How everyday mindfulness improves everything about camp
Two gurus passed away in 2022, leaving behind an international legacy of health and happiness. Vietnamese Buddhist monk and peace activist, Thích Nhất Hạnh, and American medical doctor and cardiologist, Herbert Benson, both wrote and spoke prolifically on mindfulness and its many benefits. Although neither worked directly with summer camps, their recommended practices are a perfect complement to camps’ existing programming, starting right now, during staff training.
Mindfulness At Camp?
Oxford Languages defines mindfulness as “a mental state achieved by focusing one’s awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one’s feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique.” Maybe you know about mindfulness; maybe you don’t. Like other worthwhile skills, it takes some practice; unlike some skills, however, it’s fun, fast, and free, so it can enhance the camp experience without touching the budget.
Nhất Hạnh’s approach to mindfulness was derived from Hindu and Buddhist religious traditions and so incorporates peaceful meditation with a search for moral clarity. In contrast, Benson’s approach was derived from his secular, medical research on patients with high blood pressure. Both men are credited for infusing Western health practices with Eastern wellness traditions. Both men hosted and posted excellent demonstrations and lectures of their approaches online. I recommend any videos featuring Nhất Hạnh or Benson as starting points for readers interested in their similarities and differences.
Tap The Brakes
At day camps and overnight camps worldwide, owners and directors succumb to packing exuberant activities into every second of campers’ waking hours. Don’t believe me? Watch the promotional videos on the websites of ten random camps. Even the videos themselves have frenetic editing and up-tempo soundtracks, so prospective campers can feel the frenzy that’s in store for them. Just marketing, you say? Partly, but the fever pitch is real at most camps, most of the time. And although the whirlwind can be exhilarating, it is healthy to temper the tempest with quality downtime.
This year, teach camp staff some mindfulness practices to offset the physically strenuous and mentally taxing training already on the syllabus. Not only will these add balance to staff preparation, but it will also give them some wonderful skills to share with campers.
Primary Source Materials
From the masters themselves, here are straightforward instructions to a life of appreciation, presence, and well-being:
