Ingrid has worked with some classes in P4-7 on mindfulness and being aware of how we feel. She has kindly shared some videos to help you remember what to do and how to be kind to yourself.

What is Mindfulness? We hear about it everywhere – but what is it?

Put simply, Mindfulness is about paying attention, on purpose, to whatever is happening in the present moment. Without judging it or trying to change it.

In some ways it is very simple – but because our minds are programmed to “think” all the time, we are constantly “time travelling” into the future or into our past. This means that we don’t really think about the PRESENT until it has passed us by and then we are missing out on what is actually happening to us in THAT moment!

Can you see what makes it hard?

Anyway, the good news is that with a little bit of practice, we can TRAIN ourselves to be more aware of the present moment –this is good news for a number of reasons

1. It can help us to worry LESS – if we are dealing with stuff as it happens, we are less likely to be thinking about future problems – things which may or may not even happen.

2. It can help us to GROW happiness – the more we are “in the moment” the more we can enjoy the good things that happen to us when they happen. This grows our happiness “muscle” – which means that when difficult things happen to us we know that they won’t last forever and good things will happen again.

3. When we are more aware of our thoughts and feelings, we are more able to ask for help and support with things that are really bothering us – when we do a FOFBOC for example or NOTICE that we are starting to feel a bit hot and bothered or are starting to feel upset or angry, by using our practices we can give ourselves some time to figure out what is REALLY going on and get some help.

4. It can help us to remain calm in situations where we want to do our best – sport, artwork, dance, music to name but some of the things we want to do well and enjoy. It can also help us to enjoy our food more (MINDFUL eating).

I have put together 10 short videos to help you to get started with your Mindfulness journey – please get in touch if you want to learn more.

I would start with the Mindfulness Intro, then What is Mindfulness, moving on to the Introduction to the Breath, Help, my mind is wandering, FOFBOC 1 and 2, What is Stress? and then Belly Breathing, Finger breathing and Petal breathing.

Good luck and enjoy exploring Mindfulness - once you have gone through my videos you could try one of the many Apps out there to develop your practice.

Have Fun!

Ingrid Stanyer

May 2020