When you’re ready, and if you’d like to, settle into a comfortable posture, giving your body permission to totally relax. You might start by orienting yourself to this moment in whatever way feels supportive…. Maybe feeling the pull of gravity and the points of contact your body is making with the seat or the floor… Perhaps listening for sounds or tuning into the flow of your breath as it moves in and out… Just arriving here—both physically and mentally—as best you can… Letting go of the need to control, create or do anything… Accepting a busy mind, a restless body or any difficulties in your life right now as normal aspects of being human.

Do you feel more grounded? Then English and mindfulness teacher Sarah O’Neil has done her job. At Blair, Sarah has taken her personal journey of finding her center and shared it with the community, bringing mindfulness to the forefront of students’ minds to support their own well-being. On campus, you will find her practicing what she preaches: habitually walking campus loops no matter the weather, hosting meditation in Chesnutt Chapel for both novice and veteran attendees, and bringing a sense of calm into whatever space she occupies.

To find out more about how Sarah found serenity and why she chooses to share it with the Blair community, we sat down to ask her a few questions “Outside the Classroom.”

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Q: Can you share your Blair story?

A: I came here, essentially, right out of college. I had taken time off from college, so I was 25 when I graduated and arrived on this campus as a Spanish teacher and coach of field hockey and lacrosse. My job now is very different than it was back then. I lived in Annie Hall when I first started here, and I’ve lived in a number of dorms, but now I live in Marcial House with my husband, history teacher Quint Clarke ’87. We had always been friends. About 12 years ago, we realized we actually made sense, and we got married seven years ago. We’re in for the long haul at Blair Academy. We love it here!

Q: What do you enjoy most about being part of the Blair community?

A: For me, it’s definitely the camaraderie and having amazing colleagues who are also friends. The thing that has kept me here for 20 years now, other than my husband, is the support—both professional and personal—that I’ve gotten from this School. As I mentioned, I transitioned from teaching Spanish to now teaching English and mindfulness and running a yoga-and-mindfulness program for athletes. That journey was a process that Blair supported the whole way. It’s been really rewarding to feel valued as they have supported me in that transition.

Q: Can you describe your work with AmeriCorps before coming to Blair in 2005?

A: I was a Spanish tutor in underserved schools in San Jose, California. This was during my break from college. I was a Spanish major, teaching reading in Spanish to elementary school students, who would have otherwise been left behind. They didn’t know how to read and their teachers didn’t have time to spend with these individual students, so they would pull them out and they would work with me. I always knew I wanted to teach. I went to a boarding school and loved the idea of teaching at a boarding school one day, but it was my AmeriCorps experience that showed me that I could be a teacher, that I had the patience to succeed.

Q: What’s the most unusual or creative assignment you’ve ever given to your students?

A: In English, I had them do a Macbeth music video last year, which came out pretty fun. In Mindful Living, one of the activities that makes students the most uncomfortable is spending five minutes slowly eating a Hershey’s Kiss. They don’t know what to do with themselves, and it’s fun to debrief. My favorite task that I ask students to do is spend three weeks exploring a daily mindfulness practice of their own. They choose something—we talk about it in individual meetings—and they try to implement a daily practice, which we debrief after as a class. I guide them to choosing something they will actually do, and that’s the most important thing with mindfulness. Start where you are, pick something you already do every day and change your approach toward that thing.

Q: You have taught several J-term courses on the science of happiness. What has the collective group learned each year from their research?

A: I’ve been working with [English teacher and self-and-society department chair] Cency Middleton on that, and she’s an incredible partner. We’ve put together a course that surveys a number of ingredients to living a happy life. We have students explore each of those ingredients—both the science end and in their own personal lives. The biggest takeaway from teaching that class has been that happiness is multifaceted, and it’s really important to understand how our minds work so we can bypass some of our conditioning to access happiness.

Q: Over the past six years, you have been a strong advocate for well-being and mindfulness, in particular, at Blair. Why is this so important to you?

