Practicing mindfulness can help children focus their attention, handle their feelings, and keep a positive attitude. At DharmaCrafts, over the past 5 years, we’ve seen more and more schools order meditation cushions for students (and using our volume discounted rate!).
What is Mindfulness? Mindfulness means observing what’s going on inside and outside of you in the present moment and without judgement. It’s a type of brain exercise and can help us to remain calm during the ebbs and flows of a busy day.
Why is mindfulness good for kids? According to an article from Parents.com, “A growing body of scientific research shows its positive effects on mental health and well-being. Practicing mindfulness has been shown to improve attention and reduce stress as well as increase one’s ability to regulate emotions and feel compassion and empathy.”
How to introduce mindfulness at home? One of our newest products, Mindful Kids contains 50 colorful activity cards to help kids connect to the world, ground themselves, explore their feelings, and “let happiness flow.”
The cards are divided into five categories that cover most aspects of a child’s day: Start Your Day, Find Calm, Focus, Open Your Heart, Rest and Relax. The Rain Shower card from the Rest and Relax category gives guided cues to imagine a warm rain washing the thoughts of the day away to feel more at ease before going to sleep. The Tummy Ride card from the Find Calm category explains how to put a stuffed animal on your tummy and give them a ride while breathing waves of peace.
Mariam and Rolf Gates are parents, yoga teachers, and co-authors of Yoga Friends. This newest book in the series with Good Morning Yoga and Good Night Yoga introduces how much fun yoga can be with a friend. It’s also a creative way to get kids to cooperate, move their bodies, and interact. Read more about the daily routine of the super mindful Gates family in this post from wellandgood.
Sometimes I’m a cloud.
Sometimes a mountain or a stone.
Sometimes I’m a river,
a small seed or a great tree.
But I’m always me.
Breathe and Be, is a collection of Mindfulness Poems written by a former teacher, Kate Coombs, and may help children ages 4-8 to live in the moment with awareness and appreciation. For kids living in a busy world, the book imparts the beauty of stillness that can be found by lying in a hammock, feeling the grass, or watching the rain fall.