Rising demands in school in times of austerity put teachers´ and
counsellors potential for attentive presence and development of a
trustful, empathetic, and respectful relationship in intersubjective
encounters at risk. Contemplative practices such as mindfulness
may be helpful in dealing with stressing conditions and supportive
for the professionals’ attentive presence, well-being, and
relationship-building. This paper presents a qualitative study of
student teachers’ and newly educated teachers’ experience of the
significance of integral contemplative practices in their education
and work-life. The study is based on phenomenology, and culturalhistorical
and integrative cybernetic systems psychology. In this
lens, intersubjective encounters involve bodily resonance
originating from unconscious processes of mutual modification of
bodily and emotional states and conditions which influence the
practitioner’s perception and action in the situation. Main findings
in study were that contemplative embodied practices can balance
resonance and affectivity in challenging conditions and can
develop the professionals’ relational awareness to act according
to their aims in challenging encounters. The concept of relational
awareness is defined and illustrated by case examples, and in an
integrative systems psychology lens it is discussed how relational
awareness may be helpful as mediating means in teaching and
counselling.