Mindfulness
– the mental state achieved by
focusing awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and
accepting one's feelings, thoughts, and bodily sensations – is a therapeutic
technique enjoying increasing popularity.
We here at HVParent frequently
point you to articles that help you introduce it to your kids, or we offer
hints at how you, as a parent, can benefit from it. Today, we do both. This Parents.com
piece by Meryl Davids Landau, shows how you can incorporate
mindfulness in family activities.
Simply put, mindfulness is
the act of paying attention. But simple as that sounds, the modern world,
especially the pandemic world, is laden with distraction. Children and adults
alike are encouraged to multi-task, to hustle, to produce, to beat the clock,
to “be best.”
But we find that doing all
those things is apparently making everyone miserable. We are anxious,
depressed, overwhelmed, and having a hard time paying attention. It’s
dangerous. For years, mental health professionals and scientists have extolled
the virtues of mindfulness, and the stresses of life with Covid-19 have made it
even more important, and valuable.
Landau, who also authored of Enlightened Parenting: A Mom Reflects on
Living Spiritually with Kids, advises a “listening walk”: “Go
someplace—even your backyard—and walk together in silence, listening for sounds
you typically overlook: leaves rustling, a pine cone falling from a tree, your
own steady breath. To enhance the quietest sounds (and make it more fun), you
can turn paper cups into amplifiers by cutting a hole in the sides of two cups
and hooking them over your ears, drinking side facing forward.”
Landau also advises paying
attention to your food. I did this in a mindfulness workshop, and it’s fun and
fascinating. First, look at it, then hold it in your hand (or fork or spoon),
then slowly eat it. It can be remarkably grounding. She also recommends the
“body scan.” Lie on your back and slowly move your attention from your toes to
the top of you head. Note how each body part feels.
READ MORE: How to raise emotionally intelligent kids to conquer stress
Another tip is silence.
Landau writes: “During a period of enforced quiet, everyone goes through their
regular routines—but they don't speak. Start with 5 or 10 minutes and try to
work up to an hour or more. (A family I know observes silent Saturdays from
wake-up until noon.)”
These and other activities
she recommends are so simple, that it is easy to see why people would be
suspicious of them. But they shouldn’t be. That suspicion, while often helpful,
can also be the exact kind of distracting chatter that mindfulness can remedy.
Other articles by HVP on Being Mindful