Chapter Ten | Using contemplative practice to sustain equitable environmental engagement | Elizabeth Allison

Using contemplative practice to sustain equitable environmental engagement

Elizabeth Allison

PROJECT SUMMARY

As Aldo Leopold (1949) wrote in A Sand County Almanac: “One of the penalties of an ecological education is that one lives alone in a world of wounds.” Climate anxiety is increasingly recognized as a concern (Hickman et al., 2021; Lertzman, 2015; Richardson, 2015). Interventions like the GoodGriefNetwork, which hosts support groups for citizens feeling paralyzed by dire climate news; #IsThisHowYouFeel, a website where climate scientists share their emotions about the severity of topics they study; and the American Psychological Association’s 2017 report on climate change and mental health all point to the increasing emotional toll of environmental awareness.

Climate chaos and environmental injustice, as well as pandemic conditions and racial inequity, set the stage for feelings of burnout: the morass of emotional depletion, sense of futility, and exhaustion of care that arises from endlessly endeavoring to meet the needs of the world without reprieve (Nagoski & Nagoski, 2020). People in caring professions, activists, and environmentalists can be at particular risk of professional burnout (Comtesse et al., 2021; Nagoski & Nagoski, 2020; Richardson, 2015; Gorski & Chen, 2015). Not only do students and faculty need strategies to engage with environmental crises head-on, they also need tools to support engagement over time.

For students of environmental politics, burnout or overwhelm can look like self-protective shutdown. Studying global environmental degradation and climate change can be threatening on multiple levels: the personal level, when students consider how the newly unstable climate is affecting their lives and those of people they care about; the structural or political level, when students learn about disparate racial, ethnic, and national impacts of climate change and environmental degradation, and consider what types of policy, technological, or behavioral changes may be warranted; and on the existential level, when students consider threats to the viability of life on Earth. Students who become alienated by their studies of environmental politics may not continue in the field and may seek pathways of distraction or numbing.

Incorporating contemplative practices into the environmental politics classroom – an approach known as contemplative pedagogy or contemplative environmental studies (Litfin, 2018; Wapner, 2016; Osborne and Doshi, this volume) – can help address burnout and cultivate resilience. Contemplative practices can reduce both the physiological and subjective experience of stress that can accompany the challenges of climate change, environmental degradation, and racial injustice, allowing students to explore these issues from a space of calm and stability. As professional mentors, environmental politics faculty can model ways of preventing and ameliorating burnout for their students, in support of sustainable and sustaining future careers.

Classroom practices oriented toward reducing burnout may be particularly important for students and faculty of marginalized identities, who experience macro and micro-aggressions on campus, while also carrying the knowledge – or learning – that their communities are at greater risk from climate change and environmental degradation. To sustain diverse and inclusive environmental citizens, practices that renew, restore, and sustain must be part of the environmental vocabulary.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

The contemplative practices outlined here address the affective atmosphere in the environmental politics and justice classroom. Students learn best when they feel that the overall classroom climate is physically and emotionally safe, according to pedagogical theory. Therefore, “soft technologies” that address the affective climate of the classroom, creating a sense of cognitive and emotional calm and security, can help students become ready to engage in the challenging and the inherently unsafe practice of letting go of preconceptions to consider new knowledge. In addition, studying climate change and global environmental degradation can feel particularly unsafe to students because of the personal, structural, and existential threats discussed above. Topics in environmental politics and justice often involve insufficient, incomplete, or contested information, requiring a comfort with uncertainty and with knowledge that lacks a stable or final resolution (see Dunkin, this volume). Contemplative practices can help students become more comfortable in the space between question and answer, stimulus and response.

The use of these contemplative practices will allow students to:

deepen their awareness of their own experience;
become aware of tension, constriction, or tightness in their bodies and minds;
notice thoughts arising as if an outside observer and learn to release them;
release tension and shift toward a calmer and more relaxed state; and
identify and cultivate internal sources of resilience.

Contemplative practices can support students and faculty in avoiding or alleviating burnout, cultivating the resilience necessary to identify and move toward their goals, and sustaining their commitments to social and environmental engagement. While contemplative practice may appear to be an individual response to structural problems, consistent contemplative practice can help clarify the practitioner’s values, sharpening and heightening their critiques of structural inequity, and supporting action. This chapter does not suggest that students “mediate away” problems, or see contemplative practice as a soporific; rather it suggests that contemplative practice can guide students and activists in identifying internal and external resources to support social change.

