Sneaky Benefits of a One Minute Mindfulness Practice

You're Only One Minute Away  

... From your child beginning an absolutely magical practice. 

I get it.  Kids don't want to sit around "stilling themselves" and breathing.  They want to go, go, go 'til the goin' don't go no mo'.  So I have a proposition for you: Just One Minute a Day. 

Here are 3 Sneaky Benefits of a One-Minute Mindfulness Practice:
 

1.  It can create a habit.

As stated, your child may scoff at sitting down for five minutes just to "breathe."  But perhaps they will, even grudgingly, grant you one.  One is all you need, momma!  Because one-minute a day will help your child develop the habit of taking time out to be mindful.  Once that habit's formed, they'll be pausing, connecting and breathing, unprompted by you.      

2.  It can create stamina.

A friend of mine went from couch pillow (she has way more elegance than a potato) to half-marathon-running gazelle by adding just one mile every week to her training.  Your child can go from information-overloaded (not their fault), to focused practitioner, by adding one minute a week to their session.  Even adding one minute a month will have them sitting in stillness for 12 full minutes in a year.  Imagine the clarity and focus that could bring to their life. 

3.  They don't have to "get it" or "perfect it" to benefit.

Benny*, age 8, started with this 6 minute mindfulness video, which includes a reflection on a quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson, mindful breathing, and a happiness visualization. 

He didn't sit with his back straight (far from it, he kind of laid angled and haphazard over a pillow).  He didn't pick one specific person to visualize (there were too many people that made him happy to just think of one).  He just followed along to the best of his ability. 

Afterwards, when I asked him what he thought of it, he said:

"I liked it.  It made me feel calm."  

Children don't have to be perfect at mindfulness to reap the benefits.  They don't have to grasp the point.  They know when they feel centered, relaxed, and focused -- even if, at first, they are happily clueless as to what caused it.  

So let's press this easy button!

In other words... play.  Today's video is a One-Minute Breathing Exercise for kids where your child will focus on feeling the feeling of love (with a super quick explanation to get them started off right).  And it comes with these fun mindfulness coloring sheets!

Toss it on, follow along, and then have a date-sweetened cookie (whatever that metaphorical cookie is for you), because you deserve it!

P.S. If you are interested in more mindfulness videos, be sure to grab your FREE Mindfulness for Children Starter Kit gift! There, I share mindfulness and meditation videos, color sheets, and more!

Updated from May 3rd, 2021

Quiet Time | 3 Minute Mindful Breathing Exercise

Oprah called it “quiet time.” And she attributes her success to it.

Good thing is, it’s available to your kid, too. 

Quiet Time. A byproduct of growing up in rural Mississippi in the mid-to-late 50s with a working single grandmother.  It wasn’t scheduled or mandated mindfulness.  There was a lot of time to herself.  Quiet time just was what it was. 

In 2011 Oprah met Sheryl Sandberg at Facebook.  The topic: meditation.  

She spoke of that time, and how it has impacted her life:

OPRAH

“…having grown up in rural Mississippi, alone with my grandmother, I had a lot of quiet time. I had a lot of time to touch the stillness inside me. And the truth is, that’s where God lives. God lives in the space of stillness. Whatever you chose to call God, or not call God. It doesn’t matter whether you chose to call it or not, that stillness is always there, that awareness space.

…where you live, where the capital You resides, is not in the thoughts, but in the awareness, in that space. So I have lived in that space, of awareness for myself, for a very long time. I can’t even remember…

You know, all of us has that space where you’re willing to get still, because the world will try to tell you everything about yourself, and…we have so many voices, in our heads and on our Facebook pages telling us everything. But, to know, really, what to do and how to be guided in your life, you have to go to that still space where the bigger You, the greater You, resides. And I have it, and so does everybody else who’s listening to us right now.”

That “capital You” — it can be accessed in stillness.

But today “alone time” doesn’t guarantee “quiet time.”

We have the Internet, Instagram, streaming television, Slack, Zoom, Twitter and TikTok TikTalkin’ all day and all night long.  Not to mention games, schoolwork, extracurriculars––it all makes sure that nobody has to have quiet time.  As a matter of fact, it actively works against it.  Sometimes quiet time feels like it’s under assault.

But it’s there, waiting.  You may have to manufacture it.  You definitely have to prioritize it.

