Meditation Lab for K-12 Schools: Simple Tools to Relax the Body and Settle the Mind

My oldest son was 16 at the time. He was a junior, and I saw what intense pressure he was going through. And between getting ready for the SAT and final exams and job, you know, applications for college, I could see how overwhelmed he was. And I started practicing with him. I was sharing the tools and techniques with him. When I did that and I saw, he was like, "Wow, you should really come to my school. My friends would really benefit from this." And so I did a little bit of experimenting with him and some of his friends and talking to their parents. And at that time, no one was really aware of mindfulness or meditation, but they were certainly open to the idea of something— if there's something that would help my child. And I would also say to parents, don't be too hard on yourself. It's very hard for— and I know this as a mother of 6— when children hear something from their parents, they're like, oh my gosh, Mom, that's crazy. Like, I'm not going to do that. And so one of the real reasons that I started the program in schools is because I wanted to take that burden off of parents.

This is RxChill Pill. Now is the time to stay well. Each episode teaches your brain how to become resilient with amazing stories, knowledge from experts, and short meditations you can do anywhere, anytime to elicit your relaxation response. I'm your host, Dr. Juna Bobby MD, resilience and stress management physician and mother of two amazing kids. I am so excited to be here with Jennifer Manez today. Jennifer is a longtime meditation and yoga teacher, and as you heard her say, she has 6 kids of her own. So she wanted to bring this incredibly helpful tool of mindfulness into schools where they already are, because we all know that kids' schedules can be super busy these days. As you'll hear from this interview, Jennifer is full of energy, and she's been bringing her curriculum into schools all over the Westchester and New York area. And she has impacted over 8,000 students, teachers, coaches, and administrators. Jennifer also brings her awesome program to athletic youth as well as summer camps and of course now online. Jennifer shares with us her process for getting this important program into schools as well as financing it and how she overcame the challenges of integrating it into the school day. She also shares with us her valuable experience in how to get different ages and different groups of children engaged as much as possible so that they get the most out of their time with her. And hang on through till the end of the episode where we're going to hear from middle school and high school students who have actually experienced Meditation Lab.

Hi, Jen.

Good morning.

How are you?

We're doing okay. Thank you.

I love that sweatshirt you're wearing.

Thank you.

Jen is wearing a huge yellow sweatshirt hoodie that says hope on it.

With a lot of hearts.

With a lot of hearts. And you wear it every Friday?

Every Friday.

Are you trying to remind your children to be nice on the weekend?

You know, I think there's something about the sweatshirt. It's impossible to look at it and not smile. That's at least the feedback that I've gotten.

It made me smile when I saw it.

I think that's what— who wears a bright yellow sweatshirt? And in fact, I think I mentioned this to you before, but so many people have said to me, oh, what charities that represent? I'm like, it actually doesn't. But it just— there's something about the word hope, that it's impossible with bright colors and a lot of hearts to not smile.

Your experiment worked, and I can give you feedback that it actually worked.

Thank you. Thank you.

And but I think you're trying to hypnotize your children for the weekend because you have 6 kids, right?

Yes, I do. Yes, I do. And they're all in the house. So I appreciate you saying that. Subliminal messages.

So the last time we spoke, it was before the COVID-19 era. And now you have 6 kids. Kids at home. How's that going for you? And their age ranges again?

Their age ranges are 14 to 23. Wow. I know, pretty amazing.

So how is that going?

Well, it's obviously been a very intense time with a lot of ups and downs for everyone.

Okay.

Our nanny actually went home sick on March 13th, which was the last day that I taught. In fact, at White Plains Middle School, that was the last day of of all school in New York was March 13th. She went home not feeling well. We found out she was diagnosed with COVID on Sunday.

Oh my goodness.

So we all, the 8 of us, quarantined here for 14 days.

Uh, wow.

Yeah, yeah, which is pretty, pretty intense.

Is she okay?

She is okay. She's out of the hospital. She was in the hospital for 10 days. She was on a ventilator. She was very, very sick.

She was on a ventilator? How old was she?

She had— she's 58, and she has some pre-existing respiratory conditions, um, that definitely— and a somewhat compromised immune system. So we were all praying for her, and we all had some, some version of it. Um, now in looking back, a couple of my kids were saying that they couldn't smell anything and didn't taste anything, which I now know is, um, is, is a big symptom. And my husband and I had some sore throat and achiness, although no one spiked a high fever in the house. So it's hard to say until we have an antibody test whether or not we actually did have it as well. But we're awaiting, obviously, the opportunity to take that test.

Did you have like minor low-grade fever? Because people are saying like 99.6.

Yes, we had 99.2. And at that time, which was like March 16th, 17th, you know, the pediatrician for my children and obviously our own doctor said, you know, stay home and rest. And we knew we were quarantined anyway. So in any event, our quarantine ended like March 30th and we were like so excited as if something was going to be dramatically different now that we were not quarantined. But really, it hasn't been much different at all.

But now the whole world is quarantined.

Exactly, exactly.

Well, I'm glad you guys are all good.

Thank you. Yes.

So thank goodness you guys all like, maybe hopefully you had it and you have some antibodies to it.

That's what we're hopeful of that. Yes.

Uh-huh.

And thank goodness your babysitter is okay.

Yes.

Thank God.

So to introduce you, Jen. So Jennifer Moniz is the founder of the Meditation Lab. It's an incredible organization where she actually goes into schools and teaches kids how to become mindful. And she says that our minds, just like our bodies, need training to function at their best. Her mission at the Meditation Lab is to share mindfulness practices to help children and adults better manage stress, increase focus, and regulate emotions. She's done workshops and programs in so many schools, I can't even count. Maybe you can tell us a couple of those. And I know that you've— made a smooth transition onto online as well. So can you tell me, Jennifer, tell the audience, the listeners, where you've done these programs and what they entail and what the age groups were? 'Cause I know you work with incredibly wide range of children, right? Which is amazing and I love that.

Thank you. So in the beginning of the year, I spent most of my time in Irvington High School. Working with grades 9 through 12. I've been in Irvington for about 4 years now, so it's nice to have a real relationship with the students.

Uh-huh.

We're actually able to take the curriculum and, and build on or enhance it with more of a discussion about practical applications for the practice. So initially when I go into a school, we're introducing mindfulness tools and techniques, equating students with the idea of what it feels like to just slow down, to close their eyes, to connect with their breath. To be aware of their body posture, to be aware of the sensations of their breath. And then as the program continues year after year, then the dialogue can be a little more extensive about taking the practice and the work that we do together and then bringing it out into your daily life, right? How you can navigate the ups and downs of what it's like to be a teenager, which is hard to remember, but fairly intense, and use these tools. And really apply that. So, that—

So you're actually following kids through different grades? So you're doing, let's say you said you have a group of 3 sessions per year?

That's correct, so—

But then you're getting them the next year?

Yes, so that's what's wonderful. Amazing. So especially my work in Irvington, I've worked in the middle school now for 4 years and the high school for 4 years. So I've seen students from 6th to 8th grade in the middle school. And so each year we have the opportunity to really, you know, build on the year before, and same in the high school. And that's starting to happen now as I branched out into new schools. And that's been a process, obviously, in Dobbs Ferry, you know, returning for a second year, at Fordham Prep, returning for a second year.

That's wonderful. So you get to actually follow these kids year after year, and then you have different levels that you, you introduce to them. Is that correct?

That's right. With the idea that whether you're a beginner or you've been practicing for a long time, Right. The tools are very consistent, but the conversation about how to really use the tools and apply them, I think that's what becomes more sophisticated.

But of course, they're also growing while you're doing this with them. So you're talking to them in different languages every time.

That's right. That's right. So in Irvington, I work at Dow's Lane Elementary School, which is K through 3. And so that dialogue is very different than—

How does that dialogue go? Give us a little—

Well, it's interesting. When I ask students, have you heard of the word mindfulness before? What's remarkable is in K through 3, 80% of the children have their hands up.

So—

Wow.

Our education system is doing an incredible job at introducing the idea of mindfulness to young students. And I think our parents are doing a wonderful job of introducing that idea as well. So that really allows me to come in and then build on that. Since everyone has a sense of what it is, They may not know, they may not know how to get there, but they certainly know what it means to be mindful. They may not know K through 3, they're open to it though. Yes, that's fabulous. Incredibly so.

What about the one out of— yes, I'm sorry.

No, I was just going to say I was at North Myannas Elementary School in Greenwich and I had the same experience. So it's not just an Irvington thing. That's all I wanted to say. All of the children knew of the the terminology and the language. They knew that it was about centering themselves or feeling peaceful, but they just may not know how to get there. And that's what the program helps them better understand.

So what about the 1 out of 5? Are there kids who like refuse to do it or they don't— they're just not interested, or does that happen?

Well, there's 2 things that happen when students meet something that is uncomfortable or unfamiliar to them. They either check out. Sometimes they just act like sleepy or almost effort— they don't give it any effort, right, to just kind of lie down. And then others feel anxious or agitated that the information is new or unfamiliar, and they become very restless and have a hard time sitting still. So you kind of have one of those two responses, and usually it just takes a little bit of time and energy, and the teachers who work with me in the classroom are so incredibly supportive, because they're probably aware of who those students are going to be before we even start, right? They would have a sense of like, you know what, I need to give John a little extra attention or a little more of a benefit of the doubt, because he's got a lot of energy to begin with, asking him to sit still is incredibly challenging, so, you know, we'll say, hey, I know this might not be easy, Why don't I sit next to you and we'll try it together?

So the teacher will do that for you?

Yes.

So do you have something where you prime the teachers before you come into the school?

Yes. So I usually do a faculty workshop every time before I even begin to meet students because I want faculty to see what the program is all about. And this way, now they've had the experience, they can talk to students before I come the week before. Hey, Mrs. Mones is coming. I did this program, I found it really helpful. Here were some of the things that were difficult for me. They may or may not be difficult for you. But immediately teachers tell me, oh, I knew right away I could look at my class roster and know, okay, I'm going to talk to so-and-so beforehand because this might be difficult for her.

So do you have a lot of buy-in from educators now? Because it used to not be so easy to get into schools, especially public schools.

I think that every year I see a tremendous shift. When I started this program in 2016, it was so hard to get buy-in. I mean, I spoke to so many people. In fact, I'd been speaking to them for at least a year before finally the Irvington District was like, you know what, let's give this a try. Okay. We'll try it after school and we'll see how it goes. And I knew I was so appreciative that I got to work after school with students, but that wasn't really, that wasn't my mission. My mission was to be integrating it within the school curriculum in the day.

Yeah.

Because after school, you know, some kids come who are interested, but the kids that you really wanna connect with, they're not coming, right? The ones that are resistant are never coming.

The ones who need it the most, maybe. Well, everybody needs it now, right? We're all at a heightened level of stress.

Yes.

All the time right now during this crisis.

Yeah.

But yeah, so, You ended up talking to the administrators, getting their buy-in after a year of persistence, right? And constantly contacting them and asking them if they needed it. Is that what you did?

Yes, that's what I did. And what was helpful is once the Irvington District embraced the program, then my job got a little easier because then I could go to Dobbs Ferry and I could go to Hastings and I could go to Austin and say, here's what we're doing in Irvinton, the program has been incredibly successful. Maybe you'll consider giving it, you know, giving it a try.

So that was much easier.

Much easier.

Uh-huh. And I know you applied for grants. Is that how you're running the program or is it the schools? Okay.

So initially I start in a school and we write a grant through the school's either PTSA or their education foundation. And then the hope is that over time the school actually embraces the program and integrates it into their school budget.

That's amazing.

As a district.

That's amazing. So you chose the path of going into the schools and basically having everyone in class participate rather than it being an optional thing.

Yes.

Correct? That was the only way that it wanted to work.

Yeah.

Yeah, tell me about that. 'Cause I know, you know, I've taught at medical schools and older in graduate schools and they definitely had to make it And I think there's some— there's definitely some research papers on older people that it has to be something voluntary.

