S2 EP 2 - Small Moments, Big Impact: Mindfulness with Vianca Padilla

In this episode of Fostering Futures with CAHELP, Athena Cordero sits down with Vianca Padilla, Outreach Specialist at CAHELP, to discuss mindfulness, mental wellness, and simple strategies that families can use to build stronger connections and healthier habits.

Vianca shares her personal journey with mental health and how mindfulness became an important tool for self-awareness, self-connection, and emotional well-being. Together, Athena and Vianca explore common misconceptions about mindfulness, breaking down the idea that it requires complicated routines or significant amounts of time. Instead, they highlight how mindfulness can be found in everyday moments and simple acts of intentional connection.

The conversation also focuses on practical tools for parents, caregivers, educators, and families, including free resources that support emotional regulation, stress management, and social-emotional learning. Vianca introduces the "9-Minute Challenge," an approachable strategy that uses small moments throughout the day to strengthen relationships and build meaningful connections with children.

This episode offers encouragement and practical guidance for anyone looking to improve their relationship with themselves and others through mindfulness, self-compassion, and intentional connection.

Highlights

• Vianca explains mindfulness in simple, practical terms.
• Discussion of common myths that prevent people from practicing mindfulness.
• Personal story about seeking mental health support and self-discovery.
• Exploration of healthy coping skills and emotional regulation.
• Free family-friendly mindfulness resources for all ages.
• Introduction to the "9-Minute Challenge" as an easy way to strengthen family relationships.

Key Takeaways

• Mindfulness is simply the practice of being present in the moment.
• Many people already use mindfulness strategies without realizing it.
• Self-care and mindfulness are not selfish; they support healthier relationships.
• Healthy coping skills can look different for every person.
• Small daily moments of connection can have a lasting impact on children and families.
• The relationship you have with yourself influences every other relationship in your life.

Thanks for listening! Follow us on Facebook and Instagram | www.cahelp.org | podcast@cahelp.org

Transcript

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00:00:10 Intro 

The relentless pursuit of whatever works in the life of a child. 

00:00:18 Athena Cordero 

Welcome to Fostering Futures with CAHELP, a podcast dedicated to our relentless pursuit of whatever works in the life of a child. 

00:00:26 Athena Cordero 

I'm your host, Athena Cordero, inviting you to join me and countless others as we share our unique perspectives and expertise in the world of special education, behavioral health, social-emotional wellbeing, and community. 

00:00:39 Athena Cordero 

Follow us on Buzzsprout, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts. 

00:00:44 Athena Cordero 

Okay everyone, I'm Athena Cordero and today on Fostering Futures we have Vianca Padilla. 

00:00:50 Athena Cordero 

She's an outreach specialist here at CAHELP. 

00:00:54 Athena Cordero 

And Vianca, tell me, I'm trying to remember, but I can't. 

00:00:58 Athena Cordero 

How many years have you worked here? 

00:01:00 Vianca Padilla 

I've been working for four years now, closer to four years. 

00:01:03 Athena Cordero 

And you started as, I can't think of the position either. 

00:01:07 Vianca Padilla 

Yeah, it was the bilingual community services assistant. 

00:01:11 Athena Cordero 

Yes, okay. 

00:01:11 Athena Cordero 

And there was a lot of interaction with the community in that role as well. 

00:01:16 Athena Cordero 

You've since moved on to outreach specialist with that team. 

00:01:19 Athena Cordero 

Tell me a little bit about what you guys get to do. 

00:01:21 Vianca Padilla 

So we get to have a really amazing time with connecting with the community and also offering family engagement for our school district. 

00:01:30 Vianca Padilla 

So that looks like being there whenever they have family-friendly events. 

00:01:34 Vianca Padilla 

And then we also get to offer workshops. 

00:01:37 Vianca Padilla 

And then we also get to be out in the community and go where the families are. 

00:01:41 Vianca Padilla 

So maybe that looks like being at the farmer's market and offering some helpful tips and social emotional learning there. 

00:01:48 Vianca Padilla 

And it also looks like really getting to know what the resources are in the community. 

00:01:53 Vianca Padilla 

So that when families are vulnerable and express the tough barriers that they're going through, that we have the resources on hand to help them navigate through that. 

