I have borrowed the practice of taking a minute of silence, from Birju that I use at the start of all classes I teach. Many students have appreciated it. Some make it their own. As I was reading the midterm reflections of the current batch of working adults in my class, here is a quote from one of them.

"I have been applying the outside exercises to my daily routine. Specifically, prior to starting my day or some big task at work or at home, I will take a moment of silence to just breathe and relax and center myself so that I can focus on the task at hand and not on other distracting issues. This has been extremely helpful as it reduces the build-up of stress and allows for a more focused and deeper concentration than just performing one task after another without taking a moment for myself."



Another student wrote: "Taking the moment of silence before each class is a useful practice to set intentions for the next four hours. I find I do get so much more out of the class as the result of this quiet chance to reset and have actively tried to take a minute before a meeting or a difficult conversation to ground myself. Each time I do this I am pleased with the results. In addition to setting intentions, I also find dedicating reflective time to be very helpful in retention and thinking about how I can apply the topics to my work. I have chosen my walks with my dogs as a time to think about the concepts we discuss in class."

After the minute of silence, we do some improv exercises outdoors, as a way to give everyone a few minutes of nature time on our beautiful campus with old trees, not just to get us refreshed after the student's long day in the office, but also to embody the lessons for the evening with some simple practices that connect us in a very tangible way.

Another one wrote:
"Personally, one of the things I am doing different is being mindful of how I feel on a daily basis. Since I work with people, a great majority of my job is interacting with consumers. I have to be aware of how I feel because it affects my clients’ experience. More importantly, I have learned that fresh air and the outdoors are very important when it comes to feeling refreshed and impacting how we see things. "

Thanks to Birju for spreading a good idea that ripples into the world.