Isn't that interesting?

Yeah, but tell me about your take.

Yeah, my take was that particularly at a young age, no one was going to attend the practice, attend the class, if it was optional, because meditating isn't that fun. And I say that it's all the time. If you're coming here thinking it's going to be fun, let's just like you know, reframe that immediately, then you won't be disappointed. But like brushing your teeth, which isn't fun either, you do feel better when it's over. And I—

but isn't it fun in a different way? Maybe fun in a different way.

It could be, but I just want kids to come in thinking it's gonna be fun because then you're setting themself— you're setting them up for something and you're disappointing them. So if you kind of lead with, it's probably not going to be that fun, but you're gonna feel better, which is accurate. And I would say, you know, 99% of the students do feel better afterwards, then at least you've been authentic and they actually trust you. It's not like, oh, you told us it was going to be this and it wasn't. You're not letting anyone down.

True, true.

But some students really are very attracted to the whole idea of lying on their back and connecting with their breath and stretching their body. I mean, the stretching and the movement was essential to me as part of the program because students need the opportunity to discharge energy. You have to be able to move towards a still place. Otherwise—

I feel like that with even adults, but myself, for example. So I love that you have movement into it. And that brings me back to your past.

You're a yoga teacher, right? Yes. I've been teaching yoga for 24 years.

Wow. That's a long time. And did you always incorporate meditation into the yoga practice?

I incorporated for myself personally, absolutely. Within the yoga class, we always had a little meditation at the end of class, and I was very aware for 20 years there would be some people who would get up and leave 5 minutes before the class.

For Shavasana, right?

Because they just didn't want to do the meditation or relaxation. So it was almost having that, having that experience with adults, I knew, you know what, this just can't be. If it's optional, everyone's going to check out.

Yeah. It's like the stretching at the end of class. A lot of people leave before stretching too.

Exactly.

Exactly.

So as a yoga teacher and a mother of 6 children, how did you shift into this meditation? What brought you this idea that you should go into schools?

So my, um, my oldest son was 16 at the time. He was a junior, and I saw what intense pressure he was going through. He was at a very competitive private school in Riverdale, and between getting ready for the SAT and final exams and job, you know, applications for college, I could see how overwhelmed he was. And I started practicing with him. I was sharing the tools and techniques with him.

And was it— was he accepting of it when he was under that kind of stress?

Well, he was. I think in a way he was under so much stress that he was open to any suggestions because he was struggling so much, if that makes sense. So when I did that and I saw, he was like, wow, this really helped my friend. You should really come to my school. My friends would really benefit from this. And so I did a little bit of experimenting with him and some of his friends and talking to their parents. And at that time, no one was really aware of mindfulness or meditation, but they were certainly open to the idea of something— if there's something that would help my child, you know.

And when was that? How many years ago?

That was in 2015. So at that time, my other son was a sophomore at Irvington High School. And so that's when I thought, you know what, maybe this is the place to start. Maybe I should introduce this in Irvington as he was becoming a junior and I knew he was entering that intense year. And we had a lot of conversation and at that time, I mean, you realize this is 5 years ago when no one was talking about mindfulness, it wasn't on the COVID of the New York Times.

Well, also, did you get any pushback from any parents?

The district was really protective of that happening. So the district initially rejected the idea just to avoid pushback from the parents, the concern that there would be this misunderstanding that mindfulness somehow had something to do with religion. Um, and so I, I think that's why for a year they were like, I just don't think this is the right time, you know, I don't think this is the right time.

And, uh, certainly now they— I think stress management is something that everybody's open to right now.

Absolutely. And they see that it's really— it's quite a secular practice. There's no, there's no inclusion of any sort of religious deities. It's just about You know, feeling more calm and centered from the inside out. I think people are much more aware of that now.

And I've seen like incredible pictures of you doing this in a gymnasium filled with children and they all look like they're in a deep meditation. How do you get that going like that? I know you told me they're good pictures, but—

Well, you know, we only use the best pictures, but I will say the program is successful when we create an environment that is conducive to the practice, and that environment has to be consistent. So students walk into the gym and the gym has been transformed. The lights are dim, there's soft music in the background, I have a diffuser with some sort of lovely smell in the air. And so, right now you've kind of tapped into the sense— a sensory experience. And then each time they come in the gym and it has that presentation and there are yoga mats down, immediately there's a connection that's made. Oh, okay, we're doing med lab. It's time to relax. It's time to calm down.

So that's what they call it, med lab. Yeah, I love it. I love it.

And yes, you'd be, you'd be surprised, particularly at the high school level, how many students— oh my God, if I'm in the hall just even, you know, meeting with an administrator, they're like, Mrs. Manasseh, are we doing med lab today?

Wow.

But that's, that's been the response again after they've been— not the first day, but once they've been introduced to the program.

How long do you think before they like buy into it? A couple of the first sessions, or—

I think a session or two. And everyone is different, but I think most high school students so appreciate the opportunity to relax and rest, if nothing more, to lie down, maybe. Yes, to lie down, to to check out and to just kind of, you know, close their eyes and settle their thoughts. In the middle school, I would say the challenge is probably the hardest.

Really?

Yes, I would say the middle school, it's the hardest.

Really?

Those are challenging years to begin with, as you know, and it's all about fitting in and being cool. So it depends.

They don't want—

they don't think it's cool, right?

It depends. If it appears— if they look around the room and it appears that there's a lot of buy-in then the session goes very smoothly. If there's resistance from the overall community, then it's sometimes challenging because you'll have a few outliers who are really excited about it. But even they might be like, oh no, I'm not going to do this because it's going to be, you know, it's going to, it's going to be a bad look. And that's where, that's where the support of faculty is so incredibly helpful. Incredibly helpful.

And do you always get buy-in from the faculty?

If I've been able to run the workshop for them in advance, I do.

Okay.

And how long is the workshop for the faculty?

Usually it's an hour.

Oh, okay.

