Mindfulness Practice is for adults and kids
BY DR ELENA ROSSEEL
Mindfulness is the practice of being aware of your body, mind, and feelings in the present moment, thought to create a feeling of calm. Instead of becoming lost in your internal response to your situation, it means maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment, through a gentle, nurturing lens. Researchers reviewed more than 200 studies of mindfulness among healthy people and found mindfulness-based therapy was especially effective for reducing stress, anxiety and depression (1). What's more, mindfulness-based interventions can improve physical health, too (2). For example, mindfulness may reduce pain, fatigue and stress in people with chronic pain (3). Other studies have found preliminary evidence that mindfulness might boost the immune system (4) and help people recover more quickly from cold or flu(5). Mindfulness practice can have many positives for our children, this means it can help them improve self-regulation, confidence, problem-solving, focus, and empathy. There are clearly a lot of amazing benefits, so why not give it a go. There are too many mindfulness exercises to share here, but there are three that my daughter Ruby and I have been trying:
1. Body scanning:
One of the things we have been practicing with Ruby is body scanning to help relax her and regulate her feelings before bed time. It involves moving your attention slowly through each body part from head to toe. You could focus on feelings of warmth, tension, tingling or relaxation of different parts of your body. It helps you slow down and be more present. We’ve been using a wonderful book “Good Night Body, Finding calm from head to toe” by Britney Winn Lee as part of Ruby’s pre-bedtime reading. This will also be a valuable tool to have on the plane, as a way to set her up for some sleepy time or when things get hard.
2. Breathing:
Mindful breathing exercises bring our attention to the natural rhythm of our breath. It stops the shallow breathing we do when we are stressed and promotes relaxation and mental clarity. Feel your belly expanding with your inhale. There are lots of different ways of breathing such as, holding your breath at the inhale and/or exhale; in through the nose, out through the mouth, in through one nostril and out through the other one. It took a little while for Ruby to understand her breath control, but she now responds well to taking a deep breath, and exhaling it slowly as she lies in bed preparing to sleep.
3. Mindful eating:
Mindful eating is about fully engaging all our senses to appreciate and savor our food. This is a fun one to do with kids especially. Ask questions about the look, texture, smell and taste of what you are eating. Make sure there are no distractions, just the food that’s on the plate and eating slowly while focusing on chewing well. These are only a few examples, so many activities can be done mindfully, such as mindfully cooking dinner or folding laundry. Most of the activities are as relevant to Ruby as they have been for myself, and I’ve found that taking the time to slow down and work with Ruby on these activities has been mindful in-and-of itself. Online tools can be helpful to get you started. Here are some apps:
● Smiling Mind
● Calm
● Insight Timer
● Headspace
I hope this blog encourages you to give mindfulness a go, for yourself, your kids, partner or
grandkids. Let me know how you go or ask any questions at your next adjustment.
Yours in Health,
Elena and The Family Chiro Team
1.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0272735813000731?via=ihub
3. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-45101-001
4.https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/nyas.12998
