Baptist Promotes Attitude for Gratitude at Regina-Howell
The Baptist Hospital Behavioral Health Center recently participated in Red Ribbon Week for drug and alcohol awareness at Regina-Howell Elementary. Students enjoyed different activities immersed in mind-body wellness to promote happiness.
Baptist Hospital Licensed Professional Counselor, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist Starr Thurber met with all grades during their gym class. Students learned several different exercises with a particular focus on developing skills to practice being thankful. Variations of the Quick Coherence Techniques developed by the Heart-Math Institute are used to help release stress and balance emotions. According to www.heartmath.org, quick coherence helps you feel more confident, positive, focused and calm, yet energized.
“Our activity involved focusing students attention on their hearts and then imagining they can breathe from their hearts,” explained Thurber. “This was followed by imagining someone for whom they are thankful and perceiving those feelings, letting the positivity grow in their bodies.” Students also did some mindful movements from yoga and Tai Chi.
Thurber explained that the practices enhance both physical and mental health. Developing an ‘attitude of gratitude’ has been shown to lead to greater degrees of happiness. All of these skills help people deal more effectively with stress, life changes and loss, to name a few. Children are able to learn and apply these skills as the practices are becoming more mainstream in school systems. In regards to drug and alcohol awareness, Thurber said, “the better a person is able to deal with stress, the less likely they are to use drugs or engage in other forms of maladaptive coping.”