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Mindfulness Activities for Children and Teens

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Mindfulness Activities for Children and Teens

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Mindfulness can boost the quality of our lives in numerous ways.

In today's rush, we all think too much-seek too much-want too much-and forget about the joy of just being.

- Eckhart Tolle

What does mindfulness do to spark "the joy of just being" that Tolle references? And, how can we teach kids to start benefiting from its practice?

This article delves into both of these questions and includes plenty of activities for you to start using today.

Research confirms that for children, mindfulness can:

Mitigate the effects of bullying (Zhou, Liu, Niu, Sun, & Fan, 2016);

Enhance focus in children with ADHD (Zhang et al., 2016);

Reduce attention problems (Crescentini, Capurso, Furlan, & Fabbro, 2016);

Improve mental health and wellbeing;

Improve social skills when well taught and practiced with children and adolescents.

It's also important for caregivers and educators to provide age-appropriate mindfulness practices to children.

For example, fostering mindfulness in preschoolers with tools like pictures, objects, food, simple movements, and music, can help them develop an ability to better focus their attention and stay present.

In a study by Flook et al., (2015), kids were asked to engage in an activity called "Belly Buddies", in which they listened to music while also noticing the sensation of a small tone on their stomachs rising and falling with each breath.

The kids became more attune to their bodies, breath and to the music.

Ultimately, simple activities like these can have long-lasting developmental benefits when practiced regularly.

Want more? We have 25 mindfulness activities designed specifically for children. Plus, they are fun to do.

But, before you read on, we thought you might like to download our three Mindfulness Exercises for free. These science-based, comprehensive exercises will not only help you cultivate a sense of inner peace throughout your daily life but will also give you the tools to enhance the mindfulness of your children, students or young clients.

4 Fun Mindfulness Activities and Exercises for Children

Let's start with these simple ways to attune children with their bodies. At a young age, humans naturally curious about the strength and flexibility of their bodies. It's a great age to introduce body-mind awareness as a valuable way to take care of themselves.

Mindful Posing

One easy way for children to dip their toes into mindfulness is through body poses. To get your kids excited, tell them that doing fun poses can help them feel strong, brave, and happy.

Have the kids go somewhere quiet and familiar, a place they feel safe. Next, tell them to try one of the following poses:

1. The Superman: this pose is practiced by standing with the feet just wider than the hips, fists clenched, and arms reached out to the sky, stretching the body as tall as possible.

2. The Wonder Woman: this pose is struck by standing tall with legs wider than hip-width apart and hands or fists placed on the hips (Karen Young, 2017).

Ask the kids how they feel after a few rounds of trying either of these poses. You may be surprised.

Spidey-Senses

While on the subject of superheroes, this can be a related "next step" to teach kids how to stay present.

Instruct your kids to turn-on their "Spidey senses," or the super-focused senses of smell, sight, hearing, taste, and touch that Spiderman uses to keep tabs on the world around him. This will encourage them to pause and focus their attention on the present, opening their awareness to the information their senses bring in (Karen Young, 2017).

This is a classic mindfulness exercise and encourages observation and curiosity-great skills for any human to practice.

The Mindful Jar

This activity can teach children how strong emotions can take hold, and how to find peace when these strong emotions feel overwhelming.

First, get a clear jar (like a Mason jar) and fill it almost all the way with water. Next, add a big spoonful of glitter glue or glue and dry glitter to the jar. Put the lid back on the jar and shake it to make the glitter swirl.

Finally, use the following script or take inspiration from it to form your own mini-lesson:

"Imagine that the glitter is like your thoughts when you're stressed, mad or upset. See how they whirl around and make it really hard to see clearly? That's why it's so easy to make silly decisions when you're upset - because you're not thinking clearly. Don't worry this is normal and it happens in all of us (yep, grownups too).

[Now put the jar down in front of them.]

Now watch what happens when you're still for a couple of moments. Keep watching. See how the glitter starts to settle and the water clears? Your mind works the same way. When you're calm for a little while, your thoughts start to settle and you start to see things much clearer. Deep breaths during this calming process can help us settle when we feel a lot of emotions" (Karen Young, 2017).

This exercise not only helps children learn about how their emotions can cloud their thoughts, but it also facilitates the practice of mindfulness while focusing on the swirling glitter in the jar.

Try having the kids focus on one emotion at a time, such as anger, and discuss how the shaken verse settling glitter is like that emotion.

Safari

The Safari exercise is a great way to help kids learn mindfulness. This activity turns an average, everyday walk into an exciting new adventure.

Tell your kids that you will be going on a safari: their goal is to notice as many birds, bugs, creepy-crawlies, and any other animals as they can. Anything that walks, crawls, swims, or flies is of interest, and they'll need to focus all of their senses to find them, especially the little ones (Karen Young, 2017).

A similar exercise for adults is the mindfulness walk. This exercise provokes the same response in children that a mindful walk elicits in adults: a state of awareness and grounding in the present.

If you're interested in more information on how to encourage the practice of mindfulness in children and teens, you can check out the other exercises from this website. Otherwise, head on to the next section where we lay out key tips for teaching these concepts.

15 Tips for Teaching Mindfulness to Kids and Teenagers

When you are trying to teach your kids or young clients about mindfulness and its benefit, we recommend you begin with a few guidelines:

1. Make sure they are ready to give mindfulness a try; if they are full of energy and itching to run and play, it may not be the best time for practicing mindfulness for the first time.

