North Texas Daily

The importance of self-care and mental health awareness seems to be a message that is primarily emphasized toward teenagers and young adults. However, one North Texas woman aims to implement those mantras to a younger generation.

As an LSSP, Jamie Goldstein was an advocate of sorts for children, working with teachers identify those students that needed more care and therefore cater to students’ specific needs. Now she has moved away from her previous job and has ventured into her Mindfulness practice.

The Journal of Attention Disorders published a study that observed the number of children with ADHD along with other mental disorders. They found out that 60 percent of children who have ADHD have at least one other mental disorder, and of those, 25 percent had two or more disorders.

Goldstein’s business, the North Texas Center for Mindfulness, offers meditation and yoga classes around Dallas-Fort Worth. Before she started her business, Goldstein was a licensed specialist in school psychology. She got her start at Lake Dallas Independent School District, where she worked with students in special education.

“I did mindfulness-based counseling groups with my students in special education,” Goldstein said. “I heard positive feedback from parents and teachers, so I kept doing that.”

Mindfulness practices urge people to remain aware of their surroundings rather than emptying their mind. As a follower of these methods, Goldstein has her students learn how to connect to their breathing, calm their body and mind and essentially devoid themselves from stress.

“In mindfulness, you focus on choiceful awareness where you [experience] all realms of sensation [and] watch them as an outside observer with no attachment but as an observer,” Goldstein said.

Goldstein’s goal is to teach students to process their emotions rather than letting it all out when they are most vulnerable.

“[I’m] teaching them to process their emotions,” Goldstein said. “‘How do I recognize an emotion and process what I feel?’”

Goldstein works with children from different backgrounds including special education, those with anxiety, depression, ADHD and traumatic brain injuries, and lastly, a group referred to as the response to intervention students.

The response to intervention students are a group of students who struggle in school, either emotionally or academically. With the help of their teacher, Goldstein implements a strategy to remedy the individual concerns before the student is put in special education. Focusing on children in early development, Goldstein aims to set them up for success at young ages.

But in order to help others efficiently, Goldstein had to first fully understand her own mental health.

As a perfectionist, Goldstein has trouble coming to terms with the stress that she has experienced as well as the stress she feels now in her demanding job. When she discovered mindfulness as an intern at Texas Woman’s University after completing her undergrad in psychology at UNT, Goldstein started going on retreats and practicing yoga.

“[The] silent meditation retreats [would last] anywhere from three to 10 days,” Goldstein said. “You don’t talk, you meditate and coexist with other people. You have formal and informal meditation throughout the day. The entire day is a mediation experience even though you’re around all sorts of different people.”

After Goldstein became more familiar with the concept of mindfulness, she decided to leave her former career behind and practice her new passion around the area. Having received a positive reception from the community, Goldstein currently offers classes to children in Keller.

Goldstein has thrived in her position as a yoga instructor and meditation specialist for children who need an outlet to release their stress, anxiety and negative emotions.

Jessica Goldfield, an actress and special aid educator at Lake Dallas ISD, found North Texas Center for Mindfulness very fulfilling for her child.

“Jamie and I worked together at the same elementary school, and my daughter took her mindfulness classes throughout the year,” Goldfield said. “My daughter has benefited greatly from her classes. It has taught her to find her center and balance.”

Raised in Denton, Goldstein plans on bringing her classes here so that the two college campuses can benefit, hoping it will ease students’ stresses and anxieties.

“It would be great if we had classes like that here in Denton,” journalism sophomore Hannah Noye said. “My friends and I could use this relaxation time to focus on ourselves rather than school and the future.”

At the moment, Goldstein wants to keep her focus on the kids that are exposed to too much at once and are not given the space to figure their feelings out.

“Overall, there is a misconception in society that any unpleasant feeling is wrong to feel, but it’s okay to feel everything,” Goldstein said. “Being bored is not a bad thing — it’s where creativity and ingenuity are born.”

Featured Image: Jamie Goldstein does yoga at the Denton Square. She is the owner of North Texas Center of Mindfulness. Jacob Ostermann