SUGGESTED BACKGROUND READING

Stress, Burnout, and Grief

Amjadi, K. (2021). Exploring factors that influence children’s growth and development during a pandemic. Global Pediatric Health, 8, 2333794X211042464.
Barry, E. (2022). Climate change enters the therapy room. New York Times, February, 6.
Chen, C. W., & Gorski, P. C. (2015). Burnout in social justice and human rights activists: symptoms, causes and implications. Journal of Human Rights Practice, 7(3), 366–390.
Comtesse, H., Ertl, V., Hengst, S. M., Rosner, R., & Smid, G. E. (2021). Ecological grief as a response to environmental change: a mental health risk or functional response? International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(2), 734.
Gorski, P. C., & Chen, C. (2015). “Frayed all over”: the causes and consequences of activist burnout among social justice education activists. Educational Studies, 51(5), 385–405.
Hickman, C., Marks, E., Pihkala, P., Clayton, S., Lewandowski, R. E., Mayall, E. E., et al. (2021). Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: a global survey. The Lancet Planetary Health, 5(12), e863–e873.
Lorde, A. (2017). A Burst of Light: And Other Essays. Courier Dover Publications.

Manne, K. (2020). Entitled: How Male Privilege Hurts Women. Crown Publishing Group.
Nagoski, E., & Nagoski, A. (2020). Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. Ballantine Books.
Richardson, J. H. (2015). When the end of human civilization is your day job. Esquire, August.
Swim, J., Clayton, S., Doherty, T., Gifford, R., Howard, G., Reser, J., et al. (2009). Psychology and global climate change: addressing a multi-faceted phenomenon and set of challenges. A report by the American Psychological Association’s task force on the interface between psychology and global climate change. American Psychological Association, Washington.

Contemplative Pedagogy

Adsit, J. (2021). Epistemic Justice, Mindfulness, and the Environmental Humanities: Reflections on Teaching. Routledge.
Allison, E. (2015). Ecology, spirituality, and social justice: a symposium sponsored by the Esalen Center for Theory and Research. JSRNC, 9, 364–366.
Baugher, J. E., & Bach, D. J. (2015). Contemplative practices in higher education: powerful methods to transform teaching and learning. International Journal for Academic Development, 20(1), 1–4.
Eaton, M., Hughes, H., & MacGregor, J. (2016). Contemplative Approaches to Sustainability in Higher Education. Taylor & Francis.
Gyamtsho, Tenzin & Cutler, H. C. 1998. The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living. Riverhead Books.
Litfin, K. T. (2020). The contemplative pause: insights for teaching politics in turbulent times. Journal of Political Science Education, 16(1), 57–66.
Nicholson, S., & Jinnah, S. (eds.). (2016). New Earth Politics: Essays from the Anthropocene. MIT Press.
Macy, J., & Brown, M. Y. (1998). Coming Back to Life: Practices to Reconnect Our Lives, Our World. New Society Publishers.
Macy, J., & Johnstone, C. (2012). Active Hope: How to Face the Mess We’re in Without Going Crazy. New World Library.
Miller, C. P. (2019). Jainism, yoga, and ecology: a course in contemplative practice for a world in pain. Religions, 10(4), 232.
Osborne and Doshi (2022). Embodying social and environmental justice learning through somatic abolitionism and eco-mindfulness. This volume.
Richey, J. & Wapner, P. (2017). Inner and outer ecologies: contemplative practice in an environmental age. The Arrow: A Journal of Wakeful Society, Culture, & Politics, 4, 5–19.
Salzberg, S., and Goldstein, J. (2001). Insight Meditation: A Step-by-Step Course on How to Meditate. Sounds True.
Uhl, C. (2013). Developing Ecological Consciousness: The End of Separation. Rowman & Littlefield.
Vilvens, H. L., Frame, D. L., & Owen, P. C. (2021). Promoting the inclusion of mindfulness and contemplative practices in the college classroom. Pedagogy in Health Promotion, 7(2), 148–158. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 2373379920925849.
Wapner, P. (2016). Contemplative environmental studies: pedagogy for self and planet. The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry, 3(1), 67–83.

