Mindfulness and Wellbeing

Mindfulness in School and at Home….

Well, here we are in National Lockdown#3… a return to following strict Government guidelines to Stay Home, Protect the NHS, Save Lives and a return, for the majority of our children, to Remote Learning, with you, their parents also becoming their teachers.

We understand how tricky, challenging and difficult it can be for anyone who is having to juggle home schooling with working from home themselves.

It may, at times, feel overwhelming but what can we do?

When things just feel, temporarily too much, take a break…simple advice but you are allowed to take a break. Have a cup of tea, coffee or a delicious hot chocolate. Let the kids watch a Bitesize on BBC, read a book or do some drawing and just …Collect yourself.

These feelings of anxiety and worries can affect adults and children and an important action is to acknowledge how you are feeling, let yourself know it is okay to feel like this, that you may not be able to change the general situation BUT you can be kind to yourself and it may be useful to have a strategy to help us cope with them.

Talking about, and sharing, our worries and feelings helps us to make sense of them and also helps us to recognise what we can change and what we cannot.

For example, we cannot change the fact that we have to be very careful with social distancing and cleanliness. We have to follow these directives as they will help to keep us safe. We can, though, stop listening to the news too often as this can make us feel sad, worried and anxious. We need to know what is happening but we can minimise how often and we can control that by switching the news off. We could tell ourselves that we are not going to discuss more than, say once or twice a day, the Covid situation but to talk about something else.

A good tip to help us feel more positive and aware of our positive feelings is to practice some form of wellbeing activity. This could be a walk through the woods or the beach, on our own or with family. We could also decide to telephone a friend for a catch up or complete an online exercise class. These can all make us feel more positive and therefore, happier.

Mindfulness.

This is the practise of thinking of our minds and bodies together, using all of our senses to help us ‘still’ our minds and bring our attention back to now, this moment.

It can help adults and children, can be practised anywhere and at any time. It can calm us and bring about positive feelings and can be practised for any length of time. Just 5 minutes can help to refocus and energise us, making us feel calm and relaxed.

A Mindful Moment.

This can be practiced once a day at any time although the beginning of the day is a good time.

Firstly, we need to learn the Breathing Technique, which is an effective tool when used on its own or in the Mindful Moment.

1. Breathe in through your nose for a count of 3
2. Hold for a second
3. Breathe out for a controlled count of 5

This can be continued for as many breaths as you choose. You can concentrate on this technique at any time, when you are washing up even!! It can also be used when we complete the Body Scan which I will describe below.

Body Scan

1. Sit on a chair with your feet flat on the floor. Begin by breathing in for 3 breaths and slowly breathing out for 5.
2. Starting at your feet, feel the sensation of them flat on the floor, be aware of the soles, the ankles, the bones in the foot and your toes. Wiggle your toes and notice how they fell, acknowledge any aches.
3. Move up through your ankles, calves, knees and thighs, being aware of feelings and sensations. Continue with your breathing and accept how your body feels.
4. Move on to your tummy, chest, shoulders and arms, hands and fingers, one area at a time. Be aware of where you are carrying tension, accept these feelings whilst continuing with your breathing technique.
5. Move on up to your neck, face and head, moving your head slowly from side to side, tipping down to your chest and gently backwards. Again, be aware of any tension or pain, acknowledge this, breathing in and out all the while.
6. Finish the action by breathing in for 3 and out for 5, concentrating on the outgoing breath, to allow a state of calmness to finish.
7. Come back to the moment, in the here and now.

These techniques can help and even if you feel a little silly, please persevere as they will help you and your family. They can be practised alone or with your children and can prove to be calming and bonding if shared.

Equally, if you practise independently, you are giving yourself time and space which can help us to deal with situations or feelings we are experiencing.

Take care of yourself….you deserve the time and attention.