Mindfulness can affect us in many positive ways:

• Increases introspection- become more self-ware
• Increases immune response/ improves health in general
• Can be used to treat issues such as depression, PTSD, ADD, and dyslexia
• Calming oneself/ reducing stress
• Increasing memory, focus and attention
• Promotes compassion
• Improves relationships

The following video describes how meditating can make you more social. Being without social connections is more detrimental to your health than smoking or obesity, therefore meditation can add years to your life and enhance the quality of those years.

Mindfulness in Schools: Richard Burnett at TEDxWhitechapel

Mindful Schools/Programs and Centers for Mindfulness and Compassion

Mindful Schools
A non-profit organization that teaches educators, social workers, psychologists, and parents how to use mindfulness with students in grades K-12. Their mission is to help lead the integration of mindfulness into education. They offer professional training, in-class instruction, and other resources to support mindfulness in education. http://www.mindfulschools.org

The Hawn Foundation
Research-based training program for educators and children. This program is composed of 15 lessons based in neuroscience.
http://thehawnfoundation.org/

Holistic Life Foundation
A Baltimore-based 501(c) (3) nonprofit organization committed to nurturing the wellness of children and adults in underserved communities. Through a comprehensive approach that helps children develop their inner lives through yoga, mindfulness, and self-care HLF demonstrates deep commitment to learning, community, and stewardship of the environment. HLF is also committed to developing high-quality evidence based programs and curriculum to improve community well being.
http://hlfinc.org/

The Inner Kids Program
Teaches children a new type of ABCs: Attention, balance, and compassion. The children also learn to become more in tune with other people’s emotions, perspectives and worldviews. The outside-of-school classes lengthen as the children grow older and teach practices of kindness, compassion, gratitude, and emphasize the importance of community service and compassionate action. http://www.susankaisergreenland.com/inner-kids-program.html

The Inner Resilience Program
Originally founded to mend the community of the NYC schools affected by the terrorist attacks of September 11th, 2001. However, when the education community saw the valuables of the program, they insisted that these methods be used in the classroom as well so that they could teach students inner resilience; and thus a new classroom curriculum that incorporated these contemplative practices, was written up and has already been used in a few schools. Studies have shown that teachers who have practiced contemplative thought are less stressful, more mindful, and maintain greater relational trust with the students and co-workers, whereas beforehand, the teachers were too overwhelmed with their own stress to pay attention to how they were teaching students or interacting with other faculty.
http://www.innerresilience-tidescenter.org/

Stanford University School of Medicine
The Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education
http://ccare.stanford.edu/

Oxford University: The Oxford Mindfulness Centre
http://oxfordmindfulness.org/

UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center
http://marc.ucla.edu/

University of Massachusetts Medical School Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society
http://www.umassmed.edu/cfm/index.aspx

University of Wisconsin- Madison
The Center for Investigating Healthy Minds at the Waisman Center http://www.investigatinghealthyminds.org/