2. Explain what mindfulness is and what it is not; give examples of what seems similar to mindfulness but is not (i.e., introspection or chasing thoughts down the "rabbit hole" versus listening to our bodies).

3. Say it in an age-appropriate way, with words they will understand.

4. Offer to practice mindfulness with them; sometimes having a model makes all the difference.

5. Assure them that it's okay to get off track, and how to gently guide themselves back to mindfulness when they realize they lost focus.

6. Finish the practice by doing something they enjoy with them to ensure they have a positive experience.

Megan Cowan, co-founder, and co-director at the Mindful Schools program in Oakland, also has some tips on how to teach mindfulness to kids (2010):

1. Keep the purpose of mindfulness practice in mind. Be sure to engage in mindful practice with children in positive situations, and never use it as a disciplinary tool.

2. Make sure you practice mindfulness yourself!

3. Set a daily routine for practicing mindfulness to make sure you incorporate it.

4. Prepare the environment for successful practice; move the furniture around or have everyone switch positions.

5. Involve students in the process; perhaps designate a different child each day to alert the class when it's time to practice mindfulness or help set up any tools or props.

6. Share your own experiences with the kids; this will help them understand how mindfulness is applied and practiced in everyday life. Feel free to share how you redirect yourself when you feel distracted during a mindfulness session.

7. Encourage the children to share their experiences as well, whether they were good experiences with mindfulness or experiences in which they got distracted. Maybe each session can end with a few students sharing how it went for them.

8. Practice every day. The more you embed mindfulness into the daily routine, the easier it is to engage.

Cowan (2010) also includes a short script if you'd like to use her mini-lesson.

Relay the following instructions to your kids:

"Please get into your mindful bodies-still and quiet, sitting upright, eyes closed."

"Now place all your attention on the sound you are about to hear. Listen until the sound is completely gone."

Ring a "mindfulness bell," or have a student ring the bell. Use a bell with a sustained sound or a rain stick to encourage mindful listening.

"Please raise your hand when you can no longer hear the sound."

When most or all have raised their hands, you can say, "Now slowly, mindfully, move your hand to your stomach or chest, and just feel your breathing."

You can help students stay focused during the breathing with reminders like, "Just breathing in ... just breathing out ..."

Ring the bell to end.

For more in-depth tips and ideas on teaching mindfulness to children, check out the book Planting Seeds: Practicing Mindfulness with Children by Thich Nhat Hanh and the Plum Village Community.

The website from editor and children's book author Annaka Harris also provides some great ideas for exercises that teach mindfulness to children.

8 Mindfulness Games, YouTube Videos, and Apps to Support Your Teachings

Technology offers learning and development for these practices. To ensure that you are using technology to your advantage when it comes to teaching children mindfulness, give some of these resources a try.

Smiling Minds App

Another application that is popular for children as young as seven is the Smiling Mind app. This app is available through the Apple app store as well as the Google Play store. It is free to download and use.

This app offers similar features to the Mindfulness for Children app, including a body scan activity. There are dozens of modules with hundreds of sessions available, each customized for wellbeing, education, and the workplace (for adults).

If you'd like to check out the reviews for this app or learn more about it, visit the website.

Still Quiet Place

If you'd like to use a video to help your kids learn how to practice mindfulness, the "Mindfulness Exercises for Kids: Still Quiet Place Video" is a great resource. This animated video can help students learn how to go to a "still quiet place."

Check out the video here, and scroll down to the link below the video to see more activities from GoZen.com.

Mindfulness Games for Kids

Several interactive games are available on the Kids Activities Blog. Here are just a few:

1. Blowing bubbles. Have your kids focus on taking in a deep, slow breath, and exhaling steadily to fill the bubble. Encourage them to pay close attention to the bubbles as they form, detach, and pop or float away.

2. Pinwheels. Use the same tactics from blowing bubbles to encourage mindful attention on the pinwheels.

3. Playing with balloons. Tell your kids that the aim of this game is to keep the balloon off the ground, but have them move slowly and gently. You can tell them to pretend the balloon is very fragile if that helps.

4. Texture bag. Place several small, interestingly shaped or textured objects in a bag. Have each child reach in and touch an object, one at a time, and describe what they are touching. Make sure they don't take the object out of the bag, forcing them to use only their sense of touch to explore the object.

5. Blindfolded taste tests. Use a blindfold for each child and have them experience eating a small food, like a raisin or a cranberry, as if it was their first time eating it.

If you want to know about more games you can play with children to teach them about mindfulness, check out the book Mindful Games: Sharing Mindfulness and Meditation with Children, Teens, and Families by Susan Kaiser Greenland.

2 Mindfulness Training Classes For Children with Anxiety

Mindfulness practice can be an especially important component of a child's life if they suffer from anxiety. Learning about mindfulness and how to engage in mindfulness can help a child realize that worrying is normal, and there are useful coping methods when we are worrying too much.

Aside from the Mindful Schools program mentioned earlier, there are classes and programs designed especially for children, and even a few that are structured for children with anxiety.

Child Mind Institute focus on education, care and science, and offers various programs. Programs are customised to your needs, so contact them via their website to book for a workshop.

There is also a popular course called "MonkeyMind and Me: A Mindfulness Course for Children." Children learn how to meditate and practice mindfulness over eight one hour sessions held over eight weeks.

The lessons are delivered through stories about MonkeyMind, a friendly puppet who has trouble with self-regulation ("MonkeyMind and Me", 2017). The course includes lessons, opportunities to practice, design of a homemade project, and a graduation ceremony.

