Mindful Listening

Mindful listening is another way we can ground ourselves into the present moment as well as practice strengthening our attention muscles. We can go between allowing our attention to wander to any sound it hears and putting our attention on specific sounds on purpose. As we strengthen our listening muscles, we develop more choice over where we put our attention. When routinely practicing mindful listening, students report a greater ability to focus during class, listen to friends, coaches and family members.

Practice 1: Attending to Sound

• Sit quietly in your mindful body position
• Take a few deep breaths in and out together
• When you hear the sound of the bell, we're going to put all of of our listening attention on this one sound as long as you can hear it
• You may also hear other sounds, but we're going to put our attention on the sound of the bell
• We're trying to focus on one sound at a time, strengthening our listening muscles
• I find that closing my eyes helps my listening grow stronger, you might want to try closing your eyes too
• We're putting our attention on the sound of the bell until you can no longer hear it
• When the sound stops, put a gentle thumb up
• Let your eyes open when you're ready
• Sharing: How did it feel to put your full listening attention on the sound of the bell?

Practice 2: Naming Sounds

• Sit quietly in your mindful body position
• Let your eyes gently close or look down
• Take a few deep breaths in and out together
• Continue relaxed breathing and begin to notice sounds around you
• As you hear a sound, quietly name it to yourself
• For example, if you hear a bird chirp outside, think or say "bird" quietly to yourself
• Continue naming each new sound as it enters your awareness
• When you hear the sound of the bell, put your listening attention on this one sound as long as you can hear it
• When the sound of the bell stops, put a gentle thumb up
• Let your eyes open when you're ready
• Sharing: What sounds did you notice? Where did your attention want to go?

Practice 3: Naming Sounds Near and Far

• First, put your attention on far away sounds (outside the classroom), name what you hear quietly to yourself
• Next, notice sounds within the room, quietly name the sounds you hear
• Now listen closely and see if you notice any sounds in your body, name what you hear
• When you hear the sound of the bell, put your listening attention on this one sound as long as you can hear it
• When the sound of the bell stops, put a gentle thumb up
• Let your eyes open when you're ready
• Sharing: What sounds did you notice? Outside? Inside the room? Inside your body?