)That do not make me strong b)But I spun around and hurt no more c)We put them right in our path d)I tried more than once to just make sure e)To worry about all the things f)I let my past go past

If this life is one act Why do we lay all these traps _______1____________ When we just wanna be free

I will not waste my days Making up all kinds of ways _________2______________ That will not happen to me

So I just let go of what I know I don't know And I know I only do this by Living in the moment Living my life Easy and breezy With peace in my mind With peace in my heart Peace in my soul Wherever I'm going, I'm already home Living in the moment

I'm letting myself off the hook for things I've done _______3________ And now I'm having more fun I'm letting go of the thoughts _______4_____________ And I believe this way can be the same for everyone

And if I fall asleep I know you'll be the one who'll always remind me To live in the moment To live in my life Easy and breezy With peace in my mind I got peace in my heart Got peace in my soul Wherever I'm going, I'm already home

I can't walk through life facing backwards I have tried ________5_____________ And I was denied the future I'd been searching for __________6_________ By living in the moment Living my life Easy and breezy With peace in my mind I got peace in my heart Got peace in my soul Wherever I'm going, I'm already home

I'm living in the moment I'm living my life Just taking it easy With peace in my mind I got peace in my heart I got peace in my soul

Oh, wherever I'm going, I'm already home I'm living in the moment I'm living my life Oh, easy and breezy With peace in my mind I got peace in my heart I got peace in my soul Oh, wherever I'm going, I'm already home I'm living in the moment

II. Answer the questions:

1. What kind of traps do we put in our path according to the song? 2. What gives us peace in our mind and heart? 3. What thoughts do not make us strong? 4. What do you think the songwriter means by “Wherever I'm going, I'm already home”?

Living in the Moment Lesson 2 9

Teacher’s notes Step 1 Start the lesson by talking about a photo which illustrates you “living in the moment”. Show it to the students and explain what helped you enjoy this moment so much. Then put them in small groups and ask them to do the same. (See the homework task from Lesson 1)

Step 2 Exploring Mindful Practices Explain to your students that “living in the moment” is a form of “living mindfully”. Ask them if they´ve heard the word “mindful” before. Can they think of any activities that will help them live mindfully? After brainstorming their answers, say that you are going to play a video which shows seven different ways to be mindful. They are: 1. Grounding 2. Body scan 3. Focus on an object 4. Focus your attention on everyday tasks 5. Gratitude 6. Mindful breathing 7. Focus on everything that you are currently

Ask the students to watch the video and take notes about each mindful activity. You can watch the video here.

Key: 1. Grounding You focus on your senses. You notice five things that you can see, four things you can touch, three things that you can hear, two things that you can smell and one thing that you can taste. What “grounding” does is to bring your attention to those particular senses while ignoring any negative emotions. In this way you just focus on that present moment.

2. Body scan You close your eyes, breathe in and while breathing out you visualise a particular part of your body-the top of your head, your forehead, your eyebrows, etc.

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3. Focus on an object Look at the object and notice its colours, size, shape and texture.

4. Focus your attention on everyday tasks Bring your awareness to simple everyday tasks, such as brushing your teeth or washing your hands

5. Gratitude Spend a little bit of time every day focusing on everything that you are grateful for and why. By doing this regularly your attention shifts from the negative thoughts in your head to something wonderful that has happened throughout the day.

6. Mindful breathing Focus on the air coming in through your nose and visualize it as it goes down your throat into your body. See it filling every single space of your body.

7. Focus on everything that you are currently Focus on everything that you're doing/being/feeling/ saying/ thinking now.

Step 3 Discussion 1. Have you practised any of these mindful activities? 2. How do they help us “live in the moment”? 3. Which activities would you find easy to do daily? 4. Ask the class to choose an activity that the whole class can do mindfully every time you have a lesson. For instance, do a short breathing activity at the beginning/end of the lesson; pause the lesson for a minute and pay attention to the sounds around; do a body scan

Homework Ask the students to practise GROUNDING, the first mindful activity for a week. When they are in their bedroom/ favourite park/ classroom, etc they have to write down: five things that they can see, four things they can touch, three things that they can hear, two things that they can smell and one thing that they can taste.

Can they notice new things every day? 11

Student Handout Watch the video and take notes about each mindful activity:

1. Grounding

2. Body scan

3. Focus on an object

4. Focus your attention on everyday tasks

5. Gratitude

6. Mindful breathing

7. Focus on everything that you are currently

Living in the Moment Lesson 3 13

Teacher’s notes Step 1 At the beginning of the lesson ask the students how their “grounding” practice is going. Have they noticed any new things? Is it getting easier for them to focus on their senses?

My students claim that “bringing their awareness” to the five senses is really helpful for them to stay in the moment. It´s an activity that we often use in class when I see them tired, distracted or stressed out. Step 2 Tell the students that you´ll play a short mediation which will help them wake up their five senses. Ask them if they know what they are. The sense of touch/sight/smell/taste and hearing Play the meditation: Wake up your senses ( see enclosed audio file)

NB. If you have not done a meditation with your students before, please, make sure that all mobile devices have been switched off. If you have the chance, you can sit on the floor or rearrange the chairs for this activity. Invite the students to close their eyes while listening. However, if this brings them discomfort or you are aware of students, who suffer from anxiety, kindly encourage them to soften their gaze or look at the floor.

Step 3 Debriefing

After the mediation, ask the following questions: 1. How did you feel during the meditation? 2. Did you find it easier to focus on a particular sense? Which one? 3. Did you find any particular sounds/smells/taste quite strong? 4. While looking around did you spot any new objects that you hadn´t noticed before?

Step 4 Writing

Ask the students to choose a random object in the classroom (if you are teaching online, they may pick an object in their room. One of students chose her pair of pyjamas, for example). Tell them to go and touch it (if possible). Allow them to hold it in their hands for a while. Their task is to describe fifteen minutes in this object´s life when it was “living in the moment”. Maybe it was a moment when the object “saw” the students doing a fun activity; or the students were using it. How did the object feel? Explain they have to engage all the senses in the story. They have 15 min to complete this writing activity.

Step 5 Ask the students to share their stories and insights. Was it easy for them to connect with the object? What did they find challenging while writing the story?

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