The structure of these lessons and exercises transforms teaching mindfulness into an experience everyone might enjoy-and benefit from.

The Basics: Teaching Essential Mindfulness Practices and Skills

Before you delve into the classroom, review these basic skills and you may have better success with students and clients learning mindfulness.

Mindful Breathing

Mindful breathing is a staple of practicing mindfulness. It is the foundation of many other exercises. To help kids learn how to engage in mindful breathing, you can use a video like the one below:

This video guides children through a breathing meditation by instructing them to imagine a sailboat that rises and falls as they breathe; with each inhale and exhale, the boat moves gently on top of the water.

They also get an opportunity to visualize their breath with a color and focus on the experience of their breath moving through their nostrils. Lastly, the video ends with the exercise of the children imagining (with their eyes closed) that they used to be a fish and paying attention to how it would feel to breathe through their lungs for the first time.

Body Scan

The body scan is a key practice in mindfulness, and an easy one to teach to children.

Have your kids lie down on their back on a comfortable surface and close their eyes;

Then tell them to squeeze every muscle in their body as tight as they can.

Tell them to squish their toes and feet, squeeze their hands into fists, and make their legs and arms as hard as stone;

After a few seconds, have them release all their muscles and relax for a few minutes;

Encourage them to think about how their body is feeling throughout the activity (Roman, 2015).

This simple exercise gets kids to be more aware of their bodies and helps them find a way to be present in the moment.

Heartbeat Exercise

Paying attention to one's heartbeat has a role in many mindfulness exercises and activities. To begin, tell your kids to jump up and down in place or do jumping jacks for one minute.

When they have finished, have them sit down and put a hand over their heart. Instruct them to close their eyes and pay attention only to their heartbeat and, perhaps, their breath as well (Roman, 2015).

This exercise teaches children to notice their heartbeat, and use it as a tool to help their focus. These skills will come in handy as they start engaging in more advanced mindfulness activities.

Mindfulness Meditation for Very Young Children

You might be thinking that these tips and exercises are great for elementary or middle school students, but less realistic for young children. This section focuses on children who are toddlers through kindergarten graduates.

One mother explained laid out her five strategies for teaching young children mindfulness-starting with her three-year-old child learning mindfulness.

Her strategies are:

Teach kids to recognize and identify their own emotions. Children need to associate the word or term for an emotion with the actual experience of feeling that emotion. Encourage them to think about how each emotion feels in their body. Does anger feel like they've got steam coming out of their ears? Does love make them feel like their heart is going to burst open?

Validate their emotions. Children often respond with frustration or sadness when told that their pain, however trivial it seems to us, is "not a big deal." When teaching mindfulness, let kids feel their feelings without fear of judgment. Focus instead on teaching them tools to listen to their emotions.

Teach kids mindful breathing strategies. As we noted above, mindful breathing is a building block in all mindfulness practices. Children benefit from focusing on their breathing when confronted with emotions that are hard to manage.

The author of the blog laid out three techniques she has put to use with her children:

1. Noticing the breath: this involves simply paying attention to what breathing actually feels like.
2. Five-finger starfish meditation: this breathing technique has kids holding up one hand in a starfish position (fingers spread wide) while they gently trace up and down each finger with the other hand, focusing on regular breathing at the same time.
3. Counting the breath: this technique is what it sounds like: have your children pause and count their breaths. One breath in is "1", the next breath out is "2," etc. You can have them count to 10 if they're very young, or slightly higher depending on their abilities.

Lead them in a guided meditation. Use a script or an exercise or app like the ones described above for this meditation.

Practice what you preach. As we mentioned earlier, it is so important to actually "do as you say." Kids are intuitive and human nature encourages mimicry, two advantages we can harness when trying to teach (Beach, "Baby Buddhas.")

Guide your kids every step of the way, but make sure you are taking those steps yourself as well. It will make everyone's practice richer.

The Benefits Of Mindfulness In Schools (K12) + Videos

Childhood and adolescence are important developmental stages that will construct the groundwork for mental health in the adult developmental stage.

In recent literature, mindfulness-based school programs have demonstrated a range of social, cognitive, and emotional benefits for elementary and middle-school students.

Cognitive Benefits

Executive function is a set of mental skills that constitutes attention, switching focus, planning, organizing, and remembering details.

Research in education suggests that mindfulness practice can lead to improvements in executive function in children.

For instance, in the study of Flook et al., (2010) conducted on 3 rd graders, students who went through an 8-week mindfulness program showed improvements in behavioral regulation, metacognition, and focus compared to the control group who did not have the mindfulness program.

In another study, students who had a 24-week mindfulness training scored higher in attentional measures in their elementary school (Napoli et al., 2004). Additionally, a study on preschoolers emphasized that children who went through a mindfulness curriculum for 12 weeks earned higher marks on academic performance measures. They also showed greater improvements in areas that predict future success (Flook et al., 2015).

Social Benefits

A social skill is any skill that we use to interact and communicate with others.

Deficits and excesses in social behavior can affect learning, understanding, and classroom climate. Recent research on lower-income and ethnic minority elementary school children highlighted how a 5-week mindfulness curriculum can lead to better participation in activities, as well as nurture a classroom culture of mutual respect and care in 9th-grade students (Black et al., 2013).

Emotional Benefits

Emotional health, which is a positive sense of wellbeing, is an important component of child and adolescent development. Emotional problems such as anxiety, stress, and depression can affect self-esteem, performance, and social interactions.

