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Today was a pretty relaxed day here in Antigua. We finished our work on the mural, planning out the quote and hanging it on the wall. It took a little longer than expected because we had to measure out each of the lines and then tape up the letters to make sure they were properly aligned before finally gluing them to the wall. It was a little bit of a tedious (and slightly frustrating), as the letters kept falling down before we could glue them up. But finally we finished and it looks great!
In the afternoon, we continued our work with the youth programs. We conducted a seminar on mental health for a group of about 15 kids. From many of the social workers, we learned that maintaining a positive attitude and outlook can often be a challenge for many of the children. Home life is not always easy. Thus, we thought it would be a good idea to talk about strategies for developing a positive mental attitude. We talked about exercise, the importance of a healthy body and looking for constructive ways to express their feelings. Finally, we introduced the idea of yoga and meditation. From our physiopsych class this year, we learned that meditation is a great tool for centering the mind and reducing the activity of the DMN (default mode network). The DMN is an area of the brain that is activated upon self-rumination. Any sort of "self-centered" thought occurs with the help of the DMN. Oftentimes, these self-centered thoughts are negative, leading to unhappiness and frustration. Mediation, however, counteracts the activation of the DMN and leads to a more positive outlook, as well as a more focused mind. We thought that even if we didn't fully explain the DMN and the positive benefits of mediation, just by introducing the concept and walking them through a couple mediation exercises we might be able to instill some good habits in them that might help them in the long run. While some of the children clearly didn't seem to want to try out meditation, there were a few who seemed to have a genuine interest in the exercise. It felt good to see at least a couple of kids who might be able to use this information to help them in the future. Moreover, it was pretty cool to be able to take information we had learned in one of our classes and implement it in a way that could really help people and possible make a difference in a couple peoples' lives.