NATIONAL MINDFULNESS DISCUSSION SERIES: MINDFULNESS IN THE EDUCATION SYSTEM

Come join us on Zoom for our second panel session of MCC’s Mindfulness Discussion Series. 

Mindfulness in the Education System in Canada: How intregrated it is so far?

How do we instill Mindfulness practice in early life stages, creating mindful teachers, mindful parents, and mindful youth? Can we cultivate a mindful society by starting with a mindful child?

The three speakers being interviewed are the following: 

Heidi Bornstien, RP

Heidi Bornstien, RP, CYA-E-RYT GOLD, founder and acting Executive Director of Mindfulness Everyday, a registered Canadian charity, has an extensive background in mindfulness, yoga, and meditation.

Mindfulness Everyday has partnered with Mindfulness Council of Canada (MCC) to be our Nurturing Charity, guiding our steps toward our own charity status, and receiving donations on our behalf as we navigate the process. Heidi is also aiding and guiding our organization in our development and growth. MCC is extremely grateful for her heartfelt support.

Heidi is a certified MBSR (Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction) Level 1 teacher, Hatha Yoga Teacher, Meditation and Level 2 SMARTeducation – Stress Managements and Resiliency Techniques for Educators (SMART) Facilitator and an Instructor for University of Toronto, School of Continuing Studies.

Dr. Shelley Murphy, PhD

Dr. Shelley Murphy is a Certified Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness Teacher, Teacher Educator, researcher, and author. She is a former elementary teacher and current Faculty Member in the Department of Curriculum, Teaching and Learning at OISE/University of Toronto where she developed and teaches courses in the Theory and Practice of Mindfulness in Education and Mental Health and Wellbeing. She has been practicing and teaching mindfulness for over 20 years.

Shelley is a Professional Member of the International Mindfulness Teachers Association (CMT-P) and the American Mindfulness Research Association (AMRA). She has researched and published on the benefits of mindfulness in K-12 and higher education settings and for children and youth undergoing cancer therapies.

Shelley’s writing has also been featured in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Happy Teachers Change the World, The Mindfulness Bell, and The EdCan Network: Mindfulness in K-12 Teaching and Learning. Shelley facilitates a monthly Mindfulness Community of Practice for Educators and offers workshops and training to individuals, schools, and organizations. She is the recipient of A Mindful Society’s 2019 Michele Chaban Spirit of Leadership Award for her work and research in the field; her book on mindfulness for children in classroom settings and beyond, Fostering Mindfulness, was published by Pembroke Publishers. Find more information about Shelley at www.fosteringmindfulness.ca

Seonaigh MacPherson, PhD

Seonaigh MacPherson, Ph.D., Professor of Adult and Higher Education at the University of the Fraser Valley, has practiced mindfulness for over 45 years across Buddhist and secular-scientific sources. She taught and studied with Tibetan refugees in the Indian Himalayas for many years, including with HH Dalai Lama and the late Ven. Tara Rinpoche, culminating in a Ph.D. from the University of British Columbia in 2000. Later, as a certified MBSR and MBCT teacher and clinical counsellor, she introduced for-credit MBSR, MBCT, and other courses in higher education. She is currently collaborating on research with the University of Waterloo to investigate the value of such for-credit courses for the mental health and mindfulness of university students. She has trained teachers from across Canada to apply mindfulness in both pre-K-12 and higher education as a professor and coordinator of the first for-credit graduate certificate in mindfulness in Canada. She is author of a range of scholarly articles and books on mindfulness, including the 2023 Routledge book Mindfulness-Based Teaching and Learning: Preparing Mindfulness Specialists for Education and Clinical Care. Currently, she lives in Chilliwack BC, on the unceded territories of the Sto:lo peoples, with her dog, Karma.

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