Benefits of Contemplative Practices

Chiesa, A., & Serretti, A. (2009). Mindfulness-based stress reduction for stress management in healthy people: a review and meta-analysis. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 15(5), 593–600.
Davidson, R. J., Kabat-Zinn, J., Schumacher, J., Rosenkranz, M., Muller, D., Santorelli, S. F., et al. (2003). Alterations in brain and immune function produced by mindfulness meditation. Psychosomatic Medicine, 65(4), 564–570.
Emerson, D., & Hopper, E. (2012). Overcoming Trauma Through Yoga: Reclaiming Your Body. North Atlantic Books.
Feuerstein, G., & Bodian, S. (eds.). (1993). Living Yoga: A Comprehensive Guide for Daily Life. TarcherPerigee.
Forrest, A. T. (2011). Fierce Medicine: Breakthrough Practices to Heal the Body and Ignite the Spirit. Harper Collins.
Fredrickson, B. L., Cohn, M. A., Coffey, K. A., Pek, J., & Finkel, S. M. (2008). Open hearts build lives: positive emotions, induced through loving-kindness meditation, build consequential personal resources. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 95(5), 1045.
Goleman, D., & Davidson, R. J. (2017). Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain, and Body. Penguin.
Judith, A. (2005). Chakras: Wheels of Life. Jaico Publishing House.
Kabat-Zinn, J., Lipworth, L., & Burney, R. (1985). The clinical use of mindfulness meditation for the self-regulation of chronic pain. Journal ofBehavioral Medicine, 8(2), 163–190.
LePera, N. (2021). How to Do the Work: Recognize Your Patterns, Healfrom Your Past, and Create Your Self. HarperCollins.
Little, T. (2017). Yoga of the Subtle Body: A Guide to the Physical andEnergetic Anatomy of Yoga. Shambhala Publications.
Ludwig, D.–S., & Kabat-Zinn, J. (2008). Mindfulness in medicine. Jama,300(11), 1350–1352.
Paul, A.–M. (2021). The Extended Mind: The Power of Thinking Outside the Brain. Eamon Dolan Books.
Paulson, S., Davidson, R., Jha, A., & Kabat-Zinn, J. (2013). Becoming conscious: the science of mindfulness. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1303(1), 87–104.
Schreiner, I., & Malcolm, J. P. (2008). The benefits of mindfulness meditation: changes in emotional states of depression, anxiety, and stress. Behaviour Change, 25(3), 156–168.
Siegel, D. J. (2010). Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation. Bantam.
Siegel, D. (2020). Aware: The Science and Practice of Presence – The Groundbreaking Meditation Practice. Penguin.
Vivekananda, R. (2005). Practical Yoga Psychology. Yoga Publications Trust.

ONLINE BACKGROUND MATERIALS

Numerous free and paid meditation apps are available for smart phones. Instructors who do not have previous experience with contemplative practice may wish to practice guided breath meditation with one of these apps or with one of the websites below before introducing contemplative practice into their classroom. These apps can provide examples of the vocal tone and pacing to use when leading a guided contemplative exercise. Some of the more highly rated and respected meditation apps include: Aura, Calm, Headspace, Insight Timer (free; also paid options), Healthy Minds Program (free), Sattva, Simple Habit, Smiling Mind (free), 10% Happier, UCLA Mindful App (free), Unplug.

Ackerman, C. E. (2017, January 18). 21 Mindfulness Exercises & Activities for Adults (+ PDF). PositivePsychology.com. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://positivepsychology.com/mindfulness-exercises-techniques-activities/.
Blackwell, C. (2021). The Best Meditation Apps. New York Times, December 10. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/ wirecutter/reviews/best-meditation-apps/.
Boyce, B. (n.d.). Three Guided Meditations for Beginners: 1-Minute, 10-Minutes, and 15-Minutes. Mindful. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www.mindful.org/how-to-meditate/.
Center for Contemplative Mind in Society. 2009. What are Contemplative Practices? Retrieved January 31, 2022, from http://www.contemplativemind .org/practices/index.html.
Duggan, J. (n.d.). Is this how you feel? Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www.isthishowyoufeel.com/.
Good Grief Network (n.d.). Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www .goodgriefnetwork.org/.
Hanh, Thich Nat (2020, April 10). Mindful Breathing Meditation with Thich Nhat Hanh. YouTube. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www .youtube.com/watch?v=J62F0Y6PKes (14 min.).
How to Meditate: An Interview with Sharon Salzberg. Taking Charge of Your Health & Wellbeing (n.d.). Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https:// www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/how-meditate-interview-sharon-salzberg (10 min.).
Johnson, L. (n.d.). Yoga for Ecological Grief. A Restful Space. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://a-restful-space.teachable.com/p/yoga-for -ecological-grief.
Kornfield, J. (2020, April 10). Guided Meditation with Jack Kornfield. YouTube. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/ watch?v=CNNAz9jWAts (25 min.).
Kornfield, J. (2021, June 26). Audio: Grounding Practice. Jack Kornfield. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://jackkornfield.com/grounding -practice/ (4.5 min).
Salzberg, S. (2020, August 14). Guided Meditation: Offering Loving-Kindness to Yourself and Others. Mindful. Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https:// www.mindful.org/guided-meditation-offering-loving-kindness-to-yourself -and-others/ (8 min.).
Video Teachings – Spirit Rock – An Insight Meditation Center (n.d.). Retrieved August 2, 2022, from https://www.spiritrock.org/videos.

