Some 200 educators and their families spent a sunny Saturday partaking in wellness techniques at the Power of Breath event co-sponsored by the UFT. They gathered at the Commonpoint Queens Sam Field Center on Sept. 14 to hear from MindUP CEO and founder Goldie Hawn and other experts on a wellness panel, sample healthy-living products and take part in activities and workshops to nurture their mental and physical health.

“We’re always worried about our students, and sometimes we forget about ourselves,” said Arlana Hutchinson, an art teacher and the chapter leader at PS 123 in Brooklyn, who attended with one of her colleagues. Hutchinson said she was grateful for the opportunity the event presented for educators to “find their own joy.”

Hutchinson took part in a yoga class, an aqua Zumba class and a workshop presented by MindUP about mindfulness techniques using the five senses. There was also a weightlifting class, a pickleball game, a vendor fair and a bounce house for members’ children.

Jeanine Careccia, a technology teacher at PS 162 in Queens, was especially struck by what she learned about breathwork techniques for mental health. “It’s so easy to implement and so powerful,” she said, explaining how guided breathing can help calm anxiety and allow children to “see possibilities of learning.”

Ralph Rosado and his son, a 3-K student, are all smiles after enjoying the bounce house along with other Queens families at the event.

The event was part of the ongoing partnership between the UFT and the social-emotional learning program MindUP that launched in 2022 and has been rapidly expanding ever since. The partnership brings evidence-based mindfulness and mental health curricula to participating schools and offers professional learning to members citywide.

“By caring for educators’ well-being, we’re nurturing the well-being of the entire school community,” said UFT Vice President for Education Mary Vaccaro, who spearheaded the MindUP partnership and the Power of Breath event. “When we can connect with our breath and find our calm, then our students can, too, and that’s how learning starts.”