The actual, the actual meditation lab is 30 minutes, but the hour is important so that we can introduce the program, you know, talk a little bit about what the experience is going to be like, why it's so important to transform the gym, why these environmental factors make such a difference. And, and then afterwards to have a whole conversation about, you know, things they can expect to happen. And then obviously question and answer period.

And that's for the staff?

That's for the staff.

I love that you transform the space with scent and light and all of that. That's beautiful.

Thanks.

So amazing.

That's so important. That is, yes, truly, because there's some gyms that actually are— the lights are censored through movement, and so the lights stay on unless someone—

oh my gosh—

come in over override the system. And I know everyone thinks I'm so annoying because I'm like, no, we need to come get someone in to override the system. Like, it's really important. If you're just in a room with bright lights, it's so hard to relax.

Of course, of course. And so you have everybody lie on their back? Do they all lie down at some point?

They all lie down. So we start lying down because I think initially if you start sitting up, um, kids are always looking at each other and kind of, are you gonna do this? Should I do this? But if they lie down and close their eyes, That's my first little trick.

I love it.

Getting the inside scoop. Then there's a better chance that you're able to settle the group. I love it.

And then you have them sit up and then do some yoga, basic yoga stretching.

Which I don't call yoga because most boys hear yoga and they're like, "Ooh, I'm not a yoga person." Oh yeah, my son would be running out of the room. Right, but if we say stretching because athletes stretch, then you kind of get some buy-in there.

And then you have them settle back onto their backs or do they sit?

And meditate. Great, so after we do, they sit and meditate. They sit upright and we talk about that. It's important in a meditation practice that you're sitting upright so that you're focused and alert. And we talk about the practice being like a mental skills training, right? You're training your brain to concentrate and to attend through repetitive series of exercises. So if you're lying down, then you're kind of drifting off and zoning out and falling asleep. But, and that's not what this segment of the med lab is all about. We relax and then we breathe and we stretch and then we meditate. And then at the end, we do a nice guided visualization. So they know there's gonna be an opportunity to relax again. But for the 5-minute period when we're meditating, it's really important that the body posture is aligned in such a way that they can be very present.

And then at the end you meditate, you relax again lying down with a visualization.

That's exactly right. So even though the Shabbat, right, we end with a good, you know, we end on a good note.

So they get a little rest at the end as well. I love it. That is a beautiful segment that you've come up with. Um, I can see why there's buy-in there, right? Right.

That, that a large part of that was, um, I will credit my 6 children for that because I ran the program with each of them and asked them for feedback. And it was my son who, um, who at the time was a sophomore, who said, you need to do that rest part at the end. If you don't, my friends aren't going to like it. So I was like, okay, I got it. More, more resting.

Okay, so you listen a lot to these kids. That's great.

Well, you know, they know because they're—

yeah, yeah, the feedback is so important, right?

Absolutely.

So is it really just, um, you wanted to get your kids to learn all this? Is that why you started going into their schools?

Oh, certainly, certainly one of the reasons why I started their school, right?

And how did they feel about mom coming in?

That's so interesting. You know, the first year, the first year they were feeling very uneasy, to be honest. Very uneasy.

Oh my God, I think my son would have been horrified.

I guess they were. I have to say, because the response was so overwhelmingly positive, it didn't take long for that to shift. And that was pretty amazing. I think We're really in a place now where they just feel very— they're very proud. They're very proud that their mom does this. And I would be honest if they weren't proud, because the first year it was definitely touch and go.

Well, I'm going to hear from some of these kids, right? We're going to talk to them about how Meditation Lab has changed the way that they deal with their stressors. And we have a couple of kids that I'm going to talk to, right?

I'm so excited about that. Yes. And these are middle schoolers, which is which is obviously the most challenging years, I don't know, 6th, 7th, and 8th, at least for my own kids.

Do you think some of them who have been introduced to mindfulness in their K through 5 have a more open mind in middle school or no?

Yes.

It doesn't matter?

No, I think there's no question. If the material has been introduced at a young age, then when they meet me in the meditation lab, at least it's it's familiar territory, right? So I happen to agree with that. And I do think parents are talking about these practices more and more, which is so wonderful. So different than in 2016 when no one had any idea what I was, you know, talking about. You know, now I think everyone has a sense.

So the earlier the better in your mind.

Yes.

Would you start even with like twos?

Gosh, I mean, if you, if you can, if you can, even if it's just in conversation, right?

Or just taking a belly breath, or— yes, yes, playing with scarves on their bellies, right?

Yeah, like that.

Well, little kids love to put stuffed animals— lie on their back and put a stuffed animal on their belly. That's one of the exercises we do in kindergarten. Everyone has to bring a stuffed animal from home. They don't know why.

And then you have props. Yes.

And then the animal goes up and down and they love that. Sometimes I use, um, I, I love using bubble blowing. So I'll go to like Target and buy 100 bottles of those little bubbles.

Yeah.

Taking a long deep breath as you pull the bubble out of the canister and then exhaling, blowing out the bubbles.

Pursed lips.

It's pursed lips. It's so relaxing.

Except for the gym. I, I've done that also and then But sometimes you get slippery floors, you have to watch out.

Yes, sometimes you get slippery floors. Usually the bubble residue falls on their, on their yoga mat or on their towel. But I have to say that the only rule we had in the bubble blowing was that there could be no conversation, no talking, because otherwise it just gets too chaotic. And it was, it was amazing how the children were almost hypnotized by the bubbles. And then we had a conversation afterwards you know, about the experience. And so many of them actually drew imagery from the bubbles and symbolism from the bubbles of like, you know, I blew a bubble and then it popped, and that's kind of like the thoughts in my mind— they come up and then they disappear. It was really amazing.

Wow, that's so cool. I love kids. I'm like a big fan of children.

Yes, yes, yes, it was great. We did it at— I worked at Elmwood Day Camp last year, and we did the same type of thing because I wanted the activities to be you know, more light and playful because it's camp. Yeah.

And this was also with grade school?

Yes.

Yes.

Okay. So I started it in the camp and I'm like, I'm going to give this a try and bring it into the Irvington Middle School. And it was not— it surprised me. I thought it was going to be more chaotic. And in fact, it really seemed to be therapeutic.

