Perhaps
because the roots of mindfulness practice are attributed mostly to the Eastern
religious practice of Buddhism, people sometimes fear it involves complicated
aspects, like rituals, texts, and prayers to memorize. It doesn’t. And for the
record, mindfulness existed long before Buddhism, and is a part of many
disciplines – religious, academic, athletic, artistic. Lucky for modern-day
children, it’s even being incorporated into education.
Writing
for Blissfulkids.com, Chris Bergstrom says he describes mindfulness
to small kids as: “Noticing what is
happening right now.”
Perhaps
you think you do that all the time. But if you look closer at your thoughts,
you’ll likely find you’re mistaken. We spend a lot of time and energy thinking (and
worrying) about the future, or we are obsessed with the past in terms of our regrets
and remorse. We do things like tell stories nonstop and make judgments that
take us away from the present moment. These habitual thought patterns –
exacerbated by modern media – lead to lots of stress and distraction, as well
as lessen our enjoyment of life as it is right
now. Bergstrom and teachers like him aim to teach kids how to form
different, more mindful habits.
READ MORE: Planting seeds: mindfulness for kids
He writes:
“Mindfulness is taking notice of how your body feels and what you see, smell
and taste. Maybe you even feel emotions in your body, perhaps through
a tightness somewhere, or even a good sensation. Mindfulness is also noticing
what your mind is doing.” Not only noticing what your mind is doing when it’s
taken you away from the moment, but focusing
on what’s actually happening in the
moment, independent of your thoughts.
Bergstrom
cites evidence that this kind of focus can help kids in many ways. “Improved
focus can help them achieve at a higher levels in sports, school or
music,” he says. “It will help them score higher on tests, too. We always do
better when we’re able to pay attention to what we’re doing.”
Noticing
what is happening around you and inside you can help you to calm down when
you’re upset, mad, or anxious. Tough emotions can get the better of you, and
really take you down, but mindfulness helps you deal with them by giving a
sense of mastery over them.
Explaining
mindfulness to teens is a little different. To them, he says, “mindfulness is about paying attention in a
particular way – on
purpose, in the present moment and without judgment.” He stresses how mindfulness practice
enables one to be less reactive to stressors through paying closer attention to
our thoughts, and, crucially, recognizing them as just that: thoughts.
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