Elevate educators, students, and communities
Gain greater self-awareness, focus, connection, and emotional regulation.
"America is very much oriented toward materialistic life. That culture generates too much stress, anxiety and jealously. My No. 1 commitment is to promote awareness of our inner values." From kindergarten onward, children should be taught about "taking care of emotion." The Dalai Lama
Elevate Education through research-based practices rooted in ancient wisdom to address the current mental health crisis. Educators and students face increased overwhelm, anxiety, depression, and isolation. Empower your community with proven resources to elevate awareness with guided practice of gratitude, body scan, visualization, mindful movement, relaxation, and affirmation. These mind, body, and breathing strategies improve executive functions and performance while enhancing the ability to manage emotions, and act with more intention towards oneself, others, and the environment.
Experience 26 fun and easy-to-do strategies that engage and empower educators and students with skills to enhance presence and improve emotional wellbeing in the classroom and at home.
Discover A-Z Mindfulness and expanded the capacity to learn and maximize potential for growth and transformation. Through daily practice and repetition neural pathways expand improving focus, memory, and the ability to self-regulate. Mindful moments become a welcome pause in the day to ground educators and calm students, setting the stage for improved interpersonal skills and learning readiness. These invaluable resources can be used almost anytime and anywhere empower students, educators, and their families with stress-management skills to access at home, in class, and throughout life.
Online and in-person programs available. Professional development, staff workshops, and classroom instruction available. Contact us to transform the classroom, school, or district into a peaceful, compassionate, and focused learning environment and Elevate Education!
Mindful Students Social and Emotional Learning in the Classroom and Beyond and A-Z Mindful Me
Mindful Students Social and Emotional Learning in the Classroom and Beyond
26 clear, concise mindfulness scripts to guide practice for students and grown-ups.
A-Z Mindful Me
Illustrated, rhyming, colorful introduction to fun, engaging, and empowering mindfulness strategies.
"These books rock. I use them ALL the time." Barbara Pesci Rosenberg, RN, RYT, PreK-5 Educator
"Our family loves A-Z Mindful Me! Our 5 year old daughter can't wait as we go through the alphabet. It is perfect for what she is learning in school right now. The author, Lani, has done a great job as her techniques are engaging and easy to follow. As a family, we set aside time together to practice being mindful with the guidance of this awesome book. Thank you!" Brian, Parent
" I have an eleven year old son and he doesn’t loose his temper but he does get stressed as we all do. A-Z Mindful Me has wonderful mindfulness practice guides to help you give your kids some activities to find balance, clear their thoughts and be calm. Have to say that these are also great practices for adults, sometimes I shut my office at work…think of who or what is sitting on that cloud and blow it away. A smart, easy read for all ages!" Eve Katz, Parent
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Transform a classroom, school, or district and Elevate Education.
Professional development training and support, scripted teaching manuals, books, activities, instructional videos, accountability, and community collaboration.
Testimonials
Educators...what did you notice?
Students...what did you like best?
Educators...what did you notice?
When we started a virtual training the internal weather was described as "partly cloudy, a little overcast, mental thunderstorms, slightly stressed." 20- minutes into the session after practicing strategies attendees reported feeling, "calm, reflective, positive, content, productive." Head Start, Indianapolis
"It helps to feel more grounded. Soothing and calming. Thank you! This was great." Michelle Allen, Head Start
"It helps me to reset." Carmen, Head Start
"It helped me close out the other distracting noises around me." Suzann Simmon, Head Start
"I feel content and at ease in my stomach and light all over my body. Everything feels quiet." HAMPAD, Head Start
"I am feeling peaceful and relaxed." Kenneth Scott, Head Start
"I feel peaceful and grateful." Patricia Ballard, Head Start
"I feel grateful for life and the calmness I have now." Lipeaches, Head Start
"As a school social worker for 20+ years, I fully endorse that every family in America use A-Z Mindfulness. Teaching these mindfulness strategies is not just good for you, it's good for all of us." - David Temkin, CPS Social Worker
"I was in a classroom using the breathing techniques taught. It was great to see staff applying what they learned so quickly. Taking time to be mindful is so important for kids and adults. Thank you again for sharing this experience with us." -Elementary School Principal, Deerfield, IL
"Your services are in high demand-word spreads fast!" -Ginny, Elementary School Principal
"Everyone enjoyed your lessons. We've talked about "letting thoughts go" and use bee buzzing breath. I still hear the kids talking about ocean breathing! They continue to practice the techniques that are so pertinent to everyday life." -Emily, Elementary School Social Worker
"Lani presented a 30-minute interactive class with Latino elementary children on mindfulness. None of the children knew that that word meant. Through her fun, engaging, and interactive activities, by the end of the session, they understood not only what the term meant but gained practices on how to be mindful.