So how do you hold on to yourself when you have these difficult sessions with like the middle schoolers or the high schoolers where they're just rolling their eyes at you? Maybe sometimes.

No.

Yeah, maybe not sometimes.

Are they— sometimes they look like they're not paying attention, but they are, right? Because they have the high school face on.

It's so true. I, I— the biggest lesson that I've learned is not to take anything personally. If I kind of come with my own mantra that like everyone's doing the best they can, then I don't get angry at them. And then I— and I also know that it's not a reflection on myself. And I, I certainly do a lot of soul searching, like, did that go well? Did I introduce that well? Did I make the connection I wanted to? But at some point you're not gonna— you may not connect with everyone on any given day.

Or they may look like they're not connecting, but they're hearing.

Yes, yes.

Yeah, like when my son was 5 and he started cello and his teacher would say, "Don't worry, he's hearing everything I say," and he actually was, but he seemed to be not listening at all.

And I know what an amazing musician he is, so that's really— I love that. Oh my gosh.

Yeah, so I, I try to keep that in mind also, and I've also gotten feedback from some my students who I would have had no idea that they appreciated it so much, seeing just that they're like poker face in class. Like you said, they want to feel cool.

Absolutely.

Or maybe they're just tired.

Or as I said, it is on any given day. So I'll be like, no, I just worked with that boy, you know, on Monday. Why is he not like really feeling receptive today? You know, I went over— there was one student in high school I teach in January, right before midterms, everything I was asking the group to do, he wasn't doing. He was kind of like curled up in a little ball, and I just didn't understand why he was checking out. I kind of walked over, and he had note cards. He was studying for an AP Chemistry test. He didn't want me to see, but because he had that test next period. So when I went over, I tapped him on the shoulder. He's like, I'm so sorry, Mrs. Mass, but I I just need to be studying for this test. I can't be meditating.

Okay.

So, you know, again, you can't jump to conclusions or make assumptions because you just don't know what a person is going through in that moment. And I reassured him. I said, maybe you could just practice with us for 5 minutes, and then why don't you get your stuff and go to the library? Because at that point, if someone's feeling so disconnected from the group, yeah, then I say, almost like in wrestling, like, I give them the opportunity to tap out, like, because he's checked out anyway.

Totally agree. Totally agree. Yeah. So I think this is— these are really great points for either moms or kids listening or teachers like yourself that to always have that reminder for ourselves that even if they don't seem to be listening or even if it seems like futile sometimes. Yes. That something's getting in there. Yes, right, don't give up.

And I would also say to parents that to— don't be too hard on yourself. It's very hard for, um, and I know this as a mother, when children hear something from their parents, they're like, oh my gosh, Mom, that's crazy, like, I'm not gonna do that. And so one of the real reasons that I started the program in schools is because I wanted to take that burden off of parents. I think, um, initially Initially, I started this program as a private practice, and I thought, "Oh, I'll have parents bring their children in to me, and I'll do one-on-one sessions." I never thought that working with a whole community of students would ever really be possible. I think what I saw more than anything was that the moms were so stressed out. There was friction, obviously, in asking the student to come, asking their child to come. They knew it would be helpful, but by the time they got to my office, no one was speaking to each other. The child was rolling their eyes and feeling overwhelmed that he had 20 other things that he had to do, including seeing an SAT tutor, you know, getting tested— or excuse me, getting tutored in chemistry, whatever it was. And now he's got to see a meditation, you know, consultant. So this is not working. I'm making— I'm creating more stress for parents than I intended. And that's when I knew, oh my gosh, no, we just need to be doing this in school. This just needs to be part of whether it's health class, phys ed class, or some sort of, you know, mental skills curriculum.

That's brilliant. I'm so glad that you got into all these schools. So how is the Zoom going? So the Zoom—

so the Zoom is obviously the result of the challenges we're all facing with social distancing and schools being closed.

But you were supposed to do classes but you couldn't, right?

I was supposed to be in I'm supposed to be in the Briarcliff School District for the month of April.

Wow.

In Dobbs Ferry for the month of May.

You're reaching a lot of students now.

It's exciting. It's exciting. I love it.

Uh-huh.

And what happened was, in fact, and I was supposed to be in Pleasantville in the fall, and I reached out to schools either that I have worked at already or even schools that I had on the calendar for next year, like Pleasantville, and said, here's something that I'm considering offering. And it was amazing how many schools were excited about the idea of doing live sessions, um, on Zoom.

Uh-huh.

Fantastic. So you're going to continue your program, but it's going to be online?

It's going to be online. So I made a series of 3 sessions that are pre-recorded that I'm streaming to schools who have a smaller or lower budget. Those are really, really, um, affordable. In fact, many PTSA are just spending their $45 for the month for the whole school.

Wow.

And so that's something that a student can listen to or access at any time.

And then, and they have 3 sessions for that $45 per month, and they can just, um, use it as much as they want, as much as they want. That's fantastic.

Yeah. And their parents can too, which is nice.

Yeah.

So I'm good. We're gonna put links, um, for how to get in touch with you for all of —Perfect. —And the notes. And then what other programs are you offering?

So the live sessions have been so nice because at many schools the Zoom capacity that I have is up to 1,000 participants. So for instance, at Xavier High School in Manhattan, on Fridays we do a session from 3 to 4 where the whole school community is invited and the headmaster gives an opening prayer and kind of joins joins us all together and then introduces me, and then I run the program. And then at the end, a faculty member either reads a poem or says something inspiring. And it's just so nice because you have— you get to bring everyone together on the Zoom. Um, which is lovely, lovely. Amazing.

This sounds incredible.

It's really, it's really beautiful, I have to say.

Yeah. And now, are all your kids meditators? Do you guys all sit down and meditate together?

Definitely not. Definitely not. Although they all see me meditating and they all see my husband meditating. They— oh nice, they know. He does, he does. Okay, not, not with my audios, but he does.

Uh-huh. Uh-huh.

