THOUGHTS AND COMMENTARY
A Book Excerpt From
The Road to Neuroplasticity and Change to Heal Trauma, Improve Cognitive Capacity and Maximize Performance
ABOUT THE BOOK
MINDFULNESS FOR CHILDREN
More on Mindfulness:
Tips for Teaching Mindfulness
Make sure they are ready to try Mindfulness. If they are hyperactive it may not be the best time for practicing mindfulness for the first time.
Explain what mindfulness is and what it is not. Give examples of what seems similar to mindfulness but is not (i.e., introspection or chasing thoughts down the “rabbit hole” versus listening to our bodies).
Say it in an age-appropriate way, with words they will understand.
Offer to practice mindfulness with them; sometimes having a model makes all the difference.
Assure them that it’s okay to get off track, and how to gently guide themselves back to mindfulness when they realize they lost focus.
Finish the practice by doing something they enjoy with them to ensure they have a positive experience.
Set a daily routine for practicing mindfulness to make sure you incorporate it.
Prepare the environment for successful practice; move the furniture around or have everyone switch positions.
Share you experience with Mindfulness to help them understand how mindfulness is practiced in everyday life. Tell them how you redirect yourself when you feel distracted during a mindfulness session.
Encourage the children to share their experiences as well, whether they were good or bad.
Practice every day. The more you embed mindfulness into the daily routine, the easier it is to engage.
EXERCISES
Mindful Posing: Use this exercise to start. Have the kids go somewhere quiet and familiar, a place they feel safe. Encourage them to try the following poses.
Sensory: Instruct your kids to turn-on their senses of smell, sight, hearing, taste, and touch. This will encourage them to pause and focus their attention on the present, opening their awareness to the information their senses bring. This is a classic mindfulness exercise and encourages observation and curiosity.
The Mindful Jar: This activity can teach children how strong emotions can manifest and how to find peace when these strong emotions are overwhelming.
Get a clear Mason jar and fill it almost all the way with water. Add a big spoonful of glitter glue or glue and dry glitter to the jar. Put the lid back on the jar and shake it to make the glitter swirl. Encourage them to imagine that the glitter is like their thoughts when stressed, mad or upset.
Say “see how they whirl around and make it really hard to see clearly? That’s why it’s so easy to make silly decisions when you’re upset – because you’re not thinking clearly.” Then put the jar down in front of them.
Say “now watch what happens when you’re still for a couple of moments. Keep watching. See how the glitter starts to settle and the water clears? Your mind works the same way. When you’re calm for a little while, your thoughts start to settle and you start to see things much clearer. Deep breaths during this calming process can help us settle when we feel a lot of emotions”
Try having the kids focus on one emotion at a time, such as anger, and discuss how the glitter is like that. This exercise helps children learn about how their emotions can cloud their thoughts, but it also facilitates mindfulness while focusing on the swirling glitter in the jar.
Take a Safari: This activity turns a walk into an exciting new adventure. Tell your kids that you will be going on a safari: instruct them to notice as many birds, bugs, creepy-crawlies, and any other animals as they can. Anything that walks, crawls, swims, or flies is of interest, and need to focus all of their senses to find them, especially the little ones.
A similar exercise for adults is the mindfulness walk. This exercise provokes the same response in children that a mindful walk elicits in adults: a state of awareness and grounding in the present.
Make sure they are ready to try Mindfulness. If they are hyperactive it may not be the best time for practicing mindfulness for the first time.
Explain what mindfulness is and what it is not. Give examples of what seems similar to mindfulness but is not (i.e., introspection or chasing thoughts down the “rabbit hole” versus listening to our bodies).
Say it in an age-appropriate way, with words they will understand.
Offer to practice mindfulness with them; sometimes having a model makes all the difference.
Assure them that it’s okay to get off track, and how to gently guide themselves back to mindfulness when they realize they lost focus.
Finish the practice by doing something they enjoy with them to ensure they have a positive experience.
Set a daily routine for practicing mindfulness to make sure you incorporate it.
Prepare the environment for successful practice; move the furniture around or have everyone switch positions.
Share you experience with Mindfulness to help them understand how mindfulness is practiced in everyday life. Tell them how you redirect yourself when you feel distracted during a mindfulness session.
Encourage the children to share their experiences as well, whether they were good or bad.
Practice every day. The more you embed mindfulness into the daily routine, the easier it is to engage.
EXERCISES
Mindful Posing: Use this exercise to start. Have the kids go somewhere quiet and familiar, a place they feel safe. Encourage them to try the following poses.
- The Superman: start standing with the feet just wider than the hips, fists clenched, and arms reached out to the sky, stretching the body as tall as possible.
- The Wonder Woman: this pose is struck by standing tall with legs wider than hip-width apart and hands or fists placed on the hips
Sensory: Instruct your kids to turn-on their senses of smell, sight, hearing, taste, and touch. This will encourage them to pause and focus their attention on the present, opening their awareness to the information their senses bring. This is a classic mindfulness exercise and encourages observation and curiosity.
The Mindful Jar: This activity can teach children how strong emotions can manifest and how to find peace when these strong emotions are overwhelming.
Get a clear Mason jar and fill it almost all the way with water. Add a big spoonful of glitter glue or glue and dry glitter to the jar. Put the lid back on the jar and shake it to make the glitter swirl. Encourage them to imagine that the glitter is like their thoughts when stressed, mad or upset.
Say “see how they whirl around and make it really hard to see clearly? That’s why it’s so easy to make silly decisions when you’re upset – because you’re not thinking clearly.” Then put the jar down in front of them.
Say “now watch what happens when you’re still for a couple of moments. Keep watching. See how the glitter starts to settle and the water clears? Your mind works the same way. When you’re calm for a little while, your thoughts start to settle and you start to see things much clearer. Deep breaths during this calming process can help us settle when we feel a lot of emotions”
Try having the kids focus on one emotion at a time, such as anger, and discuss how the glitter is like that. This exercise helps children learn about how their emotions can cloud their thoughts, but it also facilitates mindfulness while focusing on the swirling glitter in the jar.
Take a Safari: This activity turns a walk into an exciting new adventure. Tell your kids that you will be going on a safari: instruct them to notice as many birds, bugs, creepy-crawlies, and any other animals as they can. Anything that walks, crawls, swims, or flies is of interest, and need to focus all of their senses to find them, especially the little ones.
A similar exercise for adults is the mindfulness walk. This exercise provokes the same response in children that a mindful walk elicits in adults: a state of awareness and grounding in the present.
STARLIGHT POETRY BY KAI
View Me on Twitter @kairosoflife
See Creativity Chaos - a Creativity Blog by Kai
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© 2019-2020 Copyright Starlight Poetry
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View Me on Twitter @kairosoflife
See Creativity Chaos - a Creativity Blog by Kai
About | Reprints & Copyrights | Home
© 2019-2020 Copyright Starlight Poetry
VIEW FULL SITE DIRECTORY