10 MINDFULNESS EXERCISES FOR CHILDREN AND ADULTS - DUDAS - 2024

Carrying out mindfulness exercises at home is simple and only requires frequent practice in both children and adults. This psychological concept based on Buddhist meditation has spread throughout the West and its practice can be carried out by children and adults, being an ideal method to cure anxiety and an effective relaxation technique.

Mindfulness translates into Spanish as “mindfulness” and is defined as the human ability to be in the present and remember to be in the present, that is, to constantly return to the here and now, to recognize what is happening while it is happening.

The main instruction for practicing mindfulness is that what appears in the mind appears, just observe it. It is about accepting without judging, criticizing or reacting.

You have to keep a beginner's mind, as if everything were new, have an open mind and not get attached. Have an attitude of compassion, kindness and affection towards your own experience, as it presents itself in the present moment.

Mindfulness exercises to practice at home

Although practicing mindfulness may be difficult at first, it will become much easier over time. As in everything, regular practice will help us to achieve greater dexterity until we can do it almost automatically.

Below we present a series of exercises that can be practiced easily and simply to get started in mindfulness.

1- Conscious breathing

This is one of the most used exercises in mindfulness. With a little practice you can get to control in a short time and carry it out in any place or situation. The benefits that it has are numerous, among them the almost immediate reduction of anxiety and stress levels.

Normally we perform a shallow breath, the so-called thoracic. To carry out a conscious and deep breathing (also called diaphragmatic breathing) we can follow the following steps:

• Find a comfortable place where you can lie down and be calm. Relaxing background music or sounds of nature can help.
• First, locate the diaphragm by placing your hands on the abdomen, just where the ribs end.
• Breathe in slowly and notice how your hands rise up, without the chest area moving, only the area where you have your hands swells.
• Now expire and feel your hands go down again, as if your abdomen were a balloon that is deflating until all the air comes out. Do not force your breath, adapt to the rhythm that your body requires.
• Once you control your breathing you can do it anywhere and in any position. Pay attention to the inhalation and exhalation. Concentrate solely on that and the sound you make when performing them. If thoughts outside of the breath appear, let them flow, don't try to reject them, just observe them and focus on your breathing again.

2- Look at a candle

Another easy way to focus your attention is to adopt a comfortable posture, in a quiet room or with relaxing music playing in the background, and watch a candle flame for a few minutes. Concentrate on the shape, the color, the variations it has, etc.

As in the previous case, if during the practice thoughts appear, do not judge them or try to avoid them, just observe them, let them be and then resume your concentration on the candle and its movement.

3- Watch a movie, read a book, listen to music

Ultimately, it is about choosing an activity that you like, that makes you feel good and dedicate yourself fully and uniquely to it. That is, turn off the mobile, the computer, etc. and focus on seeing, listening, feeling… consciously, putting everything else aside for a few minutes and consciously enjoying that moment.

4- Color, draw, write

Creativity is one of the best ways to live in the present. Develop it in the way that best suits your way of being, that you like the most or that brings you greater well-being. The time you spend creating you are fully aware of what you are doing and it takes you away from the thoughts and worries of day to day.

It is not about making a great creation, or that it is perfect. The benefit of this practice is to achieve a state of relaxation and mindfulness in what you are doing.

5- Eat consciously

Due to the daily rush, we forget that eating can become a very rewarding experience, and not only when we go to a restaurant or on some special occasion.

Enjoy the smells, colors, texture and flavors that food offers you every day. Do it slowly, without haste, identifying each nuance and fully enjoying the experience.

6- Know yourself

This is the best way to be aware of yourself. Knowing what are our defects, our virtues, the motivations or aspirations that we have. Do an internal reflection and make a list of all the above. You can do this weekly reflection and add or remove things from the list.

In this way, in addition to knowing ourselves, we will understand our thoughts, feelings and ways of acting. Accept yourself as you are, from understanding and love for yourself. Understand defects as an aspect that is part of you, but that can be modified if you wish.

7- Learn to guide your focus of attention

Most of the time we are focused on the past, what has already happened, or in the future, what is to come and how we are going to face it.

To live in the present moment, it is crucial to focus your attention on what you are doing at that moment, whatever the task: showering, preparing food, driving, working, being with your partner, doing your homework with your children, etc.

