These Holidays & Be Happy in 2018
The rush of the Holidays is particularly stressful for adults, and kids are not immune to this. When we are stressed, we are usually “ill at ease” about a situation, a thought, or a person.
Written by: Anabelle Alarcon
One solution to this holiday-induced stress might be helping your kids practice mindfulness. What is Mindfulness? Carefully observing your thoughts and feelings without judging them good or bad. Mindfulness means living in the moment and awakening to your current experience, rather than dwelling on the past or anticipating the future. Why would we want kids to be mindful? Simply because it helps calm them down and makes them peaceful and happy. Tips to Practice Mindfulness: 1. Meditation/Prayer: You can start slowly with a meditation practice or prayer by focusing on your breath and breathing in and out just five to 10 minutes a day. For young children, an instruction to simply “pay attention to the breath” can be hard to follow So try a “breathing buddy” exercise: Each student grabs a stuffed animal and then lies down on their back with their buddy on their belly. They focus their attention on the rise and fall of the stuffed animal as they breathe in and out. 2. Yoga is a reflection of life: with ups and downs, with moments of strength and relaxation as well as with instances of holding and letting go. It can be a precious tool in a child’s process of growing and becoming more self-dependent. It helps them with concentration, to expand their imagination, manage their anxiety and to learn about nutrition among many other things. Tools to Empower Kids: 3. Visualization: Visualization is a technique whereby kids imagine something they want, such as a puppy, by visualizing it, in vivid colors, pretending they already have it They can hear it, feel it. You can practice this with your kids by getting cardboards and magazines and cutting out things you both want from the magazines and practicing imagining you have these things by viewing them every day. 4. Cultivate Their Own Garden: Schools can be very competitive so be sure to help your kids realize everyone has their own garden and is different. Do this by pointing out how different you, all your friends, and family members are. That way they learn to mind their own garden, accept differences and learn to accept themselves the way they are. 5. Cause and Effect: Teach your kids that every action they take has a reaction in the world. Encourage them to learn this by practicing random acts of kindness and then point out the good things they receive back with gratitude. Kids Love Yoga is an on-demand yoga practice that offers private classes for children & adults; specialized classes and workshops for women & private classes for families as well as workshops for children and teenagers at their schools and homes.
Maria Rosa Collazo is a certified yoga teacher and founder of Kids Love Yoga. She has been teaching yoga since 2007. For more information visit kidsloveyoga.org Anabelle Alarcon is the author of The Day An Angel Ran Into My Room, a book that teaches kids key tools to manage their emotions, be mindful and empowers them to change their world through their thoughts and deeds.