Mindfulness practice may facilitate the ability to manage stress, and also lead to deeper wellbeing in students.

According to one study by Schonert-Reichl and his colleagues (2010), mindfulness practice leads to higher scores on self-report measures of optimism and positive emotions in elementary school students.

Moreover, in a study conducted by Wall (2005), self-reported findings showed preteens feeling calmer, with an enhanced experience of well-being-and improved sleep-after a 5-week modified mindfulness-based stress reduction program.

Videos on Mindfulness in Schools

These four videos can help students open their minds to the benefits of mindfulness. We recommend pairing any of these segments with a discussion.

Questions for after the selected clip can include, "Has anyone practiced mindfulness, and how has it gone for you?" or "What do you think is the reason most people do not practice mindfulness, and how can we start changing this?"

A Take-Home Message

Research confirms that mindfulness can improve mental health by aiding wellbeing, attention, self-regulation, and social competency. It just needs to be practiced-and encouraged.

Mindfulness-based programs in schools can have a life-long impact on the psychological, social, and cognitive wellbeing of children and teens. Even at home or with clients, how can you incorporate mindfulness into your teachings and own schedule?

Do you have kids or work with kids on a regular basis? Try these tips and activities out, and let us know how they worked in the comments section below.

Good luck, and remember this old saying:

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don't forget to download our three Mindfulness Exercises for free.

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25 Fun Mindfulness Activities for Children & Teens (+Tips!)

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Here's a list of fun mindfulness activities and exercises for kids that will teach them about mindfulness in a playful way. Enjoy!

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Calm is the #1 app for sleep and meditation. Join the millions experiencing better sleep, lower stress, and less anxiety.

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Ways to Incorporate Yoga in the Classroom Routine

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Ways to Incorporate Yoga in the Classroom Routine

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As more and more schools start to embrace the power of yoga and mindfulness to improve the wellbeing of their students, teachers are looking for easy ways to bring yoga into their classrooms. As someone who has worked in various school settings, and seen students embracing yoga with bright eyes and open hearts, I can attest that it is a much needed and easy addition to any teacher's lesson plans.

You don't have to be a certified yoga teacher to bring yoga into your classroom. Check out these easy ways that you can start bringing yoga to your students today!

1. Use a Yoga Card Deck

There are so many fun yoga decks on the market that illustrate the poses in a kid friendly way. Using these cards is as easy as reading the descriptions to your students and having them follow along. You can set aside just five minutes a day to work on some poses. If you have more time, here are more ideas of fun ways to use yoga cards.

2. Make Yoga Part of Your Routine

Many teachers already pull their students together for a morning circle, and this is the perfect place to incorporate yoga. You can offer your students a couple of seated poses in the morning to help center them. You can also try doing a few Sun Salutations before and after a transition as a way to reset and refocus.

When students are waiting in line, try some standing poses, or simply a breathing exercise. Any time that the energy in the class is high or students need a brain break is the perfect time to practice yoga.

3. Offer Yoga as a Break

It is always nice to have a place set aside in the classroom for students to take a break when they feel tired or overwhelmed. Try setting up a yoga mat in the corner of your classroom and allow students to use it during free work times or when they complete an assignment.

You can post a few pictures of yoga poses in that area or have a card deck available for their reference.

4. Weave Yoga Into Your Existing Units

If you're doing a unit on penguins, have your students come up with penguin-inspired yoga poses. If you're learning the alphabet, make letter shapes with your bodies using yoga poses. I've led an entire yoga class using outer space-themed poses. Any theme can lend itself to a yoga class, and letting your kids get creative and make up their own poses is a great activity.

5. Get Support From Online Yoga Resources

If you're completely baffled by the idea of leading yoga yourself, call in some backup. There are so many wonderful yoga videos out there, and plenty that are geared towards children. If you have access to a computer in your classroom, set your students up with the video and let them go.

If they're anything like my students, they'll embrace anything involving technology. That way, you'll also get a chance to learn how to teach while practicing with them. This is a great thing to do on a rainy day when you can't get out for recess.

One of the main hurdles for teachers is finding the time to fit one more thing into their lesson plans, let alone create an additional one for yoga. But with these methods, there's no planning involved. Yoga is something that can simply build on things that teachers already do.

Better yet, it has the potential to leave kids less stressed, more focused, and better able to manage the tasks at hand. For teachers, this is a true gift. Are you a school teacher who brings yoga elements in the classroom? Share your tips and experiences below!
Image credit: Gordon Ogden

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5 Easy Ways to Incorporate Yoga Into Classroom Routine

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As more and more schools start to embrace the power of yoga and mindfulness to improve the wellbeing of their students, teachers are looking for easy ways to bring yoga into their classrooms. As someone who has worked in various school settings, and seen students embracing yoga with bright eyes and open hearts, I can attest that it is a much needed and easy addition to any teacher's lesson plans.

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I taught a mindfulness class at my daughters' elementary school this week. Unsurprisingly, the kids taught me way more than I taught them.

While I was doing research to develop the class, I came upon a wealth of information about mindfulness programs in schools. For one, I learned that actress Goldie Hawn has been working with neuroscientists, cognitive psychologists and educators to develop a mindfulness curriculum for schools. I was thrilled to find out that their research reported that mindfulness education in schools has proven benefits: it increases optimism and happiness in classrooms, decreases bullying and aggression, increases compassion and empathy for others and helps students resolve conflicts.