ISSUE BACKGROUND: CONTEMPLATIVE PRACTICE IN THE CLASSROOM

Cultures around the world have devised wisdom traditions that help navigate complex and painful times. Scholars and mystics have coped with times of immense social change and political upheaval, honing their cognitive tools that calm and invigorate the mind, and create mental fields for concentration and focus, in the fires of transformation. Global religious and philosophical traditions incorporate various forms of contemplative or meditative practice involving concentration, focused attention, internal stillness, reflective thought, and expansive awareness in their efforts to cultivate greater understanding. Mindfulness – directing non-judgmental, focused awareness to the present moment – is a contemplative practice; as is Buddhist meditation, Christian contemplative prayer, and Sufi ecstatic dance. Religious rituals, yoga, tai chi, mindful walking, contemplating nature, forest bathing, and artistic practices are other methods of expanding awareness, engaging in the present moment, and cultivating a focused, stable mind. These practices have sustained and nourished practitioners through upheaval and unrest across cultures and continents. Over time, accumulated wisdom has refined contemplative practices into highly honed cognitive technology.

Contemplative practice in the classroom is a deepening of the experiential education that has been shown to solidify learning: the incorporation of reflective and contemplative exercises takes experience to a deeper level of incorporation, helping students viscerally embody the questions of their coursework, from anthropology to physics, and strengthening the cognitive, affective, and moral aspects of education (Palmer et al., 2010). Contemplative practices relax, focus, and stabilize the mind, allowing for the development of concentration and insight.

Fast-paced life in highly technological societies activates the sympathetic nervous system, responsible for the fight or flight response, promoting activity and speed. Contemplative practices engage the calming parasympathetic nervous system – the “rest and digest” function – which the urgency of modern life tends to suppress. Regular contemplative practice that activates the parasympathetic nervous system leads to increased feelings of subjective well-being, increased creativity, access to intuitive problem-solving, increased insight into personal motivations, and increased feelings of connection. Additional benefits of contemplative practice include increasing positive emotions, including empathy and compassion; reducing stress, depression, and anxiety; reducing subjective experiences of pain; and provoking shifts in consciousness. Engaging in regular contemplative practice is a pedagogy of care, honoring and welcoming students in their embodied fullness of lived experience, beyond the infamous “mind on a stick” that academia often prioritizes. Consistent contemplative practice creates more space between stimulus and response, allowing for greater choice, deliberation, and flexibility in action. At a time when creativity is urgently needed to re-work society, policy, and technology, contemplative practice can relax the mind enough to allow divergent, associative, and allusive thinking to emerge, forging novel connections between disparate areas of thought or praxis. Contemplative practice slows down responses, creating a space where innovation can occur. Teaching non-sectarian contemplative practices in the environmental politics classroom offers a way to address student burnout in the present, as well as introducing a life skill that can promote resilience in the face of change, sustaining engagement and reducing stress in the future.

An embodied sense of holism is an important corporeal complement to the ontological and epistemological focus on systems, structures, and interconnections of environmental politics. Students of environmental politics must be able to trace interconnections at multiple scales through, for example, global supply chains, global waste flows, the factors influencing global pandemics, and the global carbon budget. A broad ontology that can grasp the interconnections of these urgent, contemporary phenomena is necessary for addressing the environmental politics of the Anthropocene. Contemplative practices can help students counteract the fragmented, reductionistic, disciplinarily siloed worldview view that academia can promote.

In the higher education classroom, contemplative exercises should be non- sectarian. The first practice below is derived from mindfulness meditation, a widely studied secular practice. The second practice comes from a particular ontological and epistemological lineage, drawing on ideas from the eight limbs of yoga, as understood in India, and the Vajrayana Buddhism of the Himalayas and Tibetan Plateau. While emerging from a distinct metaphysical milieu, this practice is not meant to promote specific religious commitments. Rather, it is adopting and adapting cognitive techniques that have been refined over millennia to promote mental, physical, and emotional resilience.

