Heru TchaasAmen Talks Nurturing Mindfulness in Federal Way Public Schools
Heru Tchaas Amen returned this week for another enlightening segment of Mindfulness Monday on The Day With Trae. Talking with host Trae Holiday, Tchaas Amen spotlighted his recent endeavors working with youth in Federal Way Public Schools.
"It's inspiring to know how these techniques can be applied to younger people," Holiday said. "They don't have to wait to incorporate Mindfulness into their lives. There are fun ways for them to get introduced to these practices."
Having just been part of the six-week initiative "Saturday Scholars," Tchaas Amen explains how he implemented mindfulness practices and breathing exercises in the classroom.
"So we worked on Mindfulness. We got to meditate. We got to do some Qigong. We've worked with them around singing bowls; they had a great time with that," said Tchaas Amen.
Tchaas Amen, who regularly hosts mindfulness workshops for adults, shared his strategy for adapting his approach to working with younger people, highlighting a shockingly simple exercise.
"One of the amazing techniques they really loved was just breathing. I was surprised. We got them to breathe and practice breathing through their mouths. I've never done that with an adult class," Tchaas Amen. "So I had them pant really hard, and then I had them calm down, close their mouths, and breathe and asked them how that feels. And they noticed the difference. You can feel the energy of the room shift just from the simple breathing techniques."
In his interactions with middle schoolers, Tchaas Amen explained how he worked with various energy levels within the schools.
"One of my sessions is right after lunch, and so people are really wound up, and we had to get them to burn off some energy so a lot of movement first. We got some Qi shaking and jumping and things like that, and then we did a lot of roleplay activities and mindfulness activities," Tchaas Amen said. "Imagine yourself super tall and super big, bigger than the building, so you can look down your head like you are by the stars and in clouds. Then imagine yourself very, very small, and then bringing themselves back to the space and getting them to visualize certain things they wanted to be."
For Tchaas Amen, the core of Qi shaking is emphasized in movement and flow.
"We're getting the Qi that is stagnant in our body, the lifeforce energy that is stagnant and waking it up, moving it around, getting it ready to be worked with and manipulated or to be released so we might have some negative Qu energy that we want to let go," Tchaas Amen said.
As for the future, Tchaas Amen plans to continue working with the youth and cities around King County.
"We'll continue with Federal Way. I'll go there twice a year. We'll also branch out and return back to Skyway so I love that space. [We're] really staying committed and tapping into those children but also some outside activities where there's some basketball groups, they're going on boxing groups and things like that," Tchaas Amen. "Some people are practicing martial arts, MMA, and things, but they want to do some mindfulness beforehand; how do you bring yourself and center yourself before you get into the martial arts-type side of the house? So really getting into that space."
Click here to learn more about Tchaas Amen's organization, Heru Heals, and reach out to him on his social media here.
For more stories about health and wellness happening in King County, tune into Trae every weekday at 11 am on all Converge Media platforms and The Day With Trae YouTube Channel.