If you ever want to be inspired and also have a giggle, ask a group of kids what they think "mindfulness" is. "Relaxing out of our daily troubles and stress," "A way to stay yourself when you're going through something troubling" and "It's like getting off of one railroad track and getting onto another one" were some of my favorite answers from the recent class meeting. Kids can really be fountains of spiritual wisdom!

When I told them the dictionary's definition ("a mental state achieved by focusing one's awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations, used as a therapeutic technique"), the kids weren't entirely sure what I was talking about. And so we did some exercises to test it out. Feel free to try these at home!
1. The Bell Listening Exercise
Ring a bell and ask the kids to listen closely to the vibration of the ringing sound. Tell them to remain silent and raise their hands when they no longer hear the sound of the bell. Then tell them to remain silent for one minute and pay close attention to the other sounds they hear once the ringing has stopped. After, go around in a circle and ask the kids to tell you every sound they noticed during that minute. This exercise is not only fun and gets the kids excited about sharing their experiences with others, but really helps them connect to the present moment and the sensitivity of their perceptions.
2. Breathing Buddies
Hand out a stuffed animal to each child (or another small object). If room allows, have the children lie down on the floor and place the stuffed animals on their bellies. Tell them to breathe in silence for one minute and notice how their Breathing Buddy moves up and down, and any other sensations that they notice. Tell them to imagine that the thoughts that come into their minds turn into bubbles and float away. The presence of the Breathing Buddy makes the meditation a little friendlier, and allows the kids to see how a playful activity doesn't necessarily have to be rowdy.
3. The Squish & Relax Meditation
While the kids are lying down with their eyes closed, have them squish and squeeze every muscle in their bodies as tightly as they can. Tell them to squish their toes and feet, tighten the muscles in their legs all the way up to their hips, suck in their bellies, squeeze their hands into fists and raise their shoulders up to their heads. Have them hold themselves in their squished up positions for a few seconds, and then fully release and relax. This is a great, fun activity for "loosening up" the body and mind, and is a totally accessible way to get the kids to understand the art of "being present."
4. Smell & Tell
Pass something fragrant out to each child, such as a piece of fresh orange peel, a sprig of lavender or a jasmine flower. Ask them to close their eyes and breathe in the scent, focusing all of their attention only on the smell of that object. Scent can really be a powerful tool for anxiety-relief (among other things!).
5. The Art Of Touch
Give each child an object to touch, such as a ball, a feather, a soft toy, a stone, etc. Ask them to close their eyes and describe what the object feels like to a partner. Then have the partners trade places. Both this exercise and the previous one are simple, but compelling, ways to teach the kids the practice of isolating their senses from one another, and tuning into distinct experiences.
6. The Heartbeat Exercise
Have the kids jump up and down in place for one minute. Then have them sit back down and place their hands on their hearts. Tell them to close their eyes and feel their heartbeats, their breath, and see what else they notice about their bodies.
7. Heart-To-Heart
In this exercise, the meaning of "heart" is less literal. In other words, this activity could also simply be called "Let's talk about feelings." So sit down and casually, comfortably ask the children to tell you about their feelings. What feelings do they feel? How do they know they are feeling those feelings? Where do they feel them in their bodies? Ask them which feelings they like the best.

Then ask them what they can do to feel better when they aren't feeling the feelings they like best. Remind them that they can always practice turning their thoughts into bubbles if they are upset, they can do the Squish and Relax Meditation if they need to calm down, and they can take a few minutes to listen to their breath or feel their heartbeats if they want to relax.

My hope for the mindfulness class was to give the kids some tools they can use anytime: tools to calm down, slow down and feel better when they are troubled. I sure wish I had these tools at my disposal when I was their age. Imagine if all the children around the Earth learned to use these tools during their childhoods. What a change our world would experience within just one generation!

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7 Fun Ways To Teach Your Kids Mindfulness

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I taught a mindfulness class at my daughters' elementary school this week. Unsurprisingly, the kids taught me way more than I taught them. While I was doing research to develop the class, I came upon a wealth of information about mindfulness programs in schools.

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https://childhood101.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Calm-Down-Brain-Break-Breathing-Exercise-Cards.pdf

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28 Breathing Exercises for Kids Printable: Great for School & Home

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These 28 printable breathing exercises for kids work well at school and home as calm down techniques, mindfulness exercises and brain breaks.

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By Mary Rountree

Today's children are more anxious and stressed at school than ever before due to more rigid testing requirements and higher academic and social expectations. The prevalence of behavior and emotional disorders is on the rise in elementary aged children. As a third grade teacher, I've witnessed the changes just in the last ten years. There are more children in my classroom each year that respond to my beginning-of-the-year survey stating that they think bad thoughts about themselves, they worry about making friends, and they already think that they are "bad" at reading or math.

Three years ago I tried to figure out a way to help these children by giving them the tools to calm themselves during anxious moments, quiet their little minds of the negative thinking, and feel good about themselves in general. I had recently become certified in teaching adult yoga and knew the benefits for adults. So I began introducing some breathing techniques, guided visualizations, and a few postures a few minutes each day. That year, many of my students began to ask for "yoga breaks" and, when interviewed at the end of the year, they said that they use yoga techniques to calm themselves down during anxious moments, as well as to help them go to sleep. That information was all that I needed to dig deeper into the research to find more information about incorporating yoga into my classroom. That's when I discovered YogaKids International, and more specifically the program.