Today’s learning video continues on with our children’s mindfulness series (and if you missed the first and second video and activity, they’re here waiting for you).  This three-minute breathing activity is designed to help your child to connect to the breath, and connect with that space. Click the image below to watch now.    

Because “quiet time” is where that personal greatness lies.  That place of genuine authenticity.  Where your child’s unique gifts, true potential, and the blueprint of how they are divinely designed to impact the world lives.

We all have the potential of personal greatness that Oprah, Stacey Abrams, Jane Fonda, and Jamie Kern Lima have tapped into.  But are you giving yourself the gift of the time and space to access it.  Are you giving your children that gift?

Oh, by the way, Oprah had another fun quote:

“I had no idea that being your authentic self could make me as rich as I’ve become. If I had, I’d have done it a lot earlier.” 

So there are multiple benefits to quiet time.  Wouldn’t you agree?

Thank you for watching!

I’ll see you in the next video.  Until then, sending happy thoughts!

Pssssssst. Did you like this video? Then let’s get together more often. Join PlayDates where I send weekly learning activities directly to your inbox on subjects like mindfulness, vocabulary, and more!

A Minute... or 2 | 2 Minute Mindfulness Breathing Exercise For Kids

Your child needs a minute… or two.

But don’t take it from me. Straight from a psychiatrist and ADHD specialist’s (and physician’s, and author’s, and spiritual teacher’s, and monk and peace activist’s) mouth, today you’ll learn:

Why Mindfulness is the bee to the land of milk and honey that is your child’s mind.  Sa-weeeet.

They’re buzz words right now, huh?  Mindfulness.  Awareness.  Being thoughtful and intentional.  The importance of presence.  Meditation. 

…all that.

And we know what happens when things start buzzing around our face, it’s all too easy to just swat that bugger away.  You know, “stop bothering me, I’ll get to that later,” syndrome.

But does your child have that luxury?  Right now more information is bombarding them than ever before in history.  In 2011, Americans took in five times as much information every day as they did in 1986—the equivalent of 174 newspapers. The estimate is that during our leisure time — we’re not even talking about work — you and I processed 34 gigabytes, or 100,000 words, every day. 

And that was a decade ago.  Instagram didn’t even begin until October 2010, and TikTok just started in September 2016.  So imagine how those gigabytes have grown in strength over the past ten years as agenda-loaded emotionally charged info-litter pummeling our focus day in and day out.

In other words, that land of milk and honey is being dumped with mounds of trash and artificial sweetener.   

Here’s what psychiatrist and ADHD specialist Edward Hallowell has to say about it, “never in human history, [have] our brains had to work so much information as today. We have now a generation of people who spend many hours in front of a computer monitor or a cell phone and who are so busy in processing the information received from all directions, so they lose the ability to think and feel. Most of this information is superficial. People are sacrificing the depth and feeling and cut off from other people.”

Looks like it’s time to get the environmentalist involved, because your child’s most important environment –– the world of their mind –– may be being treated like a landfill.

Thankfully, if you act now, there is something you can do about it.  

For that, I’ll turn it over to Dr. Daniel Siegal, author of Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation and The Mindful Brain: Reflection and Attainment in the Cultivation of Well-Being:

“Modern times often cause us to go on automatic pilot, continually multitasking and buying our lives with digital stimulation, information overload, and schedules that stress our brains and overwhelm our lives.  Finding time to pause amidst that chaos has become an urgent need few of us take the time to satisfy.”

Your child needs a minute to pause and breathe.  Urgently.  A minute or two.

See, meditation, mindfulness, the contemplative arts –– they not only help to focus amongst the chaos, they also help us to be more selective when choosing what’s being allowed in.

It starts with a mindful minute.  

Good thing I have just the minute (or two) for you!

Today’s learning video continues on with our children’s mindfulness series (and if you missed the first video and activity, it’s waiting for you right here).  This two-minute breathing activity is designed to help your child take a step away from information overload, and into a moment of presence.  

When it comes to your, and your child’s, mind, we want the sweet nectar of divine inspiration and uniquely appointed gifts flowing wild and free. So when that mindfulness bee gets to buzzing, take heed. Because mindfulness is the tool that keeps your land of milk and honey clean, clear, tasty and free. 

But, incase you need more convincing, here are four more experts buzzing your way.