She is an effective presenter who met the kids where they were at and changed how she presented her material as she gauged what they responded best to."-Nancy Grace Marder, Executive Director, Infinity Foundation
"Students took away strategies that they use during preparation for finals. My 9th and 10th graders start each after school session with 2 minutes of mindfulness! My staff loves it and say it totally gets them refocused!" -Julie, School Director, Schuler Scholar Program
"We have loved having Lani's A-Z Mindfulness at the library. I am blown away by how insightful the kids are, regardless of age (K-5) or experience, as Lani patiently leads them through each exercise. By the end of (the half hour) class, students are able to go around and share things they may not have been aware of before they started. It's great for them to be able to walk away with techniques they can practice at home when needed." Amanda Lopez, Youth Services Programming Specialist, Northbrook Public Library
"I like the face-to-face time my students and I had with an "expert" to lead us." -Kahn, 1st grade teacher
"Students enjoy practicing what they've learned and are able to utilize these skills with my help." -3rd grade teacher, Northbrook, IL
"Students learned valuable tools to help them deal with real life situations and presenter was very aware/receptive to how first graders act. " -1st grade teacher, Highland Park, IL
"Thank you for teaching us breathing exercises that help us stay mindful. Our favorite ones were "energy ball" and "imagine". We will use these all year! -1st grade teacher, Room 11
"Sitting in on Lani's class for 3-5 year olds is always inspirational for me. She expands my belief in what is possible to do with this age group. She gets these very young children to work together: holding hands, making circles, making space for each other. She uses many techniques so the children become aware of themselves and the space around them-stories, imaging, sound, silence and playfulness. I am amazed that her focus on breath and body awareness never wavers and she has a never ending repertoire of methods to keep the kids moving together meaningfully. Her ability to direct the group by using their innate desire to connect is magical to watch. " Anna Fillmore, Youth Librarian, Northbrook Public Library
"Peaceful, energetic, connecting, self-awareness, calming, thoughtful, helpful, fun, relaxing, informative, calm, enjoyable, wonderful, mindful, awareness provoking, I AM GRATEFUL, educational, loving, joyful, interesting, grounding, wellness, and revolutionary." -UIC School of Public Heath Staff and Students describe experience
"Wonderful, enlightening, joyous, great energy, energetic, needed, and extremely well done." COSEM (Coalition of Schools Educating Mindfully) conference attendees
PARENTS....
"We are relying on mindfulness during these crazy times (stay at home order). We are doing "Happy/Healthy" many days. My 5th grade son Harrison said he thinks we should all be our own best friend when we can't see our friends in person so we did Note to Self. Many thanks for these helpful, impactful and fun approaches to staying connected." -Emily, parent K, 3, 5
"A nice breakdown of mindfulness skills for kids. Lani is good at engaging all the kids and playing to the whole age range. Our class was mostly 6 year olds and she was very patient with them, but the class was also engaging enough that the older kid who was in the group was also into it. We can't wait to come back!" -Outschool parent of 6 year old learner
"Thank you for a great course, Lani! Connor would tell me about all of the techniques he had learned after each class. I look forward to sharing some of them with my students during school counseling sessions." -Michelle, Outschool parent of 12 year old and School Social Worker
" I just want to thank you for introducing the A-Z Mindfulness program in my classroom last year! I have been opening each morning and afternoon class with a mindful moment alphabet letter. The kids just LOVE getting in their "mindful bodies" and starting off class time with a clear mind." -Stephanie, Winnetka teacher
"I was actually teaching a small group kids yoga this morning and we practiced "A" (awareness), so I go back to these strategies and find them incredibly helpful." -Emily, Yoga teacher, and mother of 3
Teachers...what did you notice?
Students...what did you like best?
Educators...what did you notice?
"In 2020 I was introduced to Lani and her A-Z Mindfulness practice. I had not used mindfulness as a tool for my students until Lani came in and led weekly sessions by going through the alphabet. After the first session, I noticed an excitement in my students. I was thrilled because not only was it fun, but it was so useful in everyday life. I knew that being able to regulate breathing and emotions was going to come in handy.