As teachers, we all face the dilemma of not having enough time to teach with depth and it seems like we are always just scratching the surface. We are bombarded by paperwork, testing requirements, classroom management issues, and now core curriculum expectations. Most teachers would say, "How do you expect me to fit yoga into my already jam-packed schedule?" My answer, as a teacher who feels exactly the same way, is to simply make the time to do it. Incorporating yoga can be as simple as 10 minutes a day. Some examples are:

Yoga Breaks: Have students take a 5-10 minute yoga break during a transition time such as after lunch, before a test, or first thing in the morning. The yoga break could consist of a breathing exercise to calm, energize, or ignite both sides of the brain. The kids think it's fun and, even though there will be some silliness at first, they will eventually participate fully without the giggles and funny gestures.

Use yoga lessons as part of your curriculum. Incorporate a story during reading, writing or science time and include some yoga poses or breathing techniques. A great story that I use early in the year is Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes.

Guided Visualization works wonderfully before creative writing time. There are several scripted books available online and through YogaKids, so all you have to do is read as the students have their heads on their desk and eyes closed. All they have to do is listen. his practice will help calm anxious students and get their creative juices flowing.

My personal journey with teaching yoga in the classroom began with these simple and easily integrated techniques. Most of the children love it and will even begin to expect it on a daily basis. The benefits for the children are decreased stress, more creativity, better behavior, and higher academic achievement. The benefits for the teacher are the same. If our students are receiving these benefits then it makes everything from classroom management, achievement, participation, and overall well-being for teachers better too.

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Yoga in the Classroom: Simple Tips for Integration

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Today's children are more anxious and stressed at school than ever before due to more rigid testing requirements and higher academic and social expectations. The prevalence of behavior and emotional disorders is on the rise in elementary aged children. As a third grade teacher, I've witnessed the changes just in the last ten years.

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The Zentangle Method

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Welcome to the wonderful world of Zentangle creativity! Thank you for visiting.

The Zentangle Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns.

Explore the links on the left to learn more about the benefits and beauty of the Zentangle Method and our nourishing world-wide Zentangle community.

The Eight Steps of the Zentangle Method

Step 01 - Gratitude and Appreciation

Get comfortable, take a few deep breaths and feel gratitude and appreciation - for this beautiful paper, for these wonderful tools, for this opportunity to create something beautiful.

Step 02 - Corner Dots

We teach beginning Zentangle Method with beautiful museum grade cotton paper, 3.5 inches (89 mm) square. To answer a familiar question of what to put on this beautiful paper, place a light pencil dot in each corner, about a pen's width from the edges. Now it's no longer a blank piece of paper.

Step 03 - Border

Connect those dots with a light pencil line, straight or curvy, to create a square. This is your border.

Step 04 - String

Inside the border, draw a light pencil line or lines to make what we call a "string." The string separates your tile into sections, in which you draw your tangles. A string can be any shape. It may be a curvy line that touches the edge of the border now and then, or series of straight lines that go from one side of the border to the next.

Step 05 - Tangle

A tangle is a predefined sequence of simple strokes that make up a pattern. Draw your tangles in pen inside (usually) the pencil strings and borders. Tangle is both noun and verb. Just as you dance a dance, you tangle your tangles. Draw your tangles with deliberate strokes. Don't worry about what it's going to look like. Just focus on each stroke of the pen as you make it. Trust that you'll know what to do next when the time to do it comes. There is no up or down to Zentangle art so feel free to rotate your tile in any direction that is most comfortable for your hand as you draw.

Step 06 - Shade

Add shades of gray with a graphite pencil to bring contrast and dimension to your tile. The black and white two-dimensional tangles transform through shading and appear three-dimensional. You can also use a tortillion (a paper blending stump) to soften and blend the graphite.

Step 07 - Initial and Sign

This is art you created. You should sign it. Put your initials on the front (many people create a unique monogram or chop for this step). On the back, place your name, date, comments and observations.

Step 08 - Appreciate

Hold your tile at arm's length. Turn it this way and that. Appreciate what you just created.

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Welcome to the wonderful world of Zentangle creativity! Thank you for visiting. The Zentangle Method is an easy-to-learn, relaxing, and fun way to create beautiful images by drawing structured patterns.

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Author: Healthwise Staff

All Healthwise education is reviewed by a team that includes physicians, nurses, advanced practitioners, registered dieticians, and other healthcare professionals.

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Stress Management: Breathing Exercises for Relaxation

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Top of the pageActionsetStress Management: Breathing Exercises for RelaxationOverviewHave you ever noticed how you breathe when you feel relaxed? The next time you are relaxed, take a moment to notice how your body feels. Or think about how you breathe when you first wake up in the morning or just before you fall asleep.

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YouTube Channel

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WELCOME to Yoga With Adriene! Our mission is to connect as many people as possible through high-quality free yoga videos. We welcome all levels, all bodies, all genders, all souls!
If you’re brand-new to yoga, check out my Yoga For Beginners and Foundations of Yoga series. These are designed to giv…

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YouTube Playlist

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Use this quick Mindful Minutes to refocus your attention to the present moment.

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In yoga we call the branch dedicated to our breathing techniques Pranayama, which means breath control.

Breathing exercises are a huge part of any yoga practice, and they can be a very useful tool in our daily lives, too.

There are a bunch of different techniques you can try utilizing for different effects. Here are just a few, in no particular order.