00:02:03 Athena Cordero 

So let me tell you what I love about all the events you guys get to do, and I've seen you out there doing them. 

00:02:10 Athena Cordero 

Sometimes people hear the name of an organization that they hear is really helpful, but they can't put a face to it. 

00:02:16 Athena Cordero 

So the fact that we have an outreach team 

00:02:19 Athena Cordero 

I feel like helps us put a face or faces to what the organization gets to do. 

00:02:24 Athena Cordero 

And you guys get to point back to all of the other faces, right? 

00:02:27 Athena Cordero 

And in the organization as well, which is awesome. 

00:02:30 Athena Cordero 

So kudos to you guys. 

00:02:32 Athena Cordero 

You're welcome. 

00:02:33 Athena Cordero 

Okay, so today though, specifically, we're gonna talk about mindfulness. 

00:02:39 Athena Cordero 

what it is, some myths about it. 

00:02:43 Athena Cordero 

I'm going to be honest, I was probably one of those folks who you would have to convince that it is something that I should do and that it's helpful. 

00:02:51 Athena Cordero 

And I probably did have some, I probably was living off of some myths about it. 

00:02:55 Athena Cordero 

So this is going to be helpful for me too and I am going to be a good sport and try a couple of the things, okay? 

00:03:01 Athena Cordero 

So, okay, so just so our listeners know what we mean when we say mindfulness, can you kind of give us just a general definition or description of what mindfulness is? 

00:03:11 Vianca Padilla 

Yes, so there are lots of definitions for mindfulness, but I like to stick with the most simple one, which is being in the present moment. 

00:03:20 Athena Cordero 

Okay, I'm going to go ahead and say I have struggled with that a lot. 

00:03:24 Athena Cordero 

There's just a lot going on, right? 

00:03:26 Athena Cordero 

That is hard to do. 

00:03:27 Athena Cordero 

So being present in the moment, give me an example. 

00:03:30 Vianca Padilla 

So we actually do this quite a lot in our lives, but we don't tend to attach the word mindfulness to it. 

00:03:38 Vianca Padilla 

So this might look like we're mindful when we're driving in the car and we're slowing down because the light just turned red and we're trying not to hit the car in front of us. 

00:03:47 Vianca Padilla 

We are mindful when we're carrying something hot and we want to make sure we don't spill on ourselves. 

00:03:52 Vianca Padilla 

So we're being very in the moment, very careful about how we carry that cup. 

00:03:57 Vianca Padilla 

Or we're very mindful when we're about to eat something 

00:04:01 Vianca Padilla 

that is, again, very hot and we want to burn ourselves. 

00:04:05 Vianca Padilla 

So we're having these mindful moments in our lives. 

00:04:08 Vianca Padilla 

We just don't tend to think of those moments as mindful. 

00:04:12 Athena Cordero 

No, you're right. 

00:04:12 Athena Cordero 

I mean, that sounds like natural, everyday things. 

00:04:15 Athena Cordero 

But then as you're saying that, I can think to three or four instances, you know, in the last week where I watched somebody carry something hot and burn themselves because they were moving too fast. 

00:04:26 Athena Cordero 

Or a car hit the brake really hard because they didn't slow down, when they should have. 

00:04:31 Athena Cordero 

So, okay, I can see it now, okay, in real life. 

00:04:35 Athena Cordero 

Okay, so that seems pretty easy. 

00:04:37 Athena Cordero 

How is it that something like that has so many myths, you know, or so much that you have to debunk? 

00:04:42 Athena Cordero 

What are some of those? 

00:04:43 Vianca Padilla 

Yeah, so, you know, I completely understand why you're coming from Athena because I was also one of those people. 

00:04:48 Athena Cordero 

Okay, I don't feel bad. 

00:04:50 Vianca Padilla 

Yeah, no, I also thought about mindfulness in the very kind of 

00:04:56 Vianca Padilla 

experiences that you have while watching media. 

00:04:59 Vianca Padilla 

So I always thought mindfulness meant, the yoga and the and the namaste and the, growing up, I didn't really have a lot of experience with mindfulness. 

00:05:10 Vianca Padilla 

It wasn't something we talked about in our family or in our culture. 

00:05:14 Vianca Padilla 

And so it really did seem like, man, the people that just seem peaceful and calm, they just don't have real problems. 

00:05:21 Vianca Padilla 

Right. 

00:05:21 Athena Cordero 

So like, how do you have the time to sit there and do that? 

00:05:25 Athena Cordero 

Yeah, I thought like that. 

00:05:26 Vianca Padilla 

Yes. 

00:05:27 Vianca Padilla 

And so that's just the first thing that comes to mind when you think about mindfulness. 

00:05:31 Vianca Padilla 

But we're here to make it a little bit more realistic. 

00:05:34 Athena Cordero 

Okay, so thank you for giving those examples because that is exactly what would go through my mind. 

00:05:40 Athena Cordero 

A couple other folks I've talked to, it just seemed 

00:05:43 Athena Cordero 

And I'm ashamed to say it now, it just seemed like fluff, just kind of fluff that we don't have time for. 

00:05:48 Athena Cordero 

However, the way you explained really the definition, those are things that actually deal with safety, emotional safety, physical safety, thinking about other people, not just yourself. 

00:06:02 Athena Cordero 

So it is important. 

00:06:03 Athena Cordero 

I do agree that it's very important. 

00:06:05 Athena Cordero 

Okay. 

00:06:06 Athena Cordero 

Is there any other myth you want to debunk about it or anything else you've heard that you feel like, let's talk about that a little bit. 

00:06:14 Vianca Padilla 

Yes. 

00:06:15 Vianca Padilla 

So I think when we think about mindfulness, sometimes we're a little cautious with it because it feels selfish or it feels self-centered. 

00:06:26 Vianca Padilla 

And whenever we talk to parents, like in our parent workshops about it, there's a lot of guilt surrounding it because they tend to think 

00:06:35 Vianca Padilla 

They have so much to do. 

00:06:36 Vianca Padilla 

They have to be there for so many other people. 

00:06:39 Vianca Padilla 

It's just not a priority when it comes to implementing that in their own personal life. 

00:06:45 Vianca Padilla 

And I think I felt that way as well. 

00:06:47 Vianca Padilla 

I have a personal experience that it wasn't until I went through that experience myself that it clicked for me. 

00:06:59 Athena Cordero 

So you're going to tell us the experience, right? 

00:07:00 Athena Cordero 

I'm not here. 

00:07:03 Vianca Padilla 

So it all started when I was going through a very low time in my life. 

00:07:09 Vianca Padilla 

I was struggling a lot with my mental health. 

00:07:12 Vianca Padilla 

And I recognized that I needed to do something different, that I needed to look for professional help and I needed to start therapy for myself. 

00:07:21 Vianca Padilla 

And so I was kind of hesitant to tell my loved ones and especially my mom, because again, that's not something we talked about or ever mentioned. 

00:07:31 Vianca Padilla 

And so I didn't know how she was going to react. 

00:07:33 Vianca Padilla 

And so I was very nervous when I was about to tell her. 

00:07:37 Vianca Padilla 

And I remember just sitting her down and letting her know, hey mom, like this is how I'm feeling. 

00:07:43 Vianca Padilla 

And I just want to let you know that I'm in the process of starting therapy. 

00:07:49 Vianca Padilla 

And she said something that I'm never, ever, ever, ever going to forget. 

00:07:54 Vianca Padilla 

And she looked at me and she was like, oh, you know what? 

00:07:58 Vianca Padilla 

I think this could be good for you. 

00:08:01 Vianca Padilla 

And she said, I know you because you're my daughter, but at the same time, I feel like I don't know you. 

00:08:11 Vianca Padilla 

And that really hit me because I was like, whoa, wait a minute. 

00:08:14 Vianca Padilla 

Let's cut the cameras. 

00:08:15 Vianca Padilla 

Let's roll it all the way back to when you gave birth to me. 

00:08:18 Vianca Padilla 

Like, how is that possible that you don't know me? 

00:08:22 Vianca Padilla 

That really threw me off. 

00:08:25 Vianca Padilla 

And it wasn't until I really started 

00:08:27 Vianca Padilla 

going over what she was saying to me that I realized, this whole entire time, I was so focused on being there for others and doing things for others and being present with others. 

