Wellbeing
The students of St Joseph's have been getting into the habit of practising daily meditation and mindfulness exercises. Mindfulness is a great tool to use with kids because it doesn’t require much if any effort, and the benefits are endless. Mindfulness helps you teach children how to bring their thoughts and attention to the moment.
Mindfulness strengthens the neural pathways in the brain, building a greater capacity to cope with difficult emotions and stressful times. Mindfulness is a mental discipline that involves training, focus and attention. It teaches us how to use the mind in a different way and to focus on the things that are most useful and helpful in our lives, thus helping us to live more consciously and fully.
Dr Craig Hassed explains in the article “The health benefits of meditation and being mindful” that:
“The practice of mindfulness in our daily lives helps to reduce stress, be less reactive, decrease anxiety and tackle life's inevitable difficulties with resilience and renewed energy.”
He notes that meditation can teach us may have tremendously useful effects on our physical and psychological wellbeing because it:
1. Improves how effectively we function
2. Has direct benefits by changing the body physiologically and metabolically
3. Has indirect benefits by improving our lifestyle
4. Enhances relationships and compassion
5. Improves the way we cope with life challenges
6. Enriches our enjoyment of life
The world can seem very overwhelming at times. As adults we need to find ways to simply disconnect, and reset, children also need the same space. Helping our little minds deal with the barrage of information they are bombarded with every day, requires adults to be understanding as well. This is where mindfulness for kids comes into play! Getting into small mindful habits at home will have benefits not whole for the children but for the for the whole family.
Here are 3 ideas to give a try that are not just meditation (if you don’t already!)
- Mindful walks- when out on a family walk use 5 senses to become present into the moment, what can you hear, see, touch, smell and maybe taste (or could possible taste)
- Gratitude practices- Sitting down as a family and sharing 3 things from the day that you are grateful for, family meal times are a great chance to share.
- Unplug- Spend some time in the present with everyone unplugging from technology, get a board game out or play in the backyard. This family time will fill their buckets as well as yours.
Mindful Kids Melbourne will be hosting a school holiday Wellbeing Workshop, April 13th 10-2pm. All primary students are welcome. Please use the code SJB if booking a place for your child.
Sarah Fuller