Mindfulness and Yoga

There are many ways to do yoga at home but here are some of my very favorite resources!

• Cosmic Yoga (free and will keep your child entertained with interactive and entertaining story lines)
• Yoga for Kids (free and kid-friendly)
• Yoga with Adriene (Adriene is very popular in adult yoga and these videos teach yoga to kids-- better for 7 and up)
• Tai Chi for Kids 

Books and resources available for purchase (but worth it!):

• Breathe Like a Bear
• Yoga for Children Cards
• Yoga for Classrooms Cards (could easily be adapted for at home too)
• Mindful Games (better for older kids and teens)

Do not reproduce without permission. 

• Apps: There are so many mindfulness apps available that have kid versions: Breathe2Relax, Calm, DreamyKid, Happify, Headspace, and Stop, Breathe, and Think.  
• Breathing techniques: Balloon breath, bear breath, belly breath, candle breath, count to three breath, dragon breath, hot chocolate breath, volcano breath-- you name it, there is a breathing technique for it. 
• Calming corners: A calming corner is never forced or seen as punitive. Instead, it is a place that includes calm down bottles**, manipulatives, soft blankets or pillows, noise canceling headphones and anything else that can be a safe spot for children to calm.  
• Daily check in: This can be done as a body scan to check in and see how the body is feeling, it could be a brief “how are you feeling today?,” or anything that allows the child a moment to check in and think about how they are feeling.   
• Energizers: Sometimes waking up our body is the best way we can gain control of it. Yoga, simple stretches, balancing and coordination activities are great ways to energize.  
• Five, four, three, two one: Have your child share (or journal about!) five things they can see, four things they can touch, three things they can hear, two things they can smell and one thing they can taste. This is a great grounding technique and can be beneficial for anxiety. 
• Gratitude: Practicing gratitude is simple and can be done by writing, drawing, talking or just thinking about what makes us grateful. 
• Healthy brain and body: Teaching children about their brain functioning and why these mindfulness techniques create a healthy brain and body is a great way to increase understanding. Siegel (2020) created a hand model of the brain for a great visual.      
• Imagination station: Using imagination is a great way to introduce children to visualizations. Having children close their eyes or focus on something in the room (never force young people to close their eyes, it can be traumatizing) and imagine their happiest place, a trip to the beach, clouds, etc. The options are as endless as your imagination! 
• Journaling: Mindful writing can be any writing that allows the child to be present in the moment. This could be journaling about your surroundings or your feelings, brain dumps, or positive self-talk writing.  
• Kindness: Kindness towards yourself and others is at the heart of mindfulness. The loving kindness meditation is very popular with adults and perfect for children too. There are many scripts, videos and ideas out there. One of my favorites can be found at MakeTodayAwesome.org.  
• Listening, really really listening: Children can close their eyes or focus on something in the room and listen to all the sounds. By encouraging the children to really, really listen, they will hear things that they have never heard before. Try this exercise outside too! 
• Mindful movement: On a rainbow walk, children look for things on their walk that are all the colors of the rainbow. On a five senses walk, children identify what they see, hear, smell, taste, and feel.       

These ideas are meant to make mindfulness with children simple yet effective. 

By implementing mindfulness with children, you just might find that it is beneficial for you too! 

Mandalas are truly one of my favorite mindfulness activities to use individually or as a group activity. What's a mandala? Well, it's a circular geometric design that's found in nature everywhere...such as many flowers, a orange cut in half, and the rings of a tree. Can you think of others?

Creating, designing, and coloring mandalas with all kinds of various materials has long been a tradition in many cultures as doing so is often found to be relaxing, focusing and enjoyable! Following are several ideas you can try today and over the weekend, many of which are extra fun as a group family activity!  

Download free mandala coloring pages, print and color with your favorite coloring tools such as colored pencil, crayons, markers or paint. These can vary widely in complexity so add 'for children' or 'for adults' to find the best fit for the colorer. There are also many wonderful mandala coloring books available (just google it!).

Try these tips:

1) Find a cozy spot to color.

2) Listen to soft, calming music.

3) Choose your colors - you might like to coordinate them.

4) Start from the center.

5) Use the same colors for any repeating patterns.

6) Relax and enjoy! 

Create a Family Mandala Wall 

1) Print one of the SAME mandala designs for each family member. 

2) Color in your designs individually (no peeking!).

3) As you finish, sign them and post them up on a wall all together.

4) What do you notice? Observe and discuss.

Collaborative Mandala Game

1) Print a single mandala coloring page.

2) Each person chooses one or two unique colors.

3) Take turns adding to the mandala.

4) Optional: When it's your turn, see if you can find and color just one of the repeating patterns.

5) Add your group design to the Family Mandala Wall.

Chalk it out!

Resources:

Yoga for Children-Yoga Cards

Yoga 4 Classrooms Activity Cards

Mandala Coloring Tips and Games: Lisa Flynn, founder of Yoga 4 Classrooms

Photos used with permission: Yoga 4 Classrooms

@yoga4classrooms #yoga4classrooms 

In July 2019, I was fortunate to attend a Yoga for Children training through ChildLight Yoga in Dover, New Hampshire through Fund for Teachers. This opportunity allowed me to receive 66 hours of direct instruction about how to use yoga and mindfulness with children.