PROJECT INSTRUCTIONS

A curious, open mind on the part of both the instructor and the students facilitates contemplative practice in the classroom. For greatest efficacy, the instructor may wish to experience it for themself, by practicing with one of the meditation apps listed above, or by engaging in mind–body practice such as hatha yoga, tai chi, or the like, before introducing contemplative practice into the classroom. Some experience with contemplative practice will help the instructor become familiar with the various responses that can arise. Having gained introductory familiarity with contemplative practice, the instructor can read the scripts below to guide their students in contemplative journeys. Using a calm, slow voice with low vocal tones will help students relax and turn inward. For a sense of tone and pacing, the instructor can listen to the many online meditation apps, videos, and audio recordings listed in “Online background materials.”

Faculty and students new to contemplative practices may prefer to begin with a simple breath meditation of two to five minutes at the beginning or end of class. At the beginning of class, the breath meditation can allow everyone to fully arrive in the space, physically and mentally, to be prepared for learning. At the end of class, it can allow the day’s material and discussions to be more deeply incorporated into the students’ psychic and somatic experience and create a buffer before the next class. It is important to set aside a designated amount of time so that the practice does not feel rushed.

Instructions for Simple Breath Meditation

In a calm, slow voice, read the following script:

Begin by finding a comfortable position for the body, sitting up straight in a chair, or sitting or lying on the floor, as space and comfort permit.
Feel your sit bones sinking into your chair. [pause]
Allow the chair and Earth below it to support you. [pause]

Feel your body grow heavy as it sinks into the chair. [pause]
Feel your feet planted flat and firmly on the floor. [pause]
You may wish to close your eyes or to have them softly open, gazing downward. [pause]
Lift the crown of your head toward the ceiling, lengthening your spine such that the vertebrae stack one on top of another. [pause]
Lengthen the back of your neck. [pause]
Roll your shoulders back, as if your shoulder blades could touch behind your back. [pause]
Now bring your attention to your breath.
Breathing through your nose, with your mouth closed.
Feel the air entering your nostrils to inflate your lungs.
You might even notice that your ribs move out to the sides as your lungs inflate. Keep your attention on your breath as your lungs deflate and your breath moves out through your nostrils to join the global atmosphere.
Again, feel the air entering your nostrils to inflate your lungs. [pause]
And follow its journey as your lungs deflate and breath moves out through your nostrils.

[REPEAT ONE TO THREE MORE TIMES]

Now, return your attention to your sit bones on the chair. You might wish to wiggle your fingers and toes as you return your awareness to the classroom space. ~END~

Guided Visualization Practice for Building Internal Resilience

The guided visualization practice discussed below is longer, requiring 20–30 minutes to complete. This practice guides students in identifying, observing, and cultivating internal sources of strength and resilience, by bringing their attention and awareness to various areas of the body where they can focus on a particular aspect of personal resilience. Previous student experience with contemplative practice in some form provides a foundation for this longer guided visualization. In large and/or undergraduate courses, it will be helpful to begin with several weeks of practicing the breath meditation discussed above before introducing this longer practice.

This exercise grows out of my lived experience as a dedicated practitioner of hatha yoga and meditation, as well as an environmental studies professor and researcher, over the past two decades. After first learning this exercise in a yoga workshop many years ago, I began to practice it on my own several times a week. From this sustained practice, I noticed that I felt calmer, less overwhelmed, and more creative and flexible in relation to the issues of the environmental degradation and biodiversity loss that filled my days. Having received comments from numerous students about the depressing nature of issues we studied together, I began incorporating the exercise into my graduate seminar “Ecology in a Time of Planetary Crisis” with good results: discussions deepened, students seemed less agitated by the material and collaborated more freely. Intriguingly, the instructor who taught in the room immediately after me said that the room was always very warm when she came in and the air felt “thick.”

Anonymous student evaluations have been overwhelmingly positive. Representative student comments include the following:

‘Engaging in guided meditation at the end of each course often helped restore a sense of peace and centered calmness after what were often emotionally troubling explorations of our planetary situation.’
‘The meditation allowed me to release some of the stress, anger, frustration, and sadness that I had in regard to the heaviness of the course material. We touched on some very tough, but important issues, and it wasn’t always easy to know where or how to direct these emotions. I really looked forward to having the meditations at the end of class as it was a good way to process the material and it helped prepare me to step out and transition into a non-classroom environment.’
‘It [the meditation] also has and continues to allow me more ease in hearing new information on climate change and being able to cope with some of the more challenging perceptions of how it affects our global community. I have learned how to cope better and to have a more constructive discourse about it rather than a reactive one.’
‘We are not robots and it felt really good to have our emotional side taken into consideration. The meditation also made those emotions feel justified, which made the learning process more fluid.’The practice refers to “chakras,” a term that may be unfamiliar to some students. In the ancient meditative and healing traditions of the Indian subcontinent, including yoga and Ayurveda, a chakra (literally “wheel” or “disc” in Sanskrit) is understood to be a center of energy or life force within the body. The seven main chakras are arrayed along the spine, from the base of the spine to the crown of the head. The physical practices of yoga – asanas – are often oriented toward opening or fine-tuning these centers of energy. Students can engage in this practice without being acquainted with chakra theory – the practice guides them to imagine (and perhaps eventually, sense) energy in various parts of their bodies, and cultivate this as internal resilience.

