Mindfulness

On the afternoon of Wednesday, Feb. 10^th, the staff of Nabnasset were treated to a Professional Development workshop given by Brenda Feingold regarding Mindfulness to help us regain focus and reduce stress and anxiety.  Ms. Feingold has been studying and teaching mindfulness and its benefits for the past 15 years. She has spoken at many schools and businesses/corporations in and around the Boston area.

Mindfulness is considered to be a foundation to increasing resilience and balance in your life.  It also improves one’s well-being and has an impact on all aspects of physical and emotional health.  Some benefits include: increased energy, the ability to respond more effectively in stressful situations, impulse control, increased focus and increased confidence.

What is mindfulness?  Mindfulness is deliberately paying attention to what you experiencing in the moment and to do so with kindness and without judgment.  That is, instead of worrying about past or future actions, one focuses on the “here and now”, being fully in the present.  With mindfulness, we can focus on what makes us happy as well as what factors contribute to unhappiness, thus allowing one to do something about it. It also allows us to reflect on our current experience and learn new ways to relate, thus reducing stress.

A wonderful book to read with your child is called Mindful Monkey, Happy Panda by Lauren Alderfer. This story offers a wonderful explanation of the importance of practicing mindfulness. We have been reading this book to many of our small counseling groups to help the students begin to practice mindfulness.

What are the symptoms of stress? Some common symptoms of stress include:

• Berating oneself with negative thinking - "I can't do it", “I’m dumb”, “I’ll never get this”

• Headaches

• Stomachaches

• Trouble paying attention

• Irritability

• Forgetfulness

• Difficulty making decisions

• Lashing out at others

• Difficulty concentrating

What can I do to help reduce stress in myself or my child? Introducing and including mindfulness into your life doesn’t have to be time consuming.  Mindfulness exercises can take as little as 10 minutes to complete.  The amount of time you spend is up to you and your schedule, but it does help to build a little mindfulness time into your daily routine.  Some tips to bring mindfulness into your life are:

• Take 4-5-6 breaths (breathe in for the count of 4, hold your breath for the count of 5, and breathe out for the count of 6 –pursing your lips like blowing out through a straw)

• Take 3 deep belly breaths

• Maintaining quiet and still bodies for 1 minute. Listen to all the sounds around you

•   Practice mindful yoga

• Take a mindful nature walk - stop and listen to all the sounds, stop and look all around you

• Make mindfulness bottles with your children (for directions click here) 

•  Use the relaxation wheel for more calming down tools!

               

                 

Practicing these exercises as well as other mindfulness techniques found below, will allow for a more rich, satisfying life experience. 

Mindfulness book reviews

Kids Relaxation blog with lots of relaxation activities

Guided Mindfulness Meditations for Children

8 Ways to Teach Mindfulness to Kids (article)