It is now two years later and I use the A-Z Mindfulness book everyday. I even used it when we had to go remote due to COVID. I had to decide what to keep and what to let go of during that time, and this practice was definitely something to keep! Each morning we begin the day with one of the practices. The kids are eager to learn these fun and necessary skills and the practices teaches children lifelong skills for coping with stress and encourages the idea that you have control over your own emotions. THANK YOU COACH LANI!" -Stephanie Conran, 3rd grade teacher, Winnetka
"Our school uses a social-emotional learning program to help support our students, but I quickly felt the need for something more to help teach mindfulness as well. My students were particularly distracted in the afternoons and we needed a way to refocus and reset for the rest of the school day. After a professional development with Lani I began using her A-Z Mindfulness book, beginning at A for Awareness and working through a letter a week. At first many of my students had difficulty with sitting still and focusing their attention inward. I kept at it and by the time we got to letter D I began to see a huge change in my students! It is almost as if it is a different classroom; they can sit quietly, breathing with their eyes closed and follow along with the age-appropriate prompts. We discuss their experiences after our sessions, and the kids report feeling calm, happy, and peaceful. They now look forward to our Mindfulness time will not let me skip it! I am so grateful to have such an amazing tool that taught my students how to quiet their bodies and minds so they can refocus and feel good inside! Thanks for making such a difference in my classroom. I have to share, so many of them told me that they used belly breathing over the break to help them with frustration, sleep and concentration. One of them had a nightmare and used Cloud meditation to get rid of the thoughts so he could go back to sleep! I had goosebumps!" -Katie Jenkins, 2nd grade teacher, District 103
"I have 2 kids in my class that I often use belly breaths along with cloud meditation when they are feeling upset/frustrated and therefore unavailable to learn. This helps them tremendously so THANK YOU!" -Sofia, 1st grade teacher, Deerfield
"Better decision making, not so quick to blame peers." -Schlemm, 4th grade teacher
"Breathing techniques to help relax. The
kids seemed to like them and thought they worked." -Muller, 2nd grade teacher
"It was easy to do. I liked the term ocean breath-that term in itself is relaxing." -all level teacher, Lake Forest, IL
"Reminder of importance of breathing and mindfulness-it works!" -Preschool Aide, Lake Forest, IL
"Presenter was very age appropriate and used developmentally appropriate instruction and strategies." -Delli, Kindergarten teacher
"Thanks you for helping us find ways to be mindful. We feel ready to learn when we are clam and relaxed. We learned so many ways to stay focused and calm." -Bricker, 1st grade teacher
"The instructor was very thoughtful about how to present this material to my class. She made it relevant and meaningful, the students were able to walk away knowing how to use some of these strategies. We implemented ocean breathing and are using some of the same language in our daily dialogue to tap out distractions and put our energy into what we need to be focused on." -3rd grade teacher, Lake Forest, IL
"Mindfulness is a skill that the kids will use for the rest of their lives. I enjoyed watching the way you interacted with the kids." -John, P.E. Teacher
"The kids love it." -2nd grade teacher, Lincolnshire, IL
"Students were engrossed in your instruction and continued to talk about practices throughout the day. I loved the idea of continuing to focus on Awareness this week and journaling Friday. " -2nd grade teacher, Hickory Point
"Lani is amazing with the kids. No matter what age she works with she shows them how to be mindful."- Kyle Weinstein, Preschool Teacher, Highland Park, IL
"Thank you so much! I asked the kids what they thought. They loved your energy and at the same time your calmness...From the mouth of babes (or just 3rd graders)."-Stephanie Conran, Greeley
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
"I can't tell you how much my staff enjoyed working with you! They returned to school yesterday full of excitement, energized and ready to implement mindfulness into their daily routines." -Tammi Adkins, GJK Director
"After Zen I am, I realized there's a lot I like about myself and times I've used Imagination to relax myself in my very hectic life, it really helps!" Jodi Max, Teacher Children's Center Lakeside
"I realized that I can be in a relaxed state, what a nice feeling it is! This is something I can practice on my own for a short period of time each day. My mental health deserves it, I deserve it!" Amy Young, Teacher Children's Center Lakeside
"I realized there is a lot to be said for breathing deep and relaxing. I picture a Zen moment when I can see myself in another part of the world." Holly Ginsberg, Teacher Children's Center Lakeside
"The breathing exercises helps me to relax right before bedtime and I love the calmness." Sheri Tabas, Teacher Children's Center Lakeside
"Needed, valuable, transformative, purposeful, intriguing, adaptable, powerful, emotional, empowering, life-changing, amazing". Lincolnshire District 103 Staff
"Grateful, invigorating, community building, healing, rejuvenated, collaborating, awakening and relaxing." Lincolnshire District 103 Staff
"It was the best PD yet. I enjoyed going through the alphabet together because I was able to practice each step. Every minute with Lani and colleagues was special and productive. The mindfulness practices are so beneficial for students and teachers alike." Jenny Larsen, 1st grade teacher
"Informative, enlightening, insightful." Shri RYT Trainees
Students...what did you like best?
Students...what did you like best?
Students...what did you like best?
