Because of Mindful Studies….

Xiola’s Story of Transformation

Meet Xiola, a Mindful Studies student from Cleveland High School. Because of Mindful Studies, Xiola is actively taking mindfulness tools into his life outside of the classroom. Here’s his story.

"Sometimes I have been stubborn with taking in healthier habits because when they were given to me before it wasn't through mindfulness.

It was just 'get off your phone' or 'how about we go on a healthier diet?' or 'how about we work out more?' The way it was given to me, I didn't see that helping me a lot, especially with mental health stuff, so I was very picky.

Last year when I went into Mindful Studies, I felt very outside of the class because I joined mid-year. It helped a little bit. But now this year that I retook the class and have been in it all year I had a better opportunity of forging mindfulness into my life.

I know it was a process because I never realized that I was starting to practice mindfulness outside of school, but then when I recently came to notice certain things like negative self-talk or any sort of dissociation or me just eating to give myself love as a way of practicing self-compassion... they are really small steps but a good thing.

Even my mom said she noticed how I seem a lot more relaxed since mindfulness started and she noticed a huge difference.”

In a creative project for the class, Xiola chose 8 mindfulness tools that impacted him the most. He created this visual representation of each tool and wrote about why it has supported him: