Stress Busters: Mindfulness

How mindfulness helps manage stress: Overview

Mindfulness takes practice and is not a quick fix to making stress magically disappear, but with practice, it can be a helpful tool to improve your mood and overall health. Most importantly, starting this practice at a young age can make it easier for kids to continue as they grow older.  

How does mindfulness help us with managing stress? 

Research has found many benefits to social relationships, including:

• Improves attention and focus
• Helps manage big feelings
• Lowers blood pressure
• Boosts immune system
• Improves how we respond to stress
• Has been helpful with the following conditions:
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • Anxiety
  • Depression
  • Pain
  • Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
  • Sleep problems
  • Parental stress

Fun fact: A Stanford University research study found that after eight weeks of mindfulness training, fourth through sixth graders had lowered anxiety, were less reactive when upset, and had an improved attention span. Even children as young as two years old are practicing mini-mindful moments! 

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Mindfulness and Meditation Practices for Kids

There are many fun and interactive ways to introduce mindfulness to children and teens. Activities like deep breathing, blowing bubbles, and mindful movements like yoga help children focus their attention and manage big feelings. Below is a list of ways to begin engaging in mindfulness together:   

Diaphragmatic or belly breathing

Diaphragmatic breathing, or belly breathing, is a kind of deep breathing that lowers heart rate and blood pressure and helps our bodies and mind relax. Diaphragmatic breathing uses our diaphragms, a dome-shaped muscle under our lungs, to help get more air in our lungs and more oxygen to our bodies and brains. 

• First, sit in a comfortable position, or lie flat on your bed or on the floor. Relax your shoulders and soften your stomach muscles. 

• Place a hand on your chest and a hand on your belly. Imagine that your belly is a balloon. When you breathe in or inhale, you will fill that balloon with air and your belly will rise. Then when you breathe out or exhale, you will squeeze air out of the balloon with your stomach muscles and your belly will fall.  

• If you’re lying flat, you can put something light on your stomach like a book or a stuffed animal and watch it move up and down with each breath. 

Practice this kind of breathing, 10 breaths at a time, several times a day, to build strength in your diaphragm and learn to consciously shift your awareness and focus to regulating your breathing. 

Using props

Young children can learn to regulate their breathing by using different items around the house to make it into a game. Here are a few ideas:  

• Blow bubbles to learn to take deep breaths. Make slow, controlled exhales to make the most bubbles or one big bubble. 
• Blow slowly into a pinwheel to make it move. 
• Rustle a feather by using your breath. 
• Blow gently next to a candle to make the flame flicker but not go out. Kids should only do this with parent supervision. 

Five-finger breathing

Stretch your hand out in front of you with your fingers stretched out like you’re about to give a high-five. Then, take the pointer finger of your other hand and put it on the bottom of the outside of your thumb. When you inhale, trace up a finger, and when you exhale, trace down a finger. If your mind gets lost or your thoughts get loud, try to bring your attention back to the feeling of tracing your fingers and the sight of your hand. 

Mindful grounding

In this activity, we use our senses to bring our attention to what we are experiencing right now without judgment.  

• Name three things you see in your room or space. 
• Name three things you hear in your room or space. Even in a very quiet room you can usually hear the sounds of your own breathing, movement or some air flow. 
• Name three things you feel on your body or your skin. This could be texture, temperature, the weight of your body on a surface, etc. 

When we pay attention to our senses, there is little time to think about the past or the future. But what if your present isn’t very pleasant? What if you saw your brother messing up your room, or you heard an annoying TV show playing next door, or you felt pain in your body, and you became overwhelmed by paying attention to all of it? In classic mindful meditation, we strive to observe what we notice without judgment. For example, we may recognize a sound, acknowledge it annoys us, but try not to place judgment on the sound itself or its source.

Positive attention adaptation

An adaptation of this exercise can be helpful in promoting awareness of positive aspects of an environment, even in stressful situations. You can choose to pick out three things you see that you like, three sounds you hear that you like, and three things you feel on your body that you like. 

You can practice mindful grounding anywhere! While walking your dog you might notice a tall tree, hear the sound of birds, and feel the pavement under your feet. While you are doing the dishes, you might see light reflected off the water, hear the sounds of dishes clanking together, and feel the slickness of the soap on your fingertips. 

Practice this exercise throughout your daily life to train your mind to come back to the present. Try to practice even when you are not distressed, to teach your body to recognize when it is thinking in the past or future, and how to choose to live more fully in the present. 

Mindful noticing

In mindful noticing, we try to bring our awareness and presence fully into a specific object or activity. 

Know your penny activity

Many people find that when they try to notice everything they can about a common object, that they are able to stay more present-minded. For this activity, you will need a penny or another coin. 

First, bring your attention to what your penny looks like. What markings does it have on the front? What words or numbers are there? Is your penny shiny or dull? How does the light reflect off your penny? Does it change if you tilt it around? Are there smudges, nicks, or other identifying features on your penny? Take a moment to really get to know your penny. Look at the edges of your penny. What do you notice about those? Flip your penny over and notice everything you can about the back of your penny. What is written? What pictures are there? How does the light move off your penny? 

Now, bring your attention to what your penny feels like. How heavy is your penny? Is it warm or cold? Does its temperature change depending on where you hold it? Are the edges smooth or grooved? What does your penny feel like between your finger and your thumb? Notice all the ways your penny feels in your hand. Know what is special about your penny so well that if you were to drop it in a bucket of pennies, you could pick out which penny was yours. 

You can use these techniques with other senses, too: 

• Listen to a song you love, but try to notice all the things you haven’t noticed before. Listen for when the singer takes a breath, listen to a particular instrument throughout the song, or to the beat or bass. 

• Try mindful eating, noticing all the different flavors and textures of a bite of food and how it tastes different on different parts of your tongue. 

• Focus on how your muscles feel when doing yoga to help build movement into your routine. 

Loving-kindness meditation

Mindful meditation helps us stay focused on the now. It teaches us to accept things as they are and not be too critical. This way, we can be true to who we really are. Practicing this meditation daily helps make you feel better about yourself and about your relationship with others in your life.  

First, repeat these four sentences, either out loud or to yourself: 

• May I be safe. 
• May I be healthy and strong. 
• May I be happy. 
• May I be peaceful and at ease. 

Next, direct these wishes to someone you value, love, respect or feel positively toward. 

Then, direct these wishes to someone you find challenging, or whose behavior you don’t like. 

Finally, direct these wishes to the world and all beings. 

 Mindful mantra meditation

A mantra is a sound or phrase that is meaningful to a person. Mantra meditation includes repeatedly saying a sound or phrase and trying to understand what that means for you in the present moment. 

Helpful mantras for kids include: 

• I can handle this. 
• I am safe. 
• Let it go. 

I am thankful. 

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Mindfulness tips for teens

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Tips for parents and caregivers: How to practice mindfulness with your kids

• Consistency is important – making it part of a routine or tradition helps the child expect it and practice it more often 
• Teach your child to associate deep breathing with big emotions (i.e., feeling mad or anxious), and practice deep breathing together to help regulate emotions. 
• Remember that mindfulness doesn’t have to be a big production – it can be as simple as one minute in your day and it can be integrated into something you are already doing, like during dinner time (i.e., practicing being aware of tasting a part of the meal) or during bath time (i.e., practicing awareness of the sensations of the water – warmth of the water, the feel of the soap, the sound of the water, etc.) 
• Model mindfulness for your child by practicing it alongside them and letting them see you doing it too!   

Mindfulness practice ideas for parents and children

Looking for mindfulness activities that you can do with your child? These specific ones below were made for the parent-child relationship. Modeling mindfulness by practicing it yourself at home or alongside your child with these activities is so powerful because kids learn by watching you.

Together, take some deep breaths and pick one of the following activities to practice:  

• Practice taking deep breaths before bedtime and make it part of the bedtime routine. You can place a stuffed animal on your child’s tummy, have them take a breath in and out and watch the stuffed animal move up and down on their belly. 
• You can practice taking deep breaths together. You can model first and have them watch your belly move up and down with each inhale and exhale. Then they can practice, and you watch them and immediately follow it up with praise to help reinforce their practicing! An example of a labeled praise would be “Wow! Great job taking that deep breath to help calm your body!” 
• Little ones tend to love blowing bubbles. Slow and longer breaths produce bigger bubbles! Show your little one that blowing bubbles without breathing in and out is hard. Bubbles need breath to make it work! 
• You can have toddlers follow you as you do some little stretches like hands up high in the air, hands to the side, and marching. Combine these mini yoga moves with deep breathing. 
• Mindfulness is awareness of the present moment. It doesn’t have to be a big experience, even just eating a snack mindfully is a start. Be aware of the sensations brought forth – what does it feel like, taste like, smell like? Snacks like a slice of an apple, a piece of chocolate, a tangerine or a raisin are fun to eat mindfully. 
• Outdoor sound activity: Bring a paper and pen outside with you and take turns with your little one listening to a sound. Then, map where you think you heard the sound. Was it behind you? Did it surprise you? Was it in a tree? Is this a sound that you have heard before or is it a new sound? What did it sound like? Have your child practice making that sound if it sounded like an animal! 
• Practice being different animals or insects. Take a deep breath in and then float like a butterfly around the lawn or buzz like a bee. Afterward, comment on what it felt like to release the energy and be fully aware of the moment as you practice your insect noises! 

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How to cultivate moments of mindfulness with your kids

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Educating patients on mindfulness: Tips for clinicians

As clinicians, introducing mindfulness to children can profoundly impact their emotional well-being. Below are some ways to begin the conversation on mindfulness with your patient.  

• Educate. Explain the role of mindfulness in health and how it can be a factor in helping people manage their stress response. Review the physical and mental health benefits of mindfulness.  
• Normalize. For patients who have experienced trauma, mindfulness might be challenging initially. Encourage your patients to be patient with themselves and seek guidance from a trauma-informed mindfulness practitioner for support 
• Validate. Explain how practicing mindfulness every day is like slowly building their “mindfulness muscle,” they can begin to rely on it as a coping tool when experiencing stress.  
• Teach. You can teach your patient several mindfulness practices in five minutes or less. For example: Diaphragmatic breathing, body scan, grounding with five senses.  
• Learn. As a healthcare provider, practicing mindfulness can help you enter a calm state as you begin your day seeing patients. You are also modeling this type of stress management for your patients. Consider listening to one of these practices to help you learn and practice about mindfulness:  
  • Body scan 
  • Breath meditation 
• Provide resources. See below for various resources to connect patients with.  
  • Mindfulness apps can include: CALM for kids, UCLA Mindful, Mindfulness Coach, Headspace, Cosmic Kids, or Insight Timer  
  • For more resources to help patients manage stress, visit acesaware.org/managestress 
  • For community resources, visit findhelp.org 

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Mindfulness: Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between mindfulness, meditation and mindful movement? 

Mindfulness is a nonjudgmental, moment-to-moment awareness. Meditation is a way to practice mindfulness and involves focusing on our breathing, how our body is feeling, and the emotions we are experiencing. Mindful movement is any type of movement, like exercise, yoga, or tai chi, which combines movement with mindful awareness. 

What is a trauma-informed approach to mindfulness?  

Based on the following resource, here are some tips: 

• When people practice mindfulness and begin to experience anxiety, stress, or PTSD, encourage them to start with only a few minutes and then slowly work their way up. There is no rush; it is about ensuring they feel comfortable. 
• When practicing mindfulness with patients, invite them to look at the ground or close their eyes  
• Offer choices for different ways to practice mindfulness 
  • “I invite you to practice this stretch or engage in another quiet activity throughout the rest of this practice. That’s okay, too.”  
• Acknowledge that mindfulness can be challenging, like building a muscle, and can take time. Help patients practice self-compassion.  
  • “Go slowly and take care of yourself along the way.” 
• For more resources on scripts for trauma-informed mindfulness teaching, please visit here. 

How often should I practice mindfulness with my kids? 

• For preschool children, start with a few minutes per day. 
• For elementary school children, start with three to ten minutes twice daily. 
• Teens and adults start with five minutes and then gradually go to the daily dozen (12 minutes a day), but can go longer if they would like.  

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