Instructions for Visualization Practice for Building Internal Resilience (allow 20–30 minutes)

Getting situated for the guided visualization: Students may choose to sit in their chairs or on the floor, or, ideally, if space and comfort allow, to lie down. The important thing is that each person is able to choose the most appropriate posture for themself that is comfortable and sustainable over time – and not everyone must assume the same posture. The instructions below are for students sitting in chairs – adapt as needed for those sitting or lying on the floor. The goal in this section is for each person to feel calmly and comfortably supported by the surface below so that they can fully relax. Allow a moment for students to get settled, especially if they have moved around the classroom.

Orientation to the guided visualization

Script: In this guided visualization, there is no need to force any images or ideas – follow my voice and allow any images or sensations that occur to arise. Some of the images may be surprising or unexpected. Try to keep an open mind about these images and follow where they may lead. Save the analysis and interpretation for journaling, conversations, or a group discussion [as the instructor chooses] after the exercise is complete. Try to stick with the exercise, but if you find that you are not able to, just sit quietly.

To get started, plant your feet firmly on the ground [if students are sitting – adapt as needed for other postures]. Feel all four corners of each foot rooting into the ground, giving you a solid connection to the floor below you and to the Earth below that. Next, feel your sit bones sinking down into your chair. Try to sit evenly on each sit bone, so that you are not listing to one side. With your sitting bones firmly planted, lift and lengthen your spine directly out of your pelvis, creating space between each vertebra. Feel as though there’s a string attached to the crown of your head that is pulling the crown of your head – but not your chin – upward and lengthening your spine. Ideally, you are now in a fairly comfortable and stable position. You can rest your hands in your lap or on your knees. If you need to adjust or shift at all to get more comfortable, make the necessary adjustments.

(This first set of instructions guides the students into relaxed calm awareness of the body and the breath, allowing tension to dissipate from the body.)

Now, bring your attention to your nose, and the breath as it enters and leaves your body. Follow the breath in through your nose, down to your lungs as it fills the belly, and your chest rises, and then out through your nose. Try to feel the play of breath around your nostrils and upper lip. Get curious about where the breath goes as it enters your body. Where can you feel the breath? What does it feel like? What are its qualities? With each breath, follow the breath in, see where it goes in your body, and follow it out. Your mind may start to wander. When that happens, gently return your mind to the breath and continue breathing. Each time the mind wanders away gently bring it back. Don’t scold yourself – you’ll only create dislike of contemplative practice. Instead, note that your mind is thinking again – say “thinking” to yourself – and return to the breath. Over time, this practice develops stability and calmness of the mind, which can be useful in all kinds of situations.

With the breath slow and calm, we will begin to allow the muscles of the body to relax.

Bring your attention to your feet, and allow the muscles in your feet to relax … (pause one or two breaths)
Bring your attention to your ankles, and allow your ankles to relax …
(pause one or two breaths)

Allow your calves to relax …
(pause one or two breaths)
Allow your knees to relax …
(pause one or two breaths)
Allow your thighs to relax …
(pause one or two breaths)
Allow your seat and lower abdomen to relax … (pause one or two breaths)

Allow your chest to relax and expand, becoming capable of taking in more breath …
(pause one or two breaths)
Bring your attention to your shoulders – feel them relax away from your ears as your shoulder blades slide down your back …(pause one or two breaths)
Feel the muscles in your arms and hands relax so your hands become heavy and warm …
(pause one or two breaths)
Bring your attention to your neck and throat. Feel your neck relax and let your head float above your spine …
(pause one or two breaths)
Let your eyeballs sink back in your eye sockets – let the skin around your eyes relax and soften …
(pause one or two breaths)
Let your forehead soften. Let your tongue soften away from the roof of your mouth.
(pause one or two breaths)
Now bring your attention to the base of your spine, the area around your tailbone. This is the location of the first chakra, the root chakra. In the ancient Ayurvedic healing tradition of India, chakras can be visualized as different energies that you draw upon and send out into the world.