Before you get started, it's always important to try to take a few relaxed breaths before and after each exercise. Start with just 30 seconds per exercise, building to longer increments of time as your body is ready. If you get dizzy, simply stop and relax for a few minutes, evening out your breath.

1. Lion's Breath

This breath control activity encourages a sudden release, and invites a little playfulness into the practice. This is one of the most fun breathing practices, especially for kids. It is also a great addition to an adult class on Friday evenings or Saturday mornings, when everyone is ready to let go of the week they have had, and embrace the weekend.

Lion's Breath involves inhaling deeply through your nose then leaning your head back and opening your mouth very wide to exhale loudly while sticking your tongue out. Try practicing this while rising your arms up on the inhale and forming cactus arms with your exhale to accentuate the relieving effects.

2. Breath of Fire

Used in Bikram classes, this practice is very warming, as the name itself implies. It is great for warming up the abdominal muscles and ignites Tapas, or heat, in the organs. This is superb for a practice that is focused on detoxing.

Practice Breath of Fire by sitting tall, inhaling gently through your nose, then vigorously pumping your exhale out through your nose while pulling your navel in repeatedly and in short spurts. Each pull in with your belly exerts another exhale quickly after the last. Make your inhales and exhales even in force, depth, and time.

3. Skull Cleanser

Otherwise known as Kapalabhati Breathing, this technique is another cleansing breath exercise that raises your energy level dramatically. Basically, it is the same as the Breath of Fire technique, but with a larger emphasis on the exhale, and with your arms straight up above your head to promote lymph circulation through the upper body.

Hold your hands in the mudra of your choice. For example, try Apana Mudra for invoking the future. Simply make your hands look like a dog's head with the ring and middle finger resting on your thumb in a triangle, stick your pinkie and pointer finger straight up like ears.

4. Three Part Breathing

This slow, smooth process is super relaxing and is wonderful for insomnia, anxiety, stress, and frustrating situations. Three Part Breathing calms the mind and soothes the muscles. It is a wonderful way to end a late evening practice or begin a restorative practice.

Start by placing one hand on your upper chest and the other on your navel. Inhale into your chest then your upper abdomen, and finally puff your belly out like a balloon. Slowly release the breath in the same way, smoothly exhaling the air from your belly, then your upper abdomen, then your chest.

5. Alternate Nostril Breathing

This breathing exercise takes focus and clarity to prevent getting confused and to remember where you are in the process. For this reason it is best used before an exam or when you are trying to ignite focus and discipline for any reason. Focusing in this way can be calming as it clears the mind, so many people will use it before bed if they tend to over think stuff at night.

Practice this technique by placing your right middle and pointer fingers in the palm of your hand leaving just your pinkie and ring fingers and your thumb free. Take your right thumb over your right nostril and inhale through the left nostril. Now take your ring finger and place it over your left nostril to exhale through the right nostril.

Next leave your hand as it is and inhale through the left nostril, then switch, placing your thumb over your right nostril and exhaling through the left nostril.

Repeat this until you are finished with your breathing exercise.

The first few times you try this one you may get your left and right confused. Don't give up; you're not alone in that struggle. Try to remember that each time you inhale you are sealing the breath in and that is when you switch sides.

6. Bellows Breath

Bellows Breath is very, very invigorating and is a wonderful way to begin an early morning Power yoga practice, or to wake yourself up in the middle of a meeting or long lecture.

Raise your hands up to the sky in little fists, or with the fingers splayed out wide. Inhale through your mouth and with every exhale, drop your elbows into your side body and make a "HA" sound from the bottom of your diaphragm.

Don't be afraid to be loud here, as this is incredibly freeing and releases any pent up energy, stagnation, or frustrations very quickly.

7. Ujjayi Breath

This is the most used breathing technique, as it is easy to perform during your physical practice, no matter what type of practice you have. It is useful for calming the mind and the nervous system in tricky situations both on and off the mat. It sounds like the ocean and can cool you off very quickly.

Practice Ujjayi breathing by inhaling and exhaling through your nose. Drag the breath along the back of your throat so that it creates a gentle hissing sound and feels like sipping a cool drink through a straw. Try to make each inhale last as long as the exhale, and take each breath a little deeper than the last until your breathing is long and smooth.

Practice your breathing techniques as often as possible. Being able to control your breath will deepen your physical practice dramatically, and will help you take each posture longer, deeper, and more healthfully.

Beyond that, it will change your emotional health and allow you to stay cool as a cucumber in arduous situations down the line.

Which is your favorite yoga breathing technique to practice and why? Share with us in the comments below!

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The 7 Best Yoga Breathing Exercises, Both On and Off Your Mat

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In yoga we call the branch dedicated to our breathing techniques Pranayama, which means breath control. Breathing exercises are a huge part of any yoga practice, and they can be a very useful tool in our daily lives, too. There are a bunch of different techniques you can try utilizing for different effects.

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Brain Breaks Can Be Quick!
Click here to read more posts like this!
Do you use Brain Breaks with your students? You should! This amazing guest post about from pediatric occupational therapist Loren Shlaes was so popular that I decided to follow it up with a list of Brain Breaks for kids! These are great to use anytime your students are feeling restless and are struggling to pay attention, and easy to slip into your lesson plan. Most of these will only take a few minutes, and then you can get back to the lesson with your students ready to focus on the lesson at hand. Check out all our Games!

20 Brain Breaks You Can Use Today!

5-4-3-2-1 In this simple game, students stand up and the teacher (or leader) has them do five different movements in descending order.

