Meditation techniques are being used in schools across the country. A study by the University of California-Davis shows meditation practices actually triple students’ ability to focus and participate in class activities. Fourth graders meditating? Kindergartners practicing mindful breathing? It’s not a big deal at Harris Hill Elementary School in Pennfield, New York. Every class there has students doing both practices. As a consequence, “They’re less impulsive with one another, they think more deliberately about their words before they speak, so it definitely spills into the daily routines,” said 4th grade teacher Heidi Palmiero-Potter. “Mindfulness can be different things, like meditating or deep breathing,” say Adam Elbousty, a 4th grade student. “Like you breathe really slowly,” said Preston Payne, a 3rd grade student. School psychologist Michell Braun-Burget says that students are now acting in a variety of situations with more self-confidence. “They’re just more aware of themselves and what makes them upset, what makes them nervous, and they have better control of how to deal with their anxiety levels,” she said. “If one of the kids is having a hard time these practices provide them helpful strategies. I’ve heard students say, ‘do your breathing.’ The purpose behind the techniques that mindfulness and meditation bring to education is helping those children learn coping strategies—no matter what difficult circumstances they might be experiencing.”