The root chakra is visualized as a red swirling, glowing ball of light. Imagine a red glowing ball of energy and light at the base of your spine. The first chakra is associated with home, family, territory, grounding, belonging, survival … Being rooted in place or home … Imagine a red swirling, glowing ball of energy and light. Is it strong/weak? Intense/quiet? Expansive/contracted? Notice what you imagine or perceive.

Next, bring your attention to your lower abdomen. This is the location of the second chakra. The second chakra is visualized as an orange swirling, glowing ball of light. Imagine an orange glowing ball of energy and light in your lower abdomen. The second chakra is associated with creativity, fertility, fecundity, generativity. It is the creative void. Seeds of ideas, seeds of inspiration, seeds of growth and generativity arise from the second chakra. Imagine an orange swirling, glowing ball of energy and light. Is it strong/weak? Intense/quiet? Expansive/contracted? Notice what you visualize.
Next, bring your attention to your solar plexus, the area just above yourbelly button. This is the location of the third chakra. The third chakra is visualized as a yellow swirling, glowing ball of light. Imagine a yellow glowing ball of energy and light in the center of your abdomen. The third chakra is associated with power, force, and will. The third chakra is associated with the will to meet your goals and embrace your own power, living out your own purpose. Imagine a yellow swirling, glowing ball of energy and light. Is it strong/weak? Intense/quiet? Expansive/contracted? Notice what you imagine.
Next, bring your attention to the center of your chest. This is the location of the fourth chakra, the heart chakra. The fourth chakra is visualized as a green swirling, glowing ball of energy and light. Imagine a green glowing ball of energy and light in your chest. The fourth chakra is associated with love, kindness, affection, appreciation, compassion. Imagine a green swirling, glowing ball of energy and light. Is it strong/weak? Intense/quiet? Expansive/contracted? Notice what you imagine.
Next, bring your attention to the area at the base of your throat. This is the location of the fifth chakra. The fifth chakra is visualized as a blue swirling, glowing ball of energy and light. Imagine a blue glowing ball of energy and light at the base of your throat. The fifth chakra is associated with speaking, singing, language, and communication: speaking your truth, letting your voice flourish, communicating with others. Imagine a blue swirling, glowing ball of energy and light. Is it strong/weak? Intense/quiet? Expansive/contracted? Notice what you imagine.
Next, bring your attention to the center of your forehead. This is the location of the sixth chakra. The sixth chakra is visualized as an indigo swirling, glowing ball of energy and light. Imagine an indigo glowing ball of energy and light in the center of your forehead. The sixth chakra is associated with intuition, insight, wisdom, intelligence, and foresight. Imagine an indigo swirling, glowing ball of energy and light. Is it strong/ weak? Intense/quiet? Expansive/contracted? Notice what you imagine.
Finally, bring your attention to the crown of your head. This is the location of the seventh chakra, the crown chakra. The seventh chakra is visualized as a clear or white swirling, glowing ball of energy and light, streaming from the top of your head. Imagine this glowing ball of energy and light emitting from the crown of your head. The seventh chakra is associated with connection to the entirety of the universe. The crown chakra connects us to all the richness, wonder, and abundance of this world, our solar system, our galaxy, and beyond. Imagine a clear or white swirling, glowing beam of energy and light streaming from the top of your head. Is it strong/weak? Intense/quiet? Expansive/contracted? Notice what you imagine.

Now we have traveled the length of the chakras, from the base of the spine to the crown of the head, and everywhere in between. You can return to these centers of energy and insight at any time; but for now, slowly bring your attention back into the rest of your body, and back to the classroom and the present space and time. As you return your attention to your body, you might wish to wiggle your fingers and toes to slowly awaken your body. You might wish to stretch or yawn as your awareness returns to your body.

As you feel ready, you can begin to move about the classroom quietly, and begin to collect your things. Thank you for participating in this interior journey today. See you next time!

~END~

ADDRESSING COMMON CHALLENGES

Like any new skill, repetition is required to gain efficacy, facility, and confidence. Trying something new, outside one’s comfort zone, has pedagogical value in stretching the zone of tolerance. Frustration and resistance are part of the educational process, and here too, repeated exposure and repetition will be required before contemplative practices feel comfortable. Regular practice trains and disciplines the mind to not be alarmed about trying new and difficult things. It is common to be unable to relax some part of the body or to feel tension or discomfort in some area. Students should know that this does not indicate a problem. Instead, students could try approaching the tense area with a sense of curiosity and acceptance.