For example the teacher would say: "Do five jumping jacks, spin around four times, hop on one foot three times, walk all the way around the classroom two times, give your neighbor one high-five (pausing in between each task for students to do it).

1. Trading Places Have students stand behind their pushed-in chairs. Call out a trait, and everyone who has that trait must change places with someone else (students who do not have the trait stay where they are). Examples: "Everyone with curly hair." "Everyone who ate cereal for breakfast." "Everyone who is wearing stripes."

2. Six Spots Number six spots around your room from 1-6. Have students each go to a spot of their choice. Choose a student to roll a die (if you can make a big one out of foam, it adds to the fun). All the students at the number rolled must go back to their seats. Students that are left go to a new spot, and the die is rolled again. Continue until only a few students are left. You can click here for a digital dice you can project! Here's another way to roll a brain break!

Have you tried Minds in Bloom Unlimited? Sign up for a free trial and choose 3 Brain Break Activities of your choice!

Be sure and check out our new blog post: Brain Breaks for the Online Classroom
TAG: Brain Breaks

1. Mingle, Mingle, Group! In this game students mill about the classroom saying, "mingle, mingle, mingle" in soft voices until the teacher says, "Groups of 5," at which point the students must quickly group themselves into groups with the correct number of people. Students who are left over must do three jumping jacks before the next round starts. The teacher can call out any number for the group size. You can also add rules such as: as soon as a group is complete, all members must sit down in a line.

2. Dance Party! Put on some rockin' music and dance! If you can make the room semi-dark and have a black light or other special effect, your kids will love it!

3. Freeze Dance! Similar to Dance Party, except that every so often the music stops, and students must freeze and hold the position they are in until the music begins again.

4. Name Moves Students stand behind their chairs. In turn, each student says his or her name accompanied by a special movement. For example a student might say, "Kayla!" while dramatically dropping to one knee and doing Jazz Hands. After the student does his or her move, the rest of the class says the student's name in unison and imitates the move. Then it is the next student's turn.

5. Keep It Up Students must keep a beach ball from hitting the ground. Add two or three balls to make it even more fun.

6. Simon Says An oldie but a goody!

7. Movement Songs Sing a song with whole-body movements, such as, "Head, Shoulders, Knees, and Toes," "Father Abraham," "Toe-Knee Chest-Nut," "Shake Your Sillies Out (Raffie)," "Grand Old Duke of York," "My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean," etc.

8. Recorded Movement Songs Older students might enjoy a simple Zumba routine, YMCA, or the Macarena. Littler ones will love Sesame Street's A Very Simple Dance to Do.

9. Animal Pretend Younger children will enjoy pretending to be various animals (or even objects such as lawn mowers or airplanes). Call out a few in sequence.

10. Would You Rather Ask a "would you rather" question and have students show their choice by moving to one end of the room or the other. Have a few kids share why. Here are 20 free "Would You Rather" Questions to get you started.

11. Find It Fast Call out a color or other trait (e.g. something round, something made of wood), and students must find an object in the room that fits the trait and get to it quickly.

12. Physical Challenges Challenge students to do something physically difficult, such as standing on one foot with arms extended, or this one: Grab your nose with left hand, and grab your left earlobe with your right hand, and then quickly switch so that your right hand is on your nose and your left hand is grabbing your right earlobe. Yoga poses could also be a good variation.

13. Plates Give each student a paper plate. Students must walk around the room balancing the plates on their heads. If a student drops his or her plate, the student must freeze until another student picks it up and places it back on the student's head (while keeping his or her own plate in place, of course).

14. Line Up! Have students line up using a specific criteria, such as age (use day and month, not just year), height, alphabetically by middle name, hair length, etc.

15. Limbo All you need is a long stick and a pair of kids to hold it. Music is nice, too.

16. Human Knot Divide students into groups of about eight students. Have students each grab right hands with someone who is not directly next to them. Then do the same with left hands. The challenge is to untangle and become a circle without releasing hands.

17. Jump Skip Counting Have students count by twos, fives, tens etc. while jumping with each count. You could also practice spelling words this way.

RANDOM Brain Break Chooser!

Brain Breaks to the Rescue!

Whether you're teaching 5th grade or kindergarten, brain breaks belong in your daily routine and can significantly boost students' mental health, focus, and overall classroom experience.

These short, engaging activities are perfect for providing a much-needed mental break, especially during long periods of instruction. With a wide range of ideas (I mostly used 4th grade brain breaks!) available, it's easy to find activities that cater to different interests and energy levels.

As educators, it's essential to keep our classroom ideas fresh and engaging, and incorporating these brain breaks can be a game-changer for indoor recess or as a quick pick-me-up during the school day.

By making time for these rejuvenating exercises, you'll create a positive classroom environment that helps your students develop healthy habits for managing stress and maintaining focus.

So go ahead, give these brain breaks a try, and watch your students flourish both academically and socially!

What's your favorite Brain Break? Leave it in the comments!

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Brain Breaks - 20 awesome ways to energize your students FAST!

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Brain Breaks Can Be Quick! Click here to read more posts like this! Do you use Brain Breaks with your students? You should! This amazing guest post about why kids need to move from pediatric occupational therapist Loren Shlaes was so popular that I decided to follow it up with a list of Brain Breaks for kids!

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Our students should have a kinesthetic brain break every 25-30 minutes. Brain breaks are refreshing to students and teachers alike. They do take some time out of class, but the efficiency of our students goes up when we incorporate them. Please comment if you have variations on a particular brain…

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