What happens when you hold a rock in your hand?  Go ahead, look around your house and pluck a rock out of a flower pot or decorative jar. No rock? Take a walk in the park and choose your pick!

Hold it. I’m not talking a fancy crystal, just a plain rock, so don't go nuts. 

Whenever I need to feel centered, secure, and focused, my most immediate tool is to grab a mindfulness rock. I use it with my young students. For anyone with attention issues, it’s really helpful. Children are able to sit longer for a story while holding the rock in their hand. It can keep adults anchored too. 

This is the actual box of rocks I use in my library with children. I ask them to notice the temperature and texture of their rock. Of course it goes from cold to warm. The texture is smooth and uneven. The students are experiencing the benefits of mindfulness in school. 

For a child who feels different (and many kids do), a rock is a great metaphor...

Finally, the weather cooperated and New Yorkers were able to get outdoors and not get soaked. We've had many weeks of rain on the weekends so whenever the sun appears, we go to mountains, beaches and parks and welcome the warmth. 

We go to the trees. 

Weekends indoors were "productive" for us. We could catch up on reading, laundry, and cleaning out the garage. We could reconnect with creative projects: write, paint and slowly cook a meal. 

I made a tree: https://linktr.ee/stefaniemaura

The Bryant Library in Roslyn, NY planted a Linktr.ee recently and introduced me to online silviculture. Share your tree with me if you have one! 

Anyway, thinking of trees, which I do a lot, my attention goes to the roots. They grow in winter when the trees are bare. They live under our schools and houses. They do the unseen work. 

This week's prompt is all about the roots. 

WRITING YOGA® PROMPT #2022: The Opportunities of Rooting

Do...

If you have ever visited or lived near a river, lake or marsh on North America, you have seen herons.  With snaking necks that snap up prey, you never know when they will strike. All the while they manage to look so graceful and calm. 

Most of their time is spent waiting. They don't rush, they don't run, they simply lift up one leg at a time to walk to fertile territory. With precision and a sword-like beak, they grab a fish, eat and walk away. 

Few of us can wait as patiently as the heron. This week, we will explore some of their teachings as we sit, write and move in a real or imagined waterside habitat. 

Be like the heron. Wait. Make a move. Walk away. Repeat. 

WRITING YOGA® PROMPT #2010: Writing Meditation to Feel Graceful and Calm  

LUMI SIT:  Be the Heron

Set aside 5-10 minutes for this mindfulness activity. Find a quiet place to sit. If you have access to a park with a lake or beach, try this prompt in that setting. Close...

Who was the best writing teacher you ever had? What did they do to inspire you and get your thoughts onto the page?  

A classroom community can elevate your thoughts, synchronize ideas, and produce profound writing. As educators, we have to work hard to NOT interject what we think. The best teachers are facilitators. 

Does holding class outdoors make nature the true facilitator? Yes. If you are a teacher, leave the desks inside, grab some clipboards, unplug and write. 

If you are not a teacher, leave the office at least once a day. I know you are busy, but nature has a way of making us more productive. City parks count as nature, so no excuses. If you find this to NOT be the case, I'll buy you a cup of coffee. 

WRITING YOGA® PROMPT #2008: Your Mindful Writing Coach is Not in the Office or Classroom 

SIT:  The Air in the Outdoor Classroom 

The majestical poet and professor Marie Howe took 100 of us outside at the...