SINCE 2011, INNER EXPLORER HAS BEEN COMMITTED TO MAKING MINDFULNESS IN SCHOOLS
EVIDENCE-BASED, ACCESSIBLE, AND IMPACTFUL.
“Schools can promote mindfulness among all students by providing mindfulness education in the classroom
and dedicating daily time for independent mindfulness practices.”
CDC Report: Promoting Mental Health and Well-Being in Schools: An Action Guide for School and District Leaders (December, 2023)
This powerful guide recommends SIX key strategies to improve the mental health of youth in schools, including mindfulness instruction & practice for students, mindfulness practice for educators, and Social-Emotional Learning training. Inner Explorer is the only program that provides these 3 strategies at scale immediately, affordably, and without the need for extensive staff training.
MINDFULNESS is the innate human capacity of paying attention, with an attitude of acceptance and curiosity.
We are all born with this skill. However over time, it can become weakened by the pace of our society, the lure of technology, and the stressors inherent in our lives, our communities, and our world. Consistent mindfulness practice harnesses the power of self-directed neuroplasticity, creating new neural pathways associated with attention, awareness, empathy, and compassion. |
Stressed brains cannot learn- SEL or anything else!
Inner Explorer’s unique Mindfulness-Based SEL program targets this biological impediment to learning by helping children develop the inner capacity to self-regulate during moments of stress while also building resilience with practice over time. The program first teaches internally focused self-awareness and self-management skills. Social awareness and relationship skills are then naturally enhanced through these core capacities and through explicit instruction throughout the year. |
OUR EVIDENCE BASE
Inner Explorer is committed to continuous improvement, research partnerships, and self-study.
Our program development is guided by mindfulness and education experts, is rooted in the world-renowned
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction curriculum, and has been proven effective through our own research.
Our program development is guided by mindfulness and education experts, is rooted in the world-renowned
Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction curriculum, and has been proven effective through our own research.
INFORMED BY DECADES OF RESEARCH ON MINDFULNESS
Our mindfulness practices are aligned with the most widely researched and scientifically-validated mindfulness curriculum, Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR). More than 10,000 studies over 40 years demonstrate the wide range of benefits offered by the practice of mindfulness in general. Daily practice with Inner Explorer strengthens critical brain networks associated with learning and focus. Paying attention in this way also bolsters students’ ability to face adversity with creativity, compassion, and resilience. And mindfulness practice has been shown again and again to improve both physical and mental health, performance, and it can even improve immune function.
AS EASY AS PRESSING PLAY. EVERY DAY.
Teachers and Students practice together for 5-10 minutes per day using our guided audio recordings. Devoting this brief time as a class allows equitable delivery to co-create the inclusive, calm, and collaborative classroom that best supports learning. No new curriculum to learn and no training required. In a few clicks, teachers can log in and set up a classroom. After that, it’s as easy as logging in and practicing together every day, providing benefits from the INSIDE OUT for all.
Teachers and Students practice together for 5-10 minutes per day using our guided audio recordings. Devoting this brief time as a class allows equitable delivery to co-create the inclusive, calm, and collaborative classroom that best supports learning. No new curriculum to learn and no training required. In a few clicks, teachers can log in and set up a classroom. After that, it’s as easy as logging in and practicing together every day, providing benefits from the INSIDE OUT for all.
WHY DO WE NEED MINDFULNESS IN SCHOOLS?
When stress overwhelms and hijacks the brain through the automatic fight-flight-freeze reaction and depletes resilience over time through chronic stress, higher-order thinking takes a back seat, reducing the brain’s ability to absorb and retain information. Stress comes from many sources, both inside and outside of school.
Research suggests that two out of three children experience significant traumas, or Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) that can lead to lasting negative effects on their lives. ACEs are linked to a range of negative impacts, such as chronic health problems, mental illness, and substance abuse issues in adulthood. Children who grow up with chronic stress due to ACEs, as well as other negative social health issues like food insecurity, living in under-resourced or racially segregated neighborhoods, or frequent moves, experience toxic levels of stress. The brain development of children who live with toxic stress is negatively impacted, resulting in reduced executive function (EF), heightened stress reactions, social impediments, and inhibited learning. Over time, ongoing traumas such as systemic racism, poverty, and limited socioeconomic opportunities lead to generational cycles of toxic stress that must be broken.
While we cannot always control the sources of stress, we can learn new ways of coping with them. Mindfulness has been shown for decades to be a powerful antidote to the long-term negative impacts of stress. Our mission is to help children overcome the barriers to success and happiness.
Research suggests that two out of three children experience significant traumas, or Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) that can lead to lasting negative effects on their lives. ACEs are linked to a range of negative impacts, such as chronic health problems, mental illness, and substance abuse issues in adulthood. Children who grow up with chronic stress due to ACEs, as well as other negative social health issues like food insecurity, living in under-resourced or racially segregated neighborhoods, or frequent moves, experience toxic levels of stress. The brain development of children who live with toxic stress is negatively impacted, resulting in reduced executive function (EF), heightened stress reactions, social impediments, and inhibited learning. Over time, ongoing traumas such as systemic racism, poverty, and limited socioeconomic opportunities lead to generational cycles of toxic stress that must be broken.
While we cannot always control the sources of stress, we can learn new ways of coping with them. Mindfulness has been shown for decades to be a powerful antidote to the long-term negative impacts of stress. Our mission is to help children overcome the barriers to success and happiness.
Don’t just take our word for it…..
MINDFULNESS TRAINING IN SCHOOL WORKS
Phan, ML, et al. (2022). Mindfulness-based school interventions: A systematic review of outcome evidence quality by study design. Journal of Mindfulness.
This meta-review of 77 studies on school-based mindfulness programs, including Inner Explorer, showed that these practices consistently produced:
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INNER EXPLORER IS HELPING TO BUILD
THE FOUNDATION OF EDUCATIONAL EQUITY FOR ALL STUDENTS
Mindfulness practice with Inner Explorer can help children (and adults) develop self-awareness, emotional regulation, and resilience – all in the service of educational equity, social justice, and the expansion of human potential. Research suggests that a generation of kids practicing mindfulness every day could have the ability to process trauma in healthier ways, experience fewer mental health and substance-use disorders, be more creative and discerning in the face of conflict, and have more compassion for one another.
In these times of political polarization, civic unrest, mental health crisis, and economic uncertainty, Inner Explorer is transforming how children handle stress, teaching them how to better manage their emotions and engage with their peers and teachers, and facilitating better outcomes academically.