"I feel happy, balanced, peaceful, and relaxed." -6th grade student after a video call
"I love deep breathing, it makes me feel calm. I will do breathing at my house." -Henry, 1st grade
"Thank you for teaching me mindful techniques. It was fun. My favorite part of the letters was C (cloud meditation)."-Christopher, 1st grade
"I liked bee buzzing because it feels silly on your neck." -Lucy, 1st grade
"I been doing mindfulness at home. It's been calming me down." -Mia, 1st grade
"I love the ocean breath. It makes me feel calm." -Katelyn, 1st grade
"Thanks for teaching us 4-4-4, it make me happy." -Jake, 1st grade
"I loved the 4-4-4 because it makes me feel strong." -Rachel, 1st grade
"I had fun. I loved how you teach us! Most of all I like the Yellow Mellow." -Aris, 1st grade
”I feel like I was sitting on a cloud and floating. It was relaxing.“ -Greely, 2nd grade
”When I was bee buzzing I felt like I was on a rock in a field with wind and weeds and I felt super calm.” -Alex, 2nd grade
"When I practice Awareness, my body is relaxed, my breath is free and my mind is focused and clear. I feel relaxed, calm and fresh. It felt really good to take a calm brake and have time to notice what I'm feeling without rushing. I can practice Awareness on busy days when I'm stressed or when I don't know what I'm truly feeling." -Mary, 5th grade
"We learned how to think about our positive feelings. We also learned how to take away bad feelings and thoughts. We enjoyed taking 5, it helped calm our bodies. " 2nd grade class, Cherokee
"When I practice Awareness, I am aware of my surroundings. My body is calm and collected and my breath is slow and relaxed. I feel great and ready for anything because I am calm and aware. I can practice after school and before homework." 4th grade girl, Kipling
"Jiggle jam makes my body active then calm and breath free. I feel happy and am having fun because I'm "fire-working" stress off. It's fun, active and let's me express everything because it lets off unhappiness. I can practice when I have thoughts to let out." 5th grade girl, Northbrook
"When I practice imagine my thoughts are calm, happy and relaxed because I am thinking positive and it puts a good image in my head." 5th grader
"When I practice X-traordinary my body feels calm and happy, my breath is on beat and my mind is focused on things that I've accomplished, not things that I need to do. I am thinking positively about myself. This makes me feel awesome, complete, happy, unique, and really good about myself." 6th grader
"Heart Awareness makes my body feel calm and collected and my breath feels balanced. My thoughts are gone because I'm focused on my breath. I feel calm and refreshed." 6th grader
"I enjoyed learning about mindfulness and trying all the techniques. I was surprised at how many lessons there were." 11th grade, Schuler Scholar
"It was a fun experience. I enjoyed the knowledge I was able to receive." 11th grader
"I liked acting out each technique and practicing with peers." Schuler Scholar
"I've practiced going to my ideal space, creating a stress cloud and blowing it away." Schuler Scholar
(PE Special Ed teacher)I showed them Energy Ball and asked them what they felt; "It feels like slime and I can make it bigger and smaller, tingling, burning, electricity coming from my hands, a big bubble. It was a lot of fun!"
"When I practice Gratitude my body feel positive and warm because I am giving myself time to feel grateful. My breath feels calm and clear because I am getting a fresh start. My thoughts are giving and selfless because I am being kind to others which also makes me feel good. I feel kind and powerful which tells me I am giving myself a confidence booster. I will practice Gratitude when I am stressed, unhappy or guilty." 6th grader
"Lion's Breath makes me have no more bad feelings and I feel happy after." -2nd grader
"I'll practice Jiggle Jam when I need to forget about bad feelings. It makes my body feel free." -2nd grader
"At the beginning of the Zoom meeting I felt OK, but then the meeting started and I suddenly felt calm and thankful for having these techniques to help me and make me feel more comfortable. When the meeting ended, I felt positive and aware of what was going on in my body. I felt happy to realize what was going on in my body and out. I can't wait to do it again and am so relieved to have this opportunity. " - Emily 12-year old during Covid-19 crisis
"I thought it was a good class to learn all of these mindfulness activities of the alphabet. Lani was a good teacher and she taught me a few different and interesting techniques. I liked a lot of them. I recommend this class to other children. " Conner 12 year old Outschool
"Thank you for all the amazing breathing techniques you taught me! They have really been helpful in lowering my anxiety in these unprecedented times. The tools you have taught me are invaluable and I use them on a daily bases when going to bed, watching the news, and even completing my homework. I cannot thank you enough for how much you have impacted my life for the better. I am now able to regulate my anxiety with 26 mindfulness techniques that I have on my own personal tool belt. Thank you." Jonathan, Sophomore during Pandemic 1-on-1 Zoom sessions
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