Abstract
Mindfulness may be a useful tool for the prevention of burnout via addressing individual stress management and emotional regulation. The problem is a lack of institutional strategies offered to principals to address mindfulness that are sustaining and highly individualized. The purpose of the phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the experiences of post-secondary principals who used mindfulness to support their well-being. The theoretical framework for the study was the mindfulness-to-meaning theory (MMT) by Dr. Tamara Russel. The overarching research question asked if using mindfulness supports secondary principals’ well-being based on their lived experiences. The participants for this study were identified using purposeful and criterion sampling to include secondary principals in Southern California. Semi-structured interviews were used to gather the lived experiences of participants. Following Moustakas’s (1994) transcendental phenomenological approach guided the thematic analysis of codes, categories, and final themes. The final themes were Theme 1: Enhancing Cognitive and Emotional Well-Being, Theme 2: Promoting Holistic Health and Vitality, Theme 3: Building Resilience and Managing Stress, and Theme 4: Finding Purpose and Community Support. The study’s findings demonstrated that mindfulness practice may provide a deeper understanding of the benefits of mindfulness intervention for secondary school principals. The implication of the findings is the ability to foster new knowledge regarding the efficacy of mindfulness through principal’s use. Valuable practices can be embedded within a school.