Mindfulness & Relaxation
Relaxing is more than just down time spent kicking back, playing video games, or watching TV. Relaxing is an essential strategy for regulating thoughts, emotions, and even body discomfort. Enjoy taking some time with your child to relax. This might mean enjoying a “just for fun book,” meal, game, or other activity.
Mindfulness teaches us to focus on the present moment. Sometimes we all go on autopilot. For example, have you ever gotten into your car and miraculously ended up where you needed to be (without even realizing the steps you took to get there)? While being on autopilot from time to time is normal, being mindful can help us to feel aware, appreciative, and in control. When being mindful we choose to do 3 things: 1: act deliberately and with intention (i.e. not absent mindedly). 2: act without judging ourselves, and 3: focus on the present moment (without worrying about what happened before or will happen later).
Try some of the ideas:
Look Mindfully:
When taking a walk or a drive, suggest noticing and enjoying details in scenery. This can be an especially fun activity to do when the seasons are changing and your children's surroundings are beginning to look and feel different. Challenge your children to notice and appreciate the colors, textures, and shapes they see. You can also try this activity with a single object such as a stone, leaf, or piece of jewelry. Ask your child to notice how looking mindfully makes him or her feel.
Breathe Mindfully:
Breathing mindfully is an excellent strategy for reducing stress and worry. Mindful Breathing calms our nervous system by slowing our heart rate, possibly reducing our blood pressure, releasing muscle tension, and promoting feelings of calmness. With your child, breathe in through your nose for the count of 4. Then breathe out through your nose for the count of 4. Notice how it feels as your breath travels slowly in and out of your body. Notice if it is hard to avoid “mind-chatter” (or lots of racing thoughts). To help yourself focus, say to yourself “in” as you breathe in and “out” as you breathe out.
Eat Mindfully:
When eating, challenge your child to notice and enjoy the smells, tastes, and textures of his or her food. Ask your child to consider and appreciate the process it took to get the food onto his or her plate. This activity might encourage trying new foods, or eating slower.
Move Mindfully
Encourage your child to pay attention to sensations in different parts of his or her body when moving. Ask you child how different movements (for example walking fast or slow, stretching muscles or engaging muscles, relaxing body parts or tensing body parts) can make him or her feel. Try doing some yoga poses at home with your child.
Smell Mindfully:
With your child, enjoy paying attention to the many aromas of your home. For example, when preparing or eating a meal, unpacking holiday décor, or doing laundry, ask your child to notice how smells trigger memories and feelings. If you notice that your child finds certain smells to be especially calming, try having him or her enjoy those smells before bed, or before a disliked activity.
Listen Mindfully:
Play a song for your child. This is a great activity to do in the car. Ask your child to notice changes in volume, tempo, and style. Ask your child to notice how music makes him or her feel. Music can be a great tool for helping your child to relax in the moment.
Touch Mindfully:
Encourage your child to notice how different textures feel.Ask your child how touching different objects (such as cloth, fur, paper, wood, etc) make him or her feel. Remind your child that he or she will need to ask permission before touching objects that do not belong to him or her.
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Read Mindfully???
Recently, one of my middle school students made it his goal to read more mindfully. When asked to think about what "mindful reading" would look like, my student talked about wanting to slow down when reading; to think about the emotions and images conveyed by his book. I found myself wondering....can making the conscious decision to read mindfully boost reading comprehension (or the ability to understand just-read material)? Research on this topic is limited; however, this is a question worth answering! Challenge yourself to be mindful when reading...see if your ability to understand your book improves when you slow down, and tune in to the experience of reading.