It is about living fully in the here and now and anchoring our attention in the present moment. Every time you notice that your focus drifts, refocus it on the task you are doing at the time.

8- Practice gratitude

Being grateful is one of the most well-being attitudes. They make you feel good, appreciate what surrounds you and enjoy a new day. You can do it in the morning when you wake up or just when you go to bed.

Be grateful that you had the opportunity to enjoy a new day, to have spent time with your loved ones, or to have had some good times.

Every day we have pleasant experiences but if we do not stop to think about them consciously, to pay attention to them, they go completely unnoticed.

9- Accept everything

Accepting does not mean resigning, but assuming things as they come. Both the good things and the bad, the positive and the negative experiences. The first step to be able to face the negative things that happen to us in life is to accept them, feel the pain or sadness that they cause us.

By denying them, we cannot solve them or correctly channel the emotions they cause us. Likewise, try to accept others, with their strengths and weaknesses, even with what bothers you so much about other people.

Each individual has their own thoughts, emotions, concerns, etc. and it is essential to understand that each person has the right to act as they see fit, regardless of whether it seems correct to us or not.

Understanding this can profoundly improve our relationship with others, because we will stop demanding them to behave as we would like them to behave and will feel free to act as they want or can.

10- dedicate more time to yourself

Make spending time with yourself a regular routine. Think about what you like to do, how you feel good and make it a habit. Read, write, play sports, watch a movie, meditate, etc. Take advantage of these moments to connect with you, to know how you feel and what you think, where you are and where you want to go.

Take advantage of these moments to be grateful for everything that makes you happy, to recreate what makes you feel good (family, friends, hobbies, work, occupations, experiences, moments, etc.) and that makes you fully enjoy life.

Benefits of mindfulness

In recent years, many studies have been carried out on the practice of mindfulness and these have yielded conclusive data on the benefits it brings to people. Some of the most prominent are:

1-Practicing mindfulness contributes to reducing physical pain and the emotional reaction to it. Some research indicates that physical pain is reduced in some cases up to 93%.

2- Improves the person's mood and quality of life. When we feel good and live positively, we feel greater well-being with ourselves, with those around us and with life in general.

3- Improves the ability to concentrate and creativity and therefore improves academic performance and in the workplace.

4- Protects against mental illnesses. A study carried out at the University of Oregon in the United States, concludes that the practice of mindfulness can generate physical changes in the brain, increasing the connections between cells and the growth of myelin, which can prevent the appearance of mental illnesses.

5-Serves as a remedy against depression, anxiety and stress. Studies in this area indicate that people who practice mindfulness have lower levels of cortisol, the stress hormone.

6- Helps to sleep better. A study carried out at the University of Utah, United States, concluded that people who have high levels of mindfulness have better control over their emotions and less activation at bedtime, which has benefits in the quality of sleep.

7-Practice strengthens the immune system.

8- Improves heart and circulatory health by reducing blood pressure.

Key concepts

On many occasions we confuse mindfulness with other practices or theories. That is why it is important to know what mindfulness is not:

• It is not about trying to relax.
• It is not a religion.
• It does not try to transcend everyday life.
• It does not consist of emptying the mind of thoughts.
• Its practice is not difficult, over time we can do it almost without realizing it, automatically.
• It is not a way to escape, deny or abstract from pain.

Usually, in daily life, we are in the present only partially, because while we carry out different tasks, our mind is usually in the past or in the future, without paying full attention to what we are doing or what is happening in that moment.

When this happens, many experiences and moments go unnoticed. Also, when the emotions we experience are negative or unpleasant, we tend to avoid, deny and / or judge them. Mindfulness proposes accepting them and letting them be as they are presented. Negative emotions, like positive ones, are necessary and adaptive.

They help us transmit to others how we feel, regulate the behavior of others towards us and as well as social interaction. Trying to avoid negative emotions will only cause more suffering to the situation that is already painful in itself.

References

1. Marlatt, GA, Kristeller, JL (1999). Mindfulness and meditation.apa.org
2. Baer, ​​RA (2015). Mindfulness-based treatment approaches: Clinician's guide to evidence base and applications. Mental Health Professional.
3. Praissman, S. (2008). Mindfulness ‐ based stress reduction: A literature review and clinician's guide. Journal of the American Academy of Nurse.