“…if I know one thing for sure, it’s that you can do small things inside your mind that will lead to big changes in your brain and in your experience of living.”
Rick Hanson, PhD. Neuropsychologist and Author

“All forms of meditation strengthen & direct our attention through the cultivation of three key skills: concentration, mindfulness & compassion or lovingkindness.”
Sharon Salzberg, Meditation Teacher and Author

“I think the greatest gift we can give our children is the experience of deep quiet. If we don’t help our children cultivate contemplation, reflection, prayer, meditation, or whatever other practice of mindfulness, then they’re likely to be completely spun out of their center by the time they’re in grade school.”
Marianne Williamson, Author and Spiritual Teacher

“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”
Thich Nhat Hanh, Buddhist Monk and Peace Activist

Let’s make Thich That Hanh proud and conscious breathe together.  

That’s today’s bee’s knees.

I’ll see you in the next video.  Until then, sending happy thoughts.

P.S. Let’s stay in touch! Weekly I share learning activities including videos and color sheet printables! You even start out with a free gift. I’d love to have you.

Feel the Happy | Mindfulness Exercises for Kids | Breathing and Visualization

How would you like it if your child had the self-esteem of a lioness, self-awareness of Michelle Obama and empathy of the Dalai Lama?  

That sounds like a pretty powerful combination.  

But I’ll do you one even better.  How would you like it if your child was able to develop their own self-esteem, self-awareness and empathy to the point that they, just like Michelle Obama, just like the Dalai Lama, and just like that royal lioness, were living their best life, using their divine gifts and skills, and impacting the world in just the way that they were meant to?

Now, what would you say if I said that studies are showing that children who practice mindfulness are tending to develop the traits that would allow them to do exactly that?

It’s true!  Mindfulness interventions in schools have shown practicing mindfulness may improve sleep and self-­esteem, self-­awareness and empathy, and can even contribute directly to the development of cognitive and performance skills, and executive function. 

Summing that all up, that means mindfulness can help your child think more clearly, sleep more deeply, be better organized, believe more in themselves, be more aware of themselves, empathize with their peers, and even their parents.  That means you! 

Mindfulness can help your child think more clearly, sleep more deeply, be better organized, believe more in themselves, be more aware of themselves, empathize with their peers, and even their parents.  That means you!

Okay, sure, the latter is a long shot, I know.  

Or is it?

I’m keeping the faith alive for you, but even three out of the above eight can lead to a better life for all involved, and a better world.  

Whitney knew it!  She told us when she sang: “I believe the children are our future.” 

And, with a world full of mindful children, the future’s so bright, we gotta wear shades.  

So in preparation for that RayBan reality, one might ask:

What is “mindfulness,” and how can my child practice it?

What is “mindfulness,” and how can my child practice it?

According to the Cambridge Dictionary: [Mindfulness is] the practice of being aware of your body, mind, and feelings in the present moment, thought to create a feeling of calm.

And there are many more benefits of “calm” that I’ll get to in a bit.

There are so many different ways to practice this awareness, including, but not limited to: breathing exercises, meditation, going on nature walks, mindful eating and playing (yes, there is such thing as mindful play), and mindful thought of those you love.

Today, in this mindfulness exercise for kids, I’m practicing mindful awareness through mindful thought, breathing, and meditation, while listening to classical piano music.  And the choice of classical music is a researched one.   

And this is where we start to tap into the benefits of that “calm.”  

The calming effect induced by classical music releases dopamine to spike pleasure and prevent the release of stress hormones. From here, mood is improved, which clarifies thinking. This is what can improve intellectual and cognitive performance.

So I’d like to invite your child to watch this video, and join me in improving our intellectual and cognitive performance, deepening our sleep, believing more in ourselves, increasing our empathy, and strengthening our self-esteem, all while brightening our collective futures. 

Together, we’ll practice deep breathing and mindful thought, including visualization practice — all in 6(ish) minutes. 

Together, we’ll practice deep breathing and mindful thought, including visualization practice — all in 6(ish) minutes.

It’s going to be so much fun!

I am so excited to share this with you.  And hey, if you like this mindfulness activity for kids, be sure to share it with your friends and loved ones.  You can even watch the video and practice mindfulness together!

Thank you for watching.  

Until next time…

Happy Learning!

P.S. Quick reminder that this is a practice, and the benefits come from repetition!  I practice mindfulness daily.  Even just 3 minutes a day can add up.  

P.P.S If you are interested in more mindfulness videos, be sure to join Effie Playdates https://effiemonroe.com/playdates!  There, I share weekly learning activities including vocabulary building, mindfulness and meditation videos, color sheets, and more!