In school we are practicing mindful techniques, some of which can be found below to use at home. The number of these will increase the more we use them in school. The more we practice, the more normal using mindfulness and relaxation as a coping strategy will become. So let’s get everyone involved, share with your families and friends and spread the word. Most importantly, enjoy!
The Benefits of Mindfulness:
- Body and Emotion regulation: when our bodies and emotions are balanced and appropriate in our lives
- Insight: “self-knowing awareness”…this is key to building positive social connections
- Attunement with others, i.e.”resonance”. This leads to the other person’s experience of “feeling felt”, of being understood. When children become more “tuned in” to themselves, they are more “tuned in” to others around them
- Empathy: allow us to see from the stance of another person’s experience, imagining others’ reality and perspective
- Better Impulse Control/Response Flexibility: the capacity to pause before taking action (this is key with children and teens!); being able to consider a variety of possible options and to choose among them.
- Fear modulation: our ability to calm and soothe, and even unlearn, our own fears
- Intuition: access to awareness of the wisdom of the body
- Increased Attention Span: practice of paying attention can build our attention muscles in our brains
- Morality: taking into consideration the larger picture, imagining and acting on what’s best for the larger group rather than just ourselves
From: The Mindful Brain by Daniel Siegel, MD