So they're aware. I, I think that's the first step is modeling, right? I think forcing them to do it, um, is only going to create resistance and tension. But if you're the model and they see how you're taking time out of your day to set yourself up to be the best version of yourself, then eventually I think that that sinks in.

That's amazing. You know what I do sometimes is my kids, if they're upset about something and let's say I'm upset too because I'm the mom, right? And you get sort of like tangled up in it if they're upset about something and sometimes you can't be as Zen or, you know, as meditative as you could be in a class. So what I do is sometimes play the recording of my voice to them. I love that. And that actually works. I love that. They're like, oh, that helped. 'Cause sometimes I can't be as mellow as I'd like to be. Of course.

That just means you're human.

Yeah, as a mom.

The kids say all the time, some of the kids at school call me Zen Jen. And then my kids are like, oh, you should see her at home. You know, because obviously, You know, we don't walk around in a totally neutral state. No, of course not. There's ups and downs, but it's being able to recognize the things that cause you, right, I think the languages that trigger you in a way, right, that puts you in a more heightened state or a more stressful space. And then your ability to recognize them. I think the biggest thing my kids would say about me is not that I don't lose my cool, but that when I do, I have the ability to go, you know what, I'm going to go I'm going to go take a moment. Like, I can feel myself moving to a place where I don't really— this is not the best version of me. Uh-huh. I'm going to go take 5 minutes, whether I just take a walk around the house or some long, deep breaths, and then I'm going to reenter the situation. Because again, don't be hard on yourself. It's only human.

I used to take a moment to do this anger writing workbook, and I'd be like, I'm getting angry. I'm going to go have to write into my workbook. And it was Russell Colt has this book on compassion-guided CBT, and I used his exercise and I would say, I have to go write in it now. Oh, I gotta check that out. Yeah. And I would have them do it too. You know, it was awesome. What I also said was, do you ever say this to your kids? Like, imagine if I didn't do it. I may freak out now, but imagine if I didn't.

It'd be so much worse, right?

I want to end with— I love— this is one of the things that I love about you, Jennifer Moniz. You have such high energy. I do have a lot of energy. And not everybody thinks of like meditation teachers as high energy, but I'm also like that. I'm kind of playful and I'm maybe not the serious kind of meditation teacher that people might think of. I don't really think of myself as a meditation teacher anyway. I just think of myself as a life a lifestyle coach, but I love that energy about you. Thank you. Thank you. And I just want to say that you don't have to be, you know, mellow and zen to meditate.

Oh, I— yeah, no, I'm smiling because I think that that's one of the reasons why I was able to, um, make a connection with young people. I think that's why the message resonated. If I came in— and you are so right about me— I have— I have bundles of energy. Yes. I think if I came in like really kind of neutral and I spoke really slowly and I— kids might not be able to relate to me, but I think because they see that I, in some ways I have, I'm very, I have a lot of the same qualities that they do and how I use the tools to help me, um, you know, kind of navigate or manage that energy. And you're very authentic about it.

You know, I mean, like you're honest about that. You lose it sometimes.

100%. Yeah. I drink Diet Coke. I say that all the time. Nothing about me is perfect, but the practices really help me. And that's what it's all about.

And imagine if we weren't doing that. And, um, you were a marketing person in the beginning? What, before you were a yoga teacher?

Yes. So I studied marketing in, um, in college, but interestingly enough, I think I told you this, I was studying education. At the University of Pennsylvania. And my parents at the time were like, you're not going to Penn to become a teacher, are you? And I was like, oh no, no, no, it was a different— it was a different time. So I was like, I have to figure out something that I can graduate with. That for whatever reason, my advisor said, well, if you study marketing, some of these credits will apply. So, so I graduated, I had a marketing degree, and I worked for this extraordinary woman who did marketing for real estate developers for a year or two. And I, I just knew that that was just not where I was supposed to be. So it's funny how life takes you where you're supposed to be, even when you take a detour. And here I am teaching. So that's kind of amazing.

Yeah. So I can't wait to talk to your kids, your school kids. Wonderful. About their experiences with you. Yes. Yes. And thank you so much for being here with me today.

Me. I had so much fun.

This is wonderful. I know.

Thank you for listening. And now you're going to hear from Jennifer's students. But first, I want to remind you to share, subscribe, and download episodes. Please leave a review on Apple Podcasts. These are really important and crucial things for me to keep this podcast going. We have amazing guests coming up, and you can ask me questions for them at info, I-N-F-O, info@mindbodyspace.com. You can check out our website mindbodyspace.com for upcoming guests. You can also email that same info@mindbodyspace.com to hear more about our exciting new courses coming online so you can stress less and do more.

Okay, so today we have with us Jake and Maureen. How are you guys? So I'm, uh, Dr. Juna Bobby MD. I am a doctor, a physician, but I dedicated myself to teaching mind-body medicine, which I think you guys got a little taste of with, uh, meditation labs, right? Yeah, we did. Jake, you're in high school, and Maureen, you're in 7th grade. 7th grade. And Jake, you're in 10th grade? Uh, no, I'm a junior, 11th grade. Hey Maureen, you're doing great today. You're perfect. So Maureen is in 7th grade, and you've been participating in the meditation lab with Jennifer Moniz, right? Yeah. So how many years have you met her at school? Um, 2, like this year and last year. So you started in 6th grade? Yes. How was that for you? Did you ever hear of anything like meditation or mindfulness before?

Uh, yeah, in our elementary schools we had done some like exercises with it. Uh-huh. Not much. And then In the middle school, we do during gym class.

We do it. Wow. So in grade school, how were you introduced to it?

Some teachers made us like— we sat and we listened to like songs and we just sat there. They made you?

Yeah. Did you like it? Do you remember enjoying it or not liking it?

Um, I didn't really I don't really have a feeling towards it. Neutral.

Yeah. Okay, so in 6th grade when you met Jennifer Monaz and Meditation Lab, what did you think of it when they said that you were going to have it in gym? Did they tell you ahead of time that it was going to happen?

No, we walked into a dark room with just mats on the floor.

