Tried and True, these are some of our favorite practices for mindfulness!
In this post I share some of our personal favorite mindfulness practices, and the basic steps you will need for guiding your children. Get creative and make these practices your own, guiding your children in mindfulness will not only deepen your bond, but create some of the most magical experiences!
In this Post
#1 - Affirmations Practice
This is one of my favorite mindfulness practices, and is really great for younger kiddos!
There are a few different ways to practice affirmations. With younger children it can be easier to speak affirmations aloud to them, rather than encouraging them to repeat it back aloud. As children get older repeating aloud or silently to themselves is also an option.
This practice can also be a quick one, for those days where there just isn’t a whole lot of time.
I personally like to practice this with each child individually, however you can practice as a family as well.
Begin by sitting or kneeling facing each other, you will want to get as close to their eye level as you can. Taking both of their hands, or holding hands in a circle (family practice) looking directly at your child(ren) say your affirmations aloud “ You are ____”. Children have the option to repeat the affirmations aloud “I am ___”. We usually say between 3 – 10 affirmations each practice.
You will see the light brighten inside your children during this practice, it is pure magic!
"Gratitude is the healthiest of all human emotions."
- Zig Ziglar
#2 - Gratitude Practice
Even the youngest of kiddo’s knows of someone/something that they love. This is the best way to introduce a practice of gratitude to younger children.
Begin by getting comfortable, this can be laying down or seated. Bring the attention to the breath. Take three deep cleansing breaths, and return the breath to it’s natural rhythm.
I like to alternate breathing styles with these practices to keep things interesting. You can read more about different breath practices here.
Closing down the eyes (if they are willing) ask them to think about someone that they love? Younger kiddo’s will likely announce this out loud, and that is perfectly fine! Ask them to think about what they love about that person? If you could give that person one thing right now, what would you give them?
This might be where the practice ends for some kiddo’s, and again it is perfectly okay! If your kiddo is ready to keep going, keep reading.
Ask your kiddo to think of a time that they did something for someone else, and how that made them feel?
We want to bring awareness to our ability to feel more than one emotion at a time, and our ability to choose where our attention goes.
Close out the practice with three deep belly breaths, and allow the breath to return to it’s natural rhythm.
#3 - Breath Practice
Bring a teddy/toy to practice. Deep belly breathing. Use the imagery of a balloon inside the belly. On the inhale filling the balloon completely, and on the exhale letting the air out slowly.
Encourage kiddo's to watch their teddy/toy ride the waves of their breath. Maybe inviting them to close their eyes and feeling the rise and fall of the belly in deep breathing. Keep in mind that this likely won't be a long practice, and that's okay. We often use breath practice in our home to calm and restore after emotional overloading.
#4 - Sensory Awareness Practice
We are going to explore our senses in this practice. This can be a great practice to take outside!
Either laying down, or sitting comfortably. Begin with three deep belly breaths, and release the breath back to it’s natural rhythm.
Close down the eyes. Begin by asking
“What do you hear?”
Encourage their eyes to stay closed, and really tune into the sounds around you. You can offer the sounds you hear to them. You may find they agree with you, and begin to notice sounds as well.
“What do you feel?”
This may prompt different answers – maybe this is a physical, or maybe this is emotional. There is no right or wrong, explore together, be curious!
“What do you smell?”
You may get some silly answers “ The stinky dog” and that is great! They are still exploring their senses, even with this type of response!
“What do you taste?”
This can be a really interesting question, often whatever they last ate comes to mind, but maybe you can help them explore this!
Slowly, open your eyes.
“What do you see?”
This is a really great time to be creative with what you see, explore colours, patterns, shapes.
Close the practice with three deep belly breaths, and return the breath back to it’s natural rhythm.
#5 - Body Scan Practice
While a Body Scan practice seems pretty straight forward, it can be a challenge to focus kiddo's for a true full scan. That doesn't mean that we can't mold the practice for younger kiddos! You can group parts of the body together for this practice, introduce Chakra's, even scan over the entire body as whole.
I love to encourage their imagination and often use "light" as a guide. "Imagine a ball of light - what colour is it, is it big or small, is it bright or dim?" bringing as much creative freedom to the practice as I can. Tip - encourage the light to change colour or brighten when focusing on a specific area of the body. For younger kiddo's you can always move a toy to help guide them along their body.
I would love to hear from you! How did you feel guiding a practice?
Did your children have a favorite practice? Let me know in the comments.
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