00:08:40 Vianca Padilla 

And I realized that because it came from an act of love, I didn't think about receiving as being part of the gift of sharing. 

00:08:53 Vianca Padilla 

Gotcha. 

00:08:54 Vianca Padilla 

And so 

00:08:56 Vianca Padilla 

It wasn't until she said that I was like, okay, I need some tools to help me move forward. 

00:09:02 Vianca Padilla 

And that is where mindfulness came in for me. 

00:09:06 Vianca Padilla 

Cause I was like, I need new coping skills. 

00:09:08 Vianca Padilla 

I need healthy coping skills. 

00:09:09 Athena Cordero 

Right. 

00:09:10 Vianca Padilla 

So that I can start implementing in that my life. 

00:09:12 Vianca Padilla 

And so that the people around me don't feel like a stranger to me or don't feel shut out for me because I'm keeping everything in. 

00:09:19 Vianca Padilla 

Gotcha. 

00:09:19 Vianca Padilla 

So that is when I realized it's not only gonna help me myself, it's also gonna help the relationship 

00:09:25 Vianca Padilla 

it's around me. 

00:09:26 Athena Cordero 

So that's really brave for one. 

00:09:29 Athena Cordero 

It's not always easy to tell your loved ones how you're feeling, especially when you don't want them to worry or when you don't want them to look at you like, what? 

00:09:38 Athena Cordero 

You know, what is, where is this coming from? 

00:09:40 Athena Cordero 

Okay, so 

00:09:41 Athena Cordero 

I mean, that's a big step as well. 

00:09:44 Athena Cordero 

And there are lots of therapies and lots of things that we can try in terms of professional therapy, but mindfulness doesn't have to be that step just yet. 

00:09:55 Athena Cordero 

So tell me how you manage that. 

00:09:57 Athena Cordero 

How did you go from making that 

00:09:59 Athena Cordero 

decision to say, in addition to that, I also want to try some things that are very natural and realistic at home. 

00:10:04 Vianca Padilla 

Yes. 

00:10:05 Vianca Padilla 

Okay. 

00:10:06 Vianca Padilla 

So that was a big learning curve for me because I had to let go of all the unhealthy defense mechanisms and learn the new healthy ones. 

00:10:14 Vianca Padilla 

So that's when I started looking to how there's different ways of being mindful. 

00:10:18 Vianca Padilla 

And so this could really look like journaling. 

00:10:21 Vianca Padilla 

It could look like taking a walk outside. 

00:10:24 Vianca Padilla 

It could look like dancing. 

00:10:26 Vianca Padilla 

It could really look like anything that just brings you into the present moment. 

00:10:30 Vianca Padilla 

And so I think it's really helpful to tie in mindfulness with also self-connection, being aware about what I'm needing in this moment and then finding the healthy coping skill to fill in that moment with what you're needing. 

00:10:43 Athena Cordero 

So I have to tell you, 

00:10:46 Athena Cordero 

the process of that sounds a lot like what a lot of our folks in our organization get to do in the classroom. 

00:10:53 Athena Cordero 

is when you're looking at a behavior that's not so healthy for learning and trying to replace it with a behavior that is good for learning and supports that environment. 

00:11:01 Athena Cordero 

So it rolls with what we do. 

00:11:04 Athena Cordero 

So now I'm even thinking at the age to be ashamed of yourself. 

00:11:07 Athena Cordero 

It's normal, it feels natural. 

00:11:10 Athena Cordero 

But you're right, you're putting yourself in that. 

00:11:12 Athena Cordero 

You're not doing it for somebody else. 

00:11:14 Athena Cordero 

So talk to me about how that works. 

00:11:17 Athena Cordero 

How do you just start to identify the healthy things and replace the ones that maybe weren't so healthy? 

00:11:24 Athena Cordero 

Is that kind of a difficult process? 

00:11:28 Vianca Padilla 

It could be very simple, depending on, because there are lots of resources out there that give you a full list of what healthy coping skills can look like. 

00:11:37 Vianca Padilla 

And we've actually shared these resources a lot when we do vendor table events at school events, and we're trying to teach 

00:11:45 Vianca Padilla 

students or talk to students about the healthy coping skills. 

00:11:48 Vianca Padilla 

And so there's handouts full of different skills that they're able to try. 

