As a teacher things can be stressful. Whether it’s grading papers, coming up with new lessons, or juggling home life and school life. 

It’s easy to ignore personal mindfulness as a teacher, but four meditating teachers have found a way to calm their minds and focus on their mental health.

Social studies teachers Greg Geiser, Adam Rudar, and Chris Gray, along with math teacher Doug Guyette meet 2-3 times a week during lunch and meditate as a group.

The men practice Zazen, a type of sitting meditation. The goal of this type of meditation is to let go of all stresses, judgments, goals and learn to ‘live in the moment.’

According to Mr. Rudar, “Basically you sit and try to be present in the moment.  If thoughts come into your mind, you can attend to them, but the goal is to let them float through and just be present.  Many people count breaths or repeat mantras. I usually just try to focus on my breathing.”

Mr. Rudar started meditating last year at the invitation of Mr.Gray. 

The men set up their cushions, get into their positions and take 20-30 minutes to themselves to meditate.

“Mr. Gray invited me to sit with him during lunch last year, so we started sitting maybe once a week together,” said Mr. Rudar.

Mr. Geiser explained why he decided to join the sessions:  “The biggest motivation to start was personal growth and improved quality of life.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Guyette echoed that sentiment, saying, “Taking 20 minutes out of the day to stop and just be present in the moment has been a welcomed reprieve from those hectic days.”

Meditating alone has its own benefits such as increasing self awareness and improving impulse control, but, according to Mr. Rudar,  meditating as a group can be much more affirming. 

“There is something to be said for shared experience and being able to sit with other people. Coming together to do this as a group has been really affirming. It is nice to be able to sit  but also to talk about the experience.  Meditation and mindfulness has a lot of data showing that it counteracts stress and improves overall health and well-being.”