6 Fun Activities for Mindful Kids
Practicing mindfulness powerfully improves quality of life for both adults and children. Kids who practice mindful activities reap benefits like:
- enhanced focus
- improved mental and physical health
- improved social skills
- reduced impact of bullying
- access to relaxation
Mindfulness is fun for kids when they're playing! Try out these 6 mindfulness activities for kids. (P.S. - explore even more mindful games, books and more in the Gift Ideas for Kids collection.)
1. Power Poses
Power poses aren't just for adults! Children naturally spring into action. Encourage the development of self-confidence in kids with a pose. Try the Superman pose - standing with feet a little wider than the hips, reach arms out above the head with fists clenched. Hold this pose while standing face to face with your child - and try not to burst out laughing!
2. Spidey Senses
Spiderman's Spidey senses tingle when an enemy is close by, so he feels prepared to take them on. Similarly, kids can turn on their "Spidey senses" to tune-in to their surroundings. Encourage your children to pause and notice what's going on around them. What do they smell? See? Hear? Taste? This fun activity helps brings a kid's awareness to the present.
3. Adventure Hike or Walk
Turn an everyday walk outside into a fun, mindfulness adventure! Bring your children on a hiking adventure, and instruct them to notice as many animals, birds, bugs, etc., as they can. Help them focus all of their senses on finding animals in the wild, especially very young children. Adults can get in on the fun, too, and tap into a state of awareness and grounding in the present.
4. Bell Ringing
Let your child ring a bell or a singing bowl and then ask them to listen closely to the sound. Tell them to be very silent and raise their hands when they no longer hear the sound of the bell. Then tell them to be silent for one minute and pay close attention to any other sounds they hear once the ringing has stopped. After, ask your child to tell you every sound they noticed during that minute. This activity gets kids excited to share their observations and helps them to connect to their present perceptions of the world around them.
5. Breathing Buddies
Ask your child to get their favorite stuffed animal toy for this activity. Instruct them to lay down on the floor and place their toy on their tummy. Tell them to breathe in silence for one minute and notice how their toy moves up and down. What other sensations do they notice? Tell them to imagine that the thoughts that come into their minds turn into bubbles and float away. Practicing meditation with a favorite toy makes a "boring" activity fun! Using a unique, artist-designed yoga mat adds to the experience.
6. Mindful Eating
Turn snack time into a mindful activity! A sweet like a piece of chocolate or something healthy like fruit is great for this exercise. Tell your child to take a bite of their snack. Ask them; What does it taste like? Is it sweet or salty? What does it feel like in your mouth? Can you crunch it with your teeth, or does it melt in your mouth? Now instruct your child to try taking a smaller (or larger) bite. Ask them; How does this change the way eating this food feels?
Further Reading
For even more activities for mindful, de-stressed kids, check out the following resources.
- Positive Psychology Program's Mindfulness Activities
- Mind Body Green's Fun Ways to Teach Your Kids Mindfulness
- Teach Starter's Classroom Mindfulness Activities
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Also in FrequencyRiser Conscious Lifestyle Blog
Cultivating Mindfulness: How to Practice Mindfulness Meditation
Cultivating mindfulness is the key to overcoming suffering and recognizing natural wisdom: both our own and others'. How do we go about it?
In the Buddhist tradition and in Contemplative Psychotherapy training, we nurture mindfulness through the practice of sitting meditation. There are many different kinds of meditation. For example, some are designed to help us relax; others are meant to produce altered states of consciousness.
Mindfulness meditation is unique in that it is not directed toward getting us to be different from how we already are. Instead, it helps us become aware of what is already true moment by moment. We could say that it teaches us how to be unconditionally present; that is, it helps us be present with whatever is happening, no matter what it is.
Mindfulness, paying precise, nonjudgmental attention to the details of our experience as it arises and subsides, doesn't reject anything. Instead of struggling to get away from experiences we find difficult, we practice being able to be with them. Equally, we bring mindfulness to pleasant experiences as well. Perhaps surprisingly, many times we have a hard time staying simply present with happiness. We turn it into something more familiar, like worrying that it won't last or trying to keep it from fading away.
When we are mindful, we show up for our lives; we don't miss them in being distracted or in wishing for things to be different. Instead, if something needs to be changed we are present enough to understand what needs to be done. Being mindful is not a substitute for actually participating in our lives and taking care of our own and others' needs. In fact, the more mindful we are, the more skillful we can be in compassionate action.
It's Still Such a Wonderful World
It's easy to lose sight of the beauty of the world in the midst of tragedy, political upheaval, injustice and suffering. While we continue with our practice, working to ease the suffering of others and living a life of compassion and Love, we also need to be mindful and grateful for the beauty of the world that still surrounds us when we choose Love. Like Pops says, "Love baby. Love. That's the secret."
"What a Wonderful World" [1970 Spoken Introduction Version] along with Oliver Nelson's Orchestra is a song written by Bob Thiele (as George Douglas) and George David Weiss. It was first recorded by Louis Armstrong and released as a single in 1968. Thiele and Weiss were both prominent in the music world (Thiele as a producer and Weiss as a composer/performer). Armstrong's recording was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Intended as an antidote for the increasingly racially and politically charged climate of everyday life in the United States, the song also has a hopeful, optimistic tone with regard to the future, with reference to babies being born into the world and having much to look forward to.
From Yama to Samyama
However, the ultimate goal of practicing yoga is to achieve transcendence and to break this cyclic existence. Dharana, dhyana, and samadhi are the three states that prepare one toward this transcendental goal. These three together is called Samyama (sam meaning total and yama meaning to control). “So Samyama means complete mastery over the psychic process or complete control of mental concentration.”