00:11:52 Vianca Padilla 

And then at the back of these resources, they're also like a daily journal of how they felt while practicing this skill, because not everyone's going to look the same. 

00:12:04 Vianca Padilla 

Some skills might work for me. 

00:12:06 Vianca Padilla 

that might not work for you exactly. 

00:12:08 Vianca Padilla 

Everyone's different and they get to choose what feels good for them. 

00:12:12 Athena Cordero 

So as you guys are kind of explaining this to students, what kind of responses were you getting? 

00:12:16 Athena Cordero 

Were they? 

00:12:17 Athena Cordero 

into it? 

00:12:18 Athena Cordero 

Were they looking at you like, what? 

00:12:20 Athena Cordero 

is this? 

00:12:20 Vianca Padilla 

So actually, it's been very surprising because when we go over these coping skills, I think they don't realize that what they already do is a good coping skill. 

00:12:31 Vianca Padilla 

I think they think that they need something more, I don't know, professional in that sense that you said that it seems a little bit more extreme in the sense that I need to go towards professional help. 

00:12:42 Vianca Padilla 

But the little moments of mindfulness are things that we can always do in our 

00:12:47 Vianca Padilla 

day-to-day lives. 

00:12:49 Vianca Padilla 

And when we talk to them about, listening to music and being breathing and being outside, and then they talk to me and they say, actually, I do practice that already. 

00:12:58 Vianca Padilla 

I do love going on YouTube and putting on that calming background. 

00:13:02 Vianca Padilla 

And I do love being outside and playing soccer. 

00:13:05 Vianca Padilla 

So it's like, yeah, you're already doing it. 

00:13:07 Athena Cordero 

So really it's about identifying the things that you're already doing, but knowing when to do them to make it work for you to kind of support that. 

00:13:18 Athena Cordero 

Sounds very doable. 

00:13:19 Athena Cordero 

For our educators out there listening, this sounds like really identifying like tier one things, things that everyone can do, but doing them in a way that maximizes their effectiveness and the positive parts of your life. 

00:13:35 Athena Cordero 

That sounds awesome and very doable for everybody. 

00:13:37 Vianca Padilla 

Yes. 

00:13:38 Athena Cordero 

Okay, so I will say that you all visited my daughter's high school when she was still in high school. 

00:13:46 Athena Cordero 

And she came home and talked to me about the things that she's seen. 

00:13:51 Athena Cordero 

how you explained it, she enjoyed it. 

00:13:54 Athena Cordero 

was an experience. 

00:13:54 Athena Cordero 

She has not come home before and talked about, outside folks coming onto her campus in that way. 

00:14:01 Athena Cordero 

So she did take some things away and she thought it was cool that you guys came and did that, for that age group. 

00:14:08 Athena Cordero 

And she had a good experience with it. 

00:14:10 Athena Cordero 

So just from my own kids, time with you guys, I just wanted to tell you, it did make a difference. 

00:14:17 Athena Cordero 

She was very 

00:14:18 Athena Cordero 

pleasantly surprised, I think, right? 

00:14:20 Athena Cordero 

She's people from your job are here and, but they talked about, she kind of went on about it and for your teenager to come home and talk to you about anything and sound like that is a plus, trust me. 

00:14:30 Athena Cordero 

So a high five to you guys because she's not easily impressed, I can tell you right now. 

00:14:36 Athena Cordero 

Okay, so 

00:14:39 Athena Cordero 

Now that we've kind of got an idea of what that looks like in life, right? 

00:14:43 Athena Cordero 

Where do we start? 

00:14:44 Athena Cordero 

Okay, so I can still, I can hear all this. 

00:14:46 Athena Cordero 

It sounds great, but where do I start if I'm listening to you right now? 

00:14:49 Vianca Padilla 

So there are a lot of great resources out there that can help everyone get started. 

00:14:54 Vianca Padilla 

There's resources out there for parents that have little ones like preschool age area, teens as well, and also beyond any adult and any age. 

00:15:05 Vianca Padilla 

And I wanted to share those resources with you and everyone. 

00:15:09 Vianca Padilla 

So the first resource that I have is from the Child Mind Institute. 

00:15:13 Vianca Padilla 

And they are a nonprofit that focuses on children's mental health and learning differences. 