Some people report that sitting in quiet contemplation is one of the most difficult things they have ever done. Some students have questioned whether these exercises are a waste of time. Connecting contemplative practice with the learning goals of the course, and discussing the scientific evidence that supports the efficacy of contemplative practice, can help build student trust in integrating contemplative practice into the course. Students may feel irritated, angry, annoyed, bored, or impatient during contemplative exercises. The instructor can encourage students to allow these emotions and sensations to arise if they appear, and then let them fall away without judgment, evaluation, or concern, and return the attention to the breath. In this way, the student can notice that thoughts and sensations come and go and need not command their focus or seize their attention. Instead, these thoughts, sensations, and emotions can be allowed to float away, like a white cloud into a blue sky. No particular results or epiphanies should be expected; especially at first, when it is very difficult to keep the mind from wandering.

REFLECTIONS ON EQUITY IN THE CLASSROOM

Students from different backgrounds may experience contemplative practices and meditation differently. Students are offered a non-coercive invitation to join the contemplative practice but are free to sit quietly if they don’t wish to participate. To create an atmosphere of safety, it is important that contemplative exercises are not mandatory, and that the instructor provides the choice to “opt-out” as necessary.

Students who have experienced trauma may not feel safe in their bodies and may find it uncomfortable bringing attention and awareness to the sensations of the body. These students may wish to sit quietly, or even be excused from the classroom, if they find internal bodily sensations to be too overwhelming or triggering (LePera, 2021). Keeping the eyes softly open to focus the gaze on a nonhuman object in the room, such as a battery-operated candle or a plant, can help students manage this intensity. Attending to sensations outside the body, such as the feeling of the body on the seat or floor, or awareness of sounds beyond the speaker’s voice – such as traffic or birds outside the class- room – is another way to reduce the intensity of the exercise.

To bring about justice in the climate changed era, environmental politics must move away from austere restriction and self-denial toward a recognition of the interweaving of human and ecological well-being. Practices that reduce burnout in the classroom can restore vitality for students and faculty, sustaining social and ecological commitments into the future. Engaging in contemplative practice is one way to build personal resilience and sustainability, putting on one’s own “oxygen mask” first, while also engaging in collective repair and promoting change. As activists and Black feminists have long known, the cultivation of relaxation, restoration, and even joy is necessary for personal resilience. The anarchist activist Emma Goldman is remembered for the proclamation that dance was a necessary part of any revolution she would join. The feminist author Audre Lorde wrote in 1988: “Overextending myself is not stretching myself. I had to accept how difficult it is to monitor the difference. … Caring for myself is not self-indulgence, it is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.” Shifting the socially and environmentally destructive status quo requires the most resourceful and innovative “political warfare” possible. Contemplative practices arise from age-old wisdom traditions that have stabilized minds, hearts, and bodies, allowing for new insights, and sustaining practitioners through millennia of upheaval and tumult in cultures around the world. These practices can contribute to cultivating more sustainable and resilient environmental advocates. Self-care, then, is a path of sustaining and regenerating the self in community – which is ultimately care for the collective – required to shift society toward a path of just and equitable flourishing for all planetary life.

REFERENCES

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Gorski, P. C., & Chen, C. (2015). “Frayed all over”: the causes and consequences of activist burnout among social justice education activists. Educational Studies, 51(5), 385–405.

Hickman, C., Marks, E., Pihkala, P., Clayton, S., Lewandowski, R. E., Mayall, E. E., et al. (2021). Climate anxiety in children and young people and their beliefs about government responses to climate change: a global survey. The Lancet Planetary Health, 5(12), e863–e873.

LePera, N. (2021). How to Do the Work: Recognize Your Patterns, Heal from Your Past, and Create Your Self. Harper Wave.

Lertzman, R. (2015). Environmental Melancholia: Psychological Dimensions of Engagement. Routledge.

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Nagoski, E., & Nagoski, A. (2020). Burnout: The Secret to Unlocking the Stress Cycle. Ballantine Books.

Palmer, P. J., Zajonc, A., & Scribner, M. (2010). The Heart of Higher Education: A Call to Renewal: Transforming the Academy Through Collegial Conversations. Jossey-Bass.

Richardson, J. H. (2015). When the end of human civilization is your day job. Esquire, August.

Wapner, P. (2016). Contemplative environmental studies: pedagogy for self and planet. The Journal of Contemplative Inquiry, 3(1), 67–83.