Let’s focus.  I know, multi-tasking is appealing because the duties of life grow heavy.  But I have come to a place and time where l simply feel like I need to simply be.  While I’m being, I call that “focus.” Some people call it “prayer” or “meditation” or “watching basketball.”

Maren Schmidt calls it deep spontaneous concentration. 

Ms. Schmidt founded a Montessori school and holds a Masters of Education from Loyola College in Maryland. She has over twenty-five years experience working with children and holds teaching credentials from the Association Montessori Internationale. Contact her at maren@kidstalknews.com or visit www.KidsTalkNews.com

Today, in NWANews, Ms. Schmidt continued her series on childhood-development issues and applied this week’s topic to both adults and kids…kids of all ages, perhaps?    Let’s come to an intense self-generated ability to focus attention, which is the main point of the article.  In part:

My childhood environment made it easy to develop deep self-generated concentration. I was given quiet, uninterrupted time, and the objects in my environment were appropriate. The adults in my environment – my parents and grandparents – created structure by keeping regular meal times, snack times and bed times. This protected my time and attention needed to develop concentration.

Importantly, according to the article, there is a consequence associated with neglecting appropriate concentration.  When these opportunities are not available to a child (and to adults, also) frustration builds. Reactions to not being involved with interesting activities because of environmental and time constraints fall within the spectrum of anger on one end and apathy on the other.

I appreciated reading this article, I am glad I concentrated on reading it.  I even printed it out so l could read it later when l am afk (away from keyboard.)  I hope to put more attention into it and carry out what l learned into my home environment.

This news from the FDA caught my eye because I take the drug Advair every day, and I have for years. I see the warnings that were given today were targeted at children.

Serevent and Advair were the subject of a review Wednesday by the agency’s pediatric advisory committee, which looked at the safety of products containing salmeterol. While clinical studies have showed all three drugs are successful at controlling asthma in the vast majority of patients, some have showed that salmeterol can cause severe – and sometimes fatal – asthma attacks in a small group of patients.

Breath is intimately connected to the autonomic nervous system and the mind. Disordered breathing is high on the triage list, because, as the American Lung Association, the oldest voluntary health organization in the United States, When You Can’t Breathe, Nothing Else Matters®.

Free! Breath training practice (Online Yoga Meditation and Relaxations ). A CD is available for purchase, however, several tracks are available for your use as you sit right there at your computer visiting Health Patio. I tried the 3 minute version, and of course I was interrupted LOL but after a false start I realized I needed to uncross my legs but once I was situated, I had three great minutes all in a row.

The breathing exercises, as you scroll down the page, once you click on the one you want, should start automatically, and then loop/repeat without ending. Practice with these tracks can take you from 7+ breaths/minute down to 3 breaths/minute. Amazing!