A: The truth is I was really struggling in my life about seven years ago, dealing with chronic pain and anxiety. I needed to reduce stress and implement dietary changes, but I also discovered yoga and meditation and realized how integral that was to my overall health. Learning how to come back to center when I get wound up is a really important skill and one of the things I want our students to learn. It’s been a very personal journey for me—this discovery of yoga and mindfulness. And it’s been amazing to incorporate the passion that I have for it now into my work at the School. I’ve been teaching the mindfulness elective course for the last six years, and that course has evolved tremendously over the years as I have evolved in my personal practice.

Q: Outside the classroom, how are you helping students, faculty and staff at Blair incorporate mindfulness into their lives?

A: I’m doing as much as I can. We have the athletics program, where I offer yoga-and-mindfulness work to all varsity teams, with 80 percent of teams participating. I offer two meditation conference blocks a week, open to the entire community. These are just 10-minute sessions where people can come and reset in the middle of the day, and we’ve seen a real mix of adults and students utilizing that time. Every week at Chapel, I open the session with a mini-practice for the whole community. It’s important to me that students feel that it is optional to partake, so I always say, “This is your time, but I’m offering this in the next five minutes.” That approach has been really well received. Randomly throughout the year, I offer free yoga sessions, and people have definitely taken advantage of that. This past spring, I organized a half-day meditation retreat for the first time, too, for faculty and staff. We had a great time together! This fall I have started going into dorms each week to offer optional meditation practices at the beginning of study hall, with the aim of helping kids get grounded and focused for their work. I’m looking forward to watching this aspect of the program take better shape in the months ahead.

Q: How have students at Blair embraced the addition of mindfulness practices in class, on the fields and in the dorms?

A: Surprisingly, really well! I think there is a real appetite for peace of mind. Students know when they are overwhelmed and they need strategies for finding center. The self-awareness is there. My elective is always full and I have two classes each semester, so I’m reaching 40 to 45 students a year with that. I also work with the Foundations of Well-Being II classes, so all sophomores receive a mindfulness lesson with me. The athletes are loving our yoga sessions, and generally the feedback has been positive. I also have individual students reaching out for help with their personal mindfulness practice, which is really cool.

Q: What is one aspect of the new Center for Health and Well-Being that you are most excited about seeing come to life?

A: Believe it or not—the yoga and meditation room! We’ve been operating out of Chesnutt Chapel, which is a beautiful space, but I’m excited to have a fresh, new space drenched with light for yoga and meditation. A place that is central on campus and accessible for everyone.

Q: Can you share one practice the extended Blair community can embrace in their everyday routine for more purposeful intention?

A: Starting a daily practice is as hard as building any habit, but it’s also as simple as finding one thing you already do in your everyday lives and turning that into a mindfulness practice. When you’re brushing your teeth, slow down and smell the toothpaste, feel the brush in your hand. If you take a morning walk, tune in to the sound of the birds and feel your feet on the ground. Mindfulness can be infused into our already busy lives in so many ways.

Q: What brings you joy outside of teaching?

A: So many things. I have learned how to be open to joy in ways I never thought possible. I love my yoga and meditation practice. I am an avid exerciser and reader. I love going on walks with my husband and petting our beautiful 15-year-old cat, Schpilkas [Yiddish for “restlessness“]. A lot of simple things make me happy.

Q: What’s the craziest thing on your bucket list?

A: I don’t have a bucket list. This is going to come back to my newfound philosophy on joy, but I feel like every moment is the most important moment I’m in. I don’t really have things I’m dying to do. I just want to be right here for as much of my life as possible.

Q: Your eyes ping open and it’s the start of a new day. What’s your routine?

A: I like to make the bed, and I take my time with that. I have [decaf] coffee. I meditate. I go for a walk and then I do some yoga, maybe a second meditation if there is time. I do that every single day. My mornings are sacred to me. If I don’t tend to my own soul, then I have nothing to give to others.