Mindful Movement---Part I

A short week of school this week!  Those students that usually see me on Tuesdays will get to play catch-up next week as we bring our focus to Mindful Movement.  Last week’s mindful tasting was definitely a hit.  Students were so thoughtful as they carefully examined and tasted each small piece of food.  You would have been astonished to see your child eat so slowly and thoughtfully, I promise!  What a great focusing activity!

This week and next week we will be changing our focus to our bodies and movement.  Because we’ve learned about stress and anxiety, as well as the fight/flight/freeze response of our amygdala, we’ll be discussing the effect cortisol has on our bodies.  When we’re under stress, our brains release cortisol to help us stay alert and help us manage stress.  However, if we don’t teach our bodies how to properly relax, on-going stress and the release of cortisol can wreak havoc on our health.  In group this week we’ll practice revving our bodies up and calming them down, taking control of the release of cortisol.  We’ll use our pulses as a way of measuring the stress on our bodies.

At home, try having your child take his/her pulse doing different activities (waking up in the morning, going to bed, doing the dishes, doing homework, playing with a sibling, etc.).  The greater the ability to understand what our bodies are telling us, the happier and healthier we become and the better we’re able to connect to others!  As always, let me know if you have any questions----

Mindful Tasting

It’s the week we’ve all been wating for….  Mindful tasting is here!  I have several students this year who participated in my after-school Mindfulness group last year that have been begging since we started focusing on mindfulness last month to do the mindful tasting class.  It’s finally here and we’re having a great time!  I’ve never seen any child eat one small piece of food so slowly in my entire life and I love it!

How many times have we shoveled food into our mouths without putting thought into what or how much we’re eating, or even if we like what’s going in?  I think I’m guilty of this on a daily basis!  By slowing our bodies and brains down and mindfully tasting and eating what we’re putting into our mouths (in addition to creating healthier eating habits) we’re training our brains to really see, feel, and smell what we’re eating in addition to just tasting.  Talk about making the neurons connect and letting the dopamine flow! 

This week we tried eating several different foods by first familiarizing ourselves with the foods’ color, size, texture, shape, and smell.  Then we put it in our mouths, but before we chewed, we drew attention to what it felt like in our mouths, what part of our tongue could taste the flavor.  Finally we slowly chewed and swallowed, enjoying one small piece of food.  You could have heard a pin drop during our experiments!  What fun!

Encourage your child to slow down and enjoy their food this week.  Try new foods at home and do some taste testing of your own.  Bon Appetit!

Mindful Smelling

From mindful seeing to mindful smelling….  This week in group we will be working on honing our sense of smell.  Just like with what we see, what we smell is also filtered through our reticular activating system.   Our sense of smell is special because it triggers memories, thoughts, and feelings more quickly than any other sense.  (I can’t smell diesel exhaust without thinking of riding the bus to school as a kid!)

This week in group we will be doing a “Mystery Scent” activity in which students will smell a mystery scent and have to identify how it makes them feel or what it makes them think of.  I am hopeful that by this point in the school year students feel safe and happy enough in group to share freely.  Children who feel comfortable take more risks and those risks encourage creativity and increased conceptual thinking.  This, in turn, helps kids to be more tolerant, sensitive, and collaborative. 

Training the brain is hard, but fun, work!  Be creative with your families as you think of your own activities to encourage mindful hearing, seeing, and smelling!