00:15:20 Vianca Padilla 

And they put together something called positive parenting. 

00:15:24 Vianca Padilla 

They also have another name attached to it called Thriving Kids. 

00:15:28 Vianca Padilla 

And it's a free library of videos and guides 

00:15:33 Vianca Padilla 

on how to help parents with everyday challenges. 

00:15:36 Vianca Padilla 

Okay. 

00:15:36 Vianca Padilla 

So it kind of blends in the challenges with the action steps of mindfulness and what you can do to meet those challenges. 

00:15:43 Athena Cordero 

Okay, so not just telling you this is the problem, but here is something you can try. 

00:15:48 Athena Cordero 

Yeah. 

00:15:48 Athena Cordero 

Okay, and again, 

00:15:50 Athena Cordero 

according to your parenting style, right? 

00:15:52 Athena Cordero 

Like who you are, you can make it fit. 

00:15:54 Vianca Padilla 

Yes. 

00:15:54 Athena Cordero 

Okay, awesome. 

00:15:55 Athena Cordero 

And that's child, tell me the name of the organization again. 

00:15:58 Vianca Padilla 

It's called Child Mind Institute. 

00:16:00 Athena Cordero 

Okay. 

00:16:00 Vianca Padilla 

And the program is called Positive Parenting. 

00:16:04 Vianca Padilla 

Gotcha. 

00:16:05 Athena Cordero 

Okay, cool. 

00:16:05 Athena Cordero 

That's a really great resource. 

00:16:07 Athena Cordero 

We have another one. 

00:16:08 Vianca Padilla 

I do. 

00:16:08 Vianca Padilla 

I have a few more. 

00:16:09 Vianca Padilla 

Okay. 

00:16:09 Vianca Padilla 

So the second one that I have is the Greater Good Science Center at the University of Berkeley. 

00:16:16 Vianca Padilla 

And their mission is to bridge the gap between scientific research and everyday practices. 

00:16:22 Athena Cordero 

Okay. 

00:16:23 Vianca Padilla 

So the everyday practices are backed by psychology and neuroscience. 

00:16:29 Vianca Padilla 

it really focuses on the point of what works and what can be helpful for parents. 

00:16:34 Vianca Padilla 

And so they have a plethora of resources of things that they can do as a family with their child. 

00:16:40 Vianca Padilla 

And there aren't just nice ideas. 

00:16:43 Vianca Padilla 

There are also very good ideas for just emotional regulation, stress management, anxiety, how to put 

00:16:51 Vianca Padilla 

put in mindfulness into everyday practices. 

00:16:53 Athena Cordero 

And I would be one of those parents. 

00:16:55 Athena Cordero 

Like, okay, that sounds like a great strategy, but can you give me some feedback on where that comes from? 

00:17:00 Athena Cordero 

Has it been proven? 

00:17:02 Athena Cordero 

How does it work? 

00:17:02 Athena Cordero 

I would be that one. 

00:17:04 Athena Cordero 

So I appreciate that. 

00:17:06 Vianca Padilla 

And then the third one that I have is called the... 

00:17:13 Vianca Padilla 

Center for Healthy Minds. 

00:17:14 Vianca Padilla 

It is a kindness curriculum and this one is specifically for the children that are in the early age from preschool area to early elementary. 

00:17:24 Vianca Padilla 

And it's from the Center of Healthy Minds. 

00:17:27 Vianca Padilla 

led by Dr. 

00:17:28 Vianca Padilla 

Richard Davidson at the University of Wisconsin and Madison. 

00:17:33 Vianca Padilla 

And the thing that I really like about this resource is that the language surrounding self-regulation, social-emotional learning, and mindfulness is all age appropriate. 

00:17:44 Vianca Padilla 

So it's language that your little ones will be able to understand. 

00:17:48 Vianca Padilla 

And it's language that not only helps them understand how it's helpful for them, but it also helps them focus on how that kindness and mindfulness affects other people. 

00:17:57 Vianca Padilla 

So they're building those empathy skills and they're looking at how these practices help not only themselves, but others as well. 

00:18:06 Athena Cordero 

I love that for two reasons. 