Uh-huh.

And we were very confused.

That's funny.

Okay, so did you feel relaxed or you were just confused?

Well, I was confused, but when I learned what was happening, I was like fine with it.

Okay, so how was your experience with it? Um, it's fun.

Uh-huh. It's nice to like, when you have like a day and it's like stressful, you can just relax.

Mm-hmm. And so do you notice a difference between 6th grade and 7th grade having learned some of the skills?

Um, a little bit, because we learn about like breathing and how to like regulate our breaths. This year we're able to like do more of that.

Awesome. And do you use it outside of your gym class?

Uh, not particularly, really.

Okay, but I see that you're a dancer because I see you have a poster of a dancer behind you. I'm a gymnast. You're a gymnast, and do you use these, the breathwork, before your gymnastics competitions maybe? Um, yeah, maybe. Yeah. Okay, but overall your experience is positive? Yes. Okay, and, um, you feel like it helps you get like a little break from the stress of the day? Yeah. Okay, cool. So Jake, you're in 11th grade. How long have you been participating in the meditation lab? And do they do it in your gym class too?

Yeah, they do it in my gym class as well. We've been doing it since freshman year, I think, maybe even 8th grade, but I definitely know freshman year I've been doing it with Ms. Monaz. Uh-huh.

And what is your experience with it?

I think it's been a very positive experience because especially this year when we do it, junior year is very stressful with college and SAT, ACT and all this going on, especially with the current circumstances, there's a lot going on and, uh, this is a very good way to kind of deal with the stress and maybe help, uh, keep my mind under control. Not so worrying about 20 different things at once. So it's a very, it's a nice kind of escape.

So did you feel like it was helpful when you were in, um, 9th grade as well, or you think it's more and more helpful as you get older?

I think it's definitely more helpful as you get older, but it's not, it's still beneficial. Uh-huh.

And you feel like it was a good idea to be introduced to it earlier, or did you know anything about it before you started? Um, I didn't really know much.

I didn't know much about it. I kind of knew that it was a thing because, um, Miss Monessa's daughter is one of my friends actually, so I kind of knew about it through her. But, um, actually getting introduced to it was my first time really trying it and everything.

And, uh, Yeah, okay, great. So you guys both walk into a gym basically, and it's dark. What else is going on when you— when this happens for you?

Um, yoga mats on the floor, um, sitting at the front with the speaker kind of welcoming us, uh, welcoming us in, uh-huh, and, uh, just kind of getting us ready to partake in the meditation. Can you go—

can you, Maureen, tell me how you feel after you do the meditation? I understand that it's about half an hour, right, the whole experience?

Uh, yeah, it is. I feel like more relaxed and ready to just go to my last period of the day.

Uh-huh. And is there soft music? Is there like, yeah, aromatherapy going on? I heard she does the whole thing.

Yeah, and then she also has like a bell. She rings the bell and then we had to like listen to it. And it's nice because you just like, you're focusing on one thing.

Nice. Okay, how about you, Jake?

Uh, yeah, it's a very similar experience. See, I specifically remember the bell. You kind of try and sync your breathing with the bell and like the tones going on and, uh, get your mind focused on that instead of other things, which I liked a lot.

And Jake, do you use it outside of the experience itself? Do you use it in your regular day-to-day life ever?

Don't do all the exercises outside of when we do it in school, but the— some of the breathing exercises I'll try when I get kind of stressed out about something. I'll just take some of— I'll try and use those to calm myself down.

Hi, somebody joined us. Hi. Hey, what's your name? Jade. Hi, Jade. And what grade are you in? 7th. Okay, so you two, Maureen and Jade, are in the same grade? Yeah. In the same school?

Yeah, we're in the same class actually. Oh, awesome.

All right. So Jake was telling us that he uses the breath sometimes outside of class to help himself with, you know, taking exams and stuff. Jade, do you have any comments on that?

Um, yeah, sometimes I do that too when I take— before I take a test. And like, I think it's just like one of them that Ms. Muniz taught us was just like breathing in. Mm-hmm. Like, for like 10 seconds and then like breathing out and stuff like that.

Nice.

Do you guys breathe out slower than you breathed in?

Yeah.

And do any of you guys use it at home when you're getting in a fight with your parents or your siblings?

Uh, not really.

Not the first time. You don't get in fights, right?

No, good job.

Nobody gets in any fights? So tell me about, um, being home with this, uh, COVID-19 thing. How are you guys all faring? And tell me if you've used any of the things you've learned in the meditation lab classes at home. Let's start with Jade since she just joined us.

Um, I don't think I've done anything, um, for like what we learned in meditation lab.

I haven't really been using many of the strategies, uh, at home now because honestly the, I, the whole situation should be stressing me out more than it is, but, uh, I don't feel like I am that stressed out, so I don't really feel the need to use the, uh, use any of the strategies.

Okay. So when you're, you only use it when you feel super stressed out, is that right? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. How about you, Maureen?

Uh, pretty much the same as what he said. Like, I probably should be more worried about this whole thing, but I'm really not.

So I'm really glad you guys aren't overstressed. So nothing is stressing you out too much. Is it because you're getting maybe more downtime now? Do you guys feel like you're less overwhelmed with schedules? Probably, yeah. Maureen said probably.

What about you, Jake? Sorry. I'm definitely less overwhelmed with my schedules, but it's also very frustrating. Kind of, it was kind of nice the first week or two to just be able to, you know, be home and not really have to worry about much else. But then after that, it's been getting very frustrating having nothing else to do and being inside all the time.

So yeah. How about you, Jade?

Yeah, I've been bored, but like, I don't, I like having a structure to my day. I don't, I don't really like not having things to do and stuff.

And like, do you guys find that school is harder or easier now?

I think it like depends on the subject. Like some you need a teacher to like teach you, but for some it's easier because you don't have to worry about like, like distractions.

Yeah. How about you, Jake? In high school, is that the same for you?

Um, I don't know if it's just for me, but I've actually and doing better with everything just because I kind of get to do it on my terms and I don't have to be forced to do it by a teacher this way and at this time. I can kind of go about it my own way, which—

Good. And Jade, how about you?

Some of them, some of the subjects are really easy to do by yourself. Like math is really hard for me to do at home because I feel like you need a teacher to explain it to you.

And did you guys all go to a pass/fail system? Well, Jade says you did, Marie. I think if you did.

I haven't really been paying that much attention.

I'm pretty sure most schools did, even colleges did. So do you guys find it more stressful or less stressful that you're going to pass/fail and not get grades?

I find it, um, I find it much less stressful because I don't need to worry about necessarily the quality of my assignments so much as as much as getting them done, which is, uh, helps a lot in terms of stress.

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. But you're a junior, right? Yeah, I'm a junior. So you had a heavy, heavy load.

Yeah, I do. This is probably the most, um, heavy workload year of, uh, high school, so.

Uh-huh. And are you thinking about how you're gonna be applying to colleges? Yeah, that's also, that's also in my mind.

It's, um, All the everything with the college process is just a whole lot more complicated now, especially because I'm trying to play college baseball. So that meeting with recruiters and talking and sending over info and everything, it's a lot—

it's a lot more complicated. Okay, that's interesting. Okay. Do you have to send videos of yourself? Yeah. Doing baseball, playing baseball. Yeah.

And without a spring season, it's also not as many opportunities to get seen by these recruiters. So it's, it's different. It's definitely different.

So you guys are having to really innovate and manage all these changes all at once, right? It's just a radical change, right? So Maureen, you're not competing anymore, I assume?

I had States in May, but it got canceled.

Wow. Okay. So how do you guys feel about these Sports being canceled, is that something that stresses you out or it gives you a little break?

It didn't really like stress me out, it just made me kind of upset because I was supposed to go to States in May. Uh-huh. And I was excited about that. Mm-hmm. I can't go anymore.

Okay, have you guys all tried to look for the silver lining, the upside to this? Any upsides, guys?

I've been trying to find one and I haven't really. Succeeded in that yet.

So, okay, let's, um, let's try now before we go. How about we do one of the exercises that Miss Maness teaches you in Meditation Lab? Jade, can you remember the breathing exercise? Try your best. Who wants to try their best?

Yeah, you're supposed to kind of feel like you're breathing into like the center of your chest and like letting it come out through there instead of like breathing— like you're supposed to breathe like up and kind of in through your chest instead of just like up and down. I don't know if I'm explaining that well. That's just kind of how I remember it.

Okay, does anybody else remember that?

It's kind of like you have to like breathe up and you try to feel your stomach like inflate, kind of.

Okay, so you're talking about—

I'm not sure, your belly moving up and down? Yeah. Okay, so who wants to lead us?

All right, so we're gonna take a deep breath inwards through the stomach up into the lungs and let it fill your chest and hold it for 3 seconds and then let it out and repeat.

Okay.

To fill your lungs, let your stomach expand.

Yeah, and then just keep it Keep going, do it again.

Okay, so let's take a deep breath in, let your belly expand, and exhale through your nose. If you guys want to close your eyes or just focus on the floor for just 1 minute, put your hands on your belly like this with your fingertips touching, and then now breathe into your belly and notice if your fingertips spread apart just a little bit. And then when you exhale, get your fingertips to touch. See if you could do that. Ready? Let's do that for 4 breaths, and then after that we're going to see if we can come up with something positive about this experience that we're all having. Okay, ready? Inhale and exhale. 3 more times on your own. See if you can feel those fingertips moving away when you breathe in and touching when you exhale. And see if on your next exhale, just let your neck and shoulders relax. Even if you might not consciously be thinking about being stressed out, it's been kind of a stressful time for almost every human on this earth right now. So just take a breath in and let yourself relax. Just tell yourself, just for one breath, I can not worry. And I can just relax. If there's any opinions about this little exercise, just label them opinions and come back. And let's see if we can think of some positive meaning out of all of this, even though it's a general bummer. Who wants to go first?

I guess like You can go, Jade.

I think it could give us like a nice break from school, like, um, and like it's like a perfect opportunity to try new things and like kind of like also like get your grades up because it's like a pass or fail.

Um, I think it's also nice because like you get to take a break from like constantly talking to people, and I, I know that might sound weird, but No, kind of nice that you don't have to talk to people all the time.

Yeah, and, um, I think it's also a great opportunity to kind of work on yourself and maybe try and, um, better yourself in ways that maybe you've wanted to and you didn't have the time, or maybe you just, you hadn't got around to it, or learn something new that you've wanted to do. Like, I've personally wanted to learn how to play the guitar for a while now, but maybe this is my chance to, you know, go out, learn how to play the guitar. I don't know, it's just just— it's a lot of free time that we can figure out how to use positively, I guess.

Awesome. So Jake, you're gonna pull out your guitar today? I just might, after we get off. Uh, yeah. Okay. And Jade, you're gonna set a schedule for yourself and improve on things that you wish that you could have done better? Yeah. Or you could do better in the future? That's school-wise, is that your goal? Yeah. And how about you, Maureen? Um, you're not going to talk to people too much, but are you on social media all day? No. Who's on social media all day? Raise your hands. Yeah, too much.

Yeah, more than I should be.

What do you want, Instagram or TikTok?

Instagram, uh, Instagram and Snapchat mostly. Okay, how about you, Jane?

I'm on probably TikTok the most.

TikTok. How about you, Maureen? No, no social media for you? No, probably TikTok. Okay, are you guys making your moms and dads dance with you? No, my daughter is definitely trying to make me. Okay, all right, so thank you everybody. Do you have anything else to add about Meditation Lab? Do you wish that, um, you can't wait for it to come back when you're back in school?

Yeah, no, it's gonna be, it's gonna be nice. Come back to it after all this craziness. Yeah, it's fun.

Yeah.

Okay, well, it was so nice to meet all of you. You guys are awesome and very resilient. It's nice to see you're all doing well. Thank you.

Thank you for the opportunity.

Thank you for having us on here. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. Nice to meet you guys. Take care.

Bye. Yeah.