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trauma. To recover from PTSD, I was working Could you explain how you use THE
with therapists, reading everything I could get HAPPY JAR in your classroom and how it
my hands on, practicing and teaching yoga, has helped you to bring more joy, gratitude
exploring meditation, working with nutritionist and kindness into your students´ lives?
to learn about about wellbeing, and I even
worked with a coach who developed his own “ The Happy Jar is part of the habit: Reflect on
30 Day Happiness Challenge.” This was all Happy Memories. When students have a
over the course of a few years. I was teaching happy moment, they write it down on a piece
my students yoga and meditation, but didn’t of paper and place it in the jar. Throughout the
think to incorporate other habits that I had year, we randomly draw a piece of paper from
been practicing. the jar and read what’s on the paper. We’ve
had some great laughs from that! Current brain
Then I saw a TED talk in which a man research tells us that reflecting on happy
described transforming productivity and memories is an important part of wiring the
capacity in major corporations by practicing brain for resiliency, and for seeking the good.
five habits that centered on happiness. After When we reflect on happy memories, our body
seeing the TED talk, something just clicked releases some of the same “feel good”
and I thought: Why do we wait until people are chemicals that it released when the moment
broken adults to learn habits for happiness and first happened, which help to alleviate stress
wellbeing? Why don’t we do it while they are and anxiety.
children and possibly give them the tools to
navigate life? Maybe these habits could
transform the school experience for my
struggling learners!
I pitched the idea to my students, and they
were in! We asked the question: What
happens when we teach children the habits for
happiness, and practice them every day?
From there, the project was born
Over the years, my students have helped me
to expand the habits, (they’ve even renamed
some!) and have shaped the lessons so that
they are most effective. Happiness 101 now
has six key pillars:
Build Into Relationships, Express
Gratitude, Reflect on Happy Memories,
Practice Mindfulness, Spread Kindness,
and Take Care of Our Bodies.
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