00:18:09 Athena Cordero 

For one, it's easy for a child to understand, 

00:18:13 Athena Cordero 

but it's easy for an adult to help the child, understand if we don't always have the words. 

00:18:19 Athena Cordero 

And that takes, I think, the edge off for adults, parents, anybody, educators who want to do these things, but they're, looking at it going, this can be a task, if I don't do it right, it kind of lays it out for you, it sounds like. 

00:18:32 Vianca Padilla 

Yeah, and it also comes in English and Spanish, and they're all free. 

00:18:37 Athena Cordero 

Great. 

00:18:38 Athena Cordero 

Okay, so these are awesome resources. 

00:18:40 Athena Cordero 

And I think we can put these up, with your episodes so folks can go on and get a hold of those. 

00:18:48 Athena Cordero 

I do want to ask though, is there in all of the resources that you just shared with us, can they all kind of be or kind of 

00:18:58 Athena Cordero 

work for parent, educator, caretaker, or are there specific, to a specific group of folks? 

00:19:04 Athena Cordero 

So can we just anybody can use that? 

00:19:06 Vianca Padilla 

Anybody can use that? 

00:19:07 Athena Cordero 

Oh, that's perfect. 

00:19:08 Athena Cordero 

Perfect. 

00:19:08 Athena Cordero 

Again, taking the hard work out of it, right? 

00:19:10 Athena Cordero 

Just let's try it. 

00:19:10 Athena Cordero 

Let's try it. 

00:19:12 Athena Cordero 

Okay, great. 

00:19:13 Athena Cordero 

Any other strategy or resource you want to share? 

00:19:17 Vianca Padilla 

So a lot of the times when we are talking to parents about connecting with their child or implementing some kind of mindfulness, they're like, when are we going to have the time? 

00:19:27 Vianca Padilla 

When are we going to implement all of this? 

00:19:30 Vianca Padilla 

And so I really wanted to 

00:19:32 Vianca Padilla 

for a quick strategy that can be simple but effective. 

00:19:37 Vianca Padilla 

And it is called the 9 minute theory. 

00:19:40 Vianca Padilla 

And this is a theory that is linked to the neuroscientist Jack Panskeps. 

00:19:48 Vianca Padilla 

And he came up with this idea of focusing these three minute anchors throughout the day to connect with your child. 

00:19:57 Vianca Padilla 

And these three minute anchors happen in the morning as soon as your child wakes up. 

00:20:02 Vianca Padilla 

And then the other three minutes of making sure you connect and anchor that moment is when they come back from school in the midday. 

00:20:09 Vianca Padilla 

And then the last three minutes is when before they go to sleep. 

00:20:13 Vianca Padilla 

Okay. 

00:20:14 Vianca Padilla 

So these are the three minutes that you can, they're already in your day. 

00:20:18 Vianca Padilla 

And you can fill them and anchor them with connection and mindfulness. 

00:20:22 Vianca Padilla 

Okay. 

00:20:23 Vianca Padilla 

And so this might look like in the first morning when you wake up, having a good morning with them might look like, let's do some affirmations or let's put on some music and let's dance it out or connect with me. 

00:20:37 Vianca Padilla 

Like, did you dream of something? 

00:20:39 Vianca Padilla 

And so just these very simple, normal check-ins that you might have. 

00:20:44 Vianca Padilla 

And then the midday might look something like, oh, give me a high that happened really good today and then give me one low that you want 

00:20:53 Vianca Padilla 

to talk about. 

00:20:54 Vianca Padilla 

And so then that gets the conversation started. 

00:20:57 Vianca Padilla 

And then the last three minutes might look like something like connecting with your child about a ritual that you might have more towards bedtime. 

00:21:05 Vianca Padilla 

So this might be like reading a book or journaling together or just going through what you know your child likes best and implementing that and being intentional with those 3 minutes. 

00:21:16 Athena Cordero 

That's so you're I'm trying to think of how this would fit in my life. 

00:21:20 Athena Cordero 

And I'm going to be brutally honest right now just in case there's anybody out there 

00:21:23 Athena Cordero 

When you first said 9 minutes, what came to my mind? 

00:21:26 Athena Cordero 

I am impatient at the amount of time it takes for my water bottle to fill up. 

00:21:30 Athena Cordero 

Like I'm looking at the dispenser going, why can't the water come out faster than this? 

00:21:34 Athena Cordero 

Because things are just so busy. 

00:21:37 Athena Cordero 

But then you chunked it up for us in these three minute periods. 

00:21:40 Athena Cordero 

And that is something that I used to do with both my kids when they were very little. 

00:21:44 Athena Cordero 

They started sleeping in their own beds. 

00:21:47 Athena Cordero 

We would talk about what they wanted to dream about that night. 

00:21:50 Athena Cordero 

I know it doesn't work like that, but to me it just put them into a positive space to go to bed. 

00:21:55 Athena Cordero 

And so they would tell me, I'm gonna dream about, and I don't know, chocolate clouds and whatever they said, but they were ready to lay down and go to sleep on a positive note. 

00:22:05 Athena Cordero 

And it took a couple of minutes. 

00:22:06 Athena Cordero 

Like you said, it was really quick and they slept better for it. 

00:22:10 Athena Cordero 

So okay, I can see how I could put these things into practice or how people could put these things into practice. 

00:22:16 Athena Cordero 

I feel better about it now, Vianca. 

00:22:19 Vianca Padilla 

It sounds easy and doable, right? 

00:22:21 Athena Cordero 

Easier. 

00:22:22 Athena Cordero 

It does. 

00:22:22 Athena Cordero 

I appreciate it. 

00:22:23 Athena Cordero 

Okay, any last thoughts for parents, educators just wanting to try it? 

00:22:30 Vianca Padilla 

I would say this is a promise that I've made to it myself when I first started my mindfulness journey. 

00:22:37 Vianca Padilla 

And it's a promise that I wish for everyone as well. 

00:22:40 Vianca Padilla 

And it is that I hope 

00:22:43 Vianca Padilla 

that the most loving and kind and healthy relationship you ever have in your life be the one you have with yourself first. 

00:22:51 Athena Cordero 

Yeah. 

00:22:51 Vianca Padilla 

And watch how that changes everything second. 

00:22:53 Athena Cordero 

Wow. 

00:22:55 Athena Cordero 

I love that. 

00:22:56 Athena Cordero 

I might make you write it down so I can put it on my mirror because that's what I do for myself sometimes, put things on my mirror. 

00:23:02 Athena Cordero 

Okay, thank you so much. 

00:23:04 Athena Cordero 

If anybody wants to reach out to get in contact with the outreach team or just to get some more information from you or the team about this, what can they do? 

00:23:15 Vianca Padilla 

So they can reach out to us at our e-mail. 

00:23:18 Vianca Padilla 

It's outreach at sayhelp.org. 

00:23:20 Athena Cordero 

Okay. 

00:23:21 Vianca Padilla 

And they can also, we can put my contact information on the landing page. 

00:23:26 Vianca Padilla 

Okay. 

00:23:27 Vianca Padilla 

Yes. 

00:23:27 Athena Cordero 

Okay. 

00:23:28 Athena Cordero 

All right, you guys, I'm going to challenge everybody to try the 9 minute, say it again. 

00:23:33 Vianca Padilla 

The 9 minute challenge. 

00:23:34 Athena Cordero 

9 minute challenge. 

00:23:36 Athena Cordero 

3 minutes in the morning, 3 midday, 3 at night with something that makes you feel good. 

00:23:42 Athena Cordero 

Just an easy, something that you can really be in the moment for. 

00:23:45 Athena Cordero 

Yes. 

00:23:46 Athena Cordero 

Okay, perfect. 

00:23:46 Athena Cordero 

Thank you, Vianca, so much. 

00:23:48 Athena Cordero 

Thank you for having me. 

00:23:50 Outro 

Before we wrap up, we want to remind you that if you or someone you know is facing a crisis, help is available. 

00:23:58 Outro 

You are not alone. 

00:24:01 Outro 

If it's an emergency, please call 911. 

00:24:05 Outro 

For immediate support, you can reach out to the crisis and suicide hotline by dialing 988. 

00:24:11 Outro 

Remember, taking the first step to ask for help is a sign of strength. 

00:24:17 Outro 

Stay safe, take care of yourself, and take care of each other. 

00:24:21 Outro 

Until next time, be well. 

00:24:24 Outro 

See you next time.