World Thinking Day has got us thinking…
How important is it to ourselves and our children to take time out of our day to be at one with our thoughts?
Here at Kalma Life, we know the importance of being mindful, especially when it comes to children. Mindfulness is defined as a mental state achieved by focusing awareness on the present moment, while calmly acknowledging and accepting feelings, thoughts, and sensations. Research findings have demonstrated that teaching mindfulness to children has proven benefits. Its proven to increase optimism and happiness, decrease bullying and aggression, enhance compassion and empathy for others and aid children in their ability to resolve conflicts.
Mindfulness has a number of benefits, including:
• Higher brain functioning
• Increase immune system functioning
• Lowered blood pressure
• Increased attention and focus
• Increased clarity in perception
• Lowered anxiety
• Enhanced ability to deal with illness
• Improved mental health
In our kalma children’s and family yoga sessions, we encourage mindfulness to all ages! The benefits are wide and varied and supported by research findings, which is why we thought we would share our knowledge and experience of mindfulness with you, and how we believe yoga can help you embark on your own mindfulness journey!
Our most mindful poses:
The Buddha Pose – Traditionally, mindfulness is a Buddhist teaching, but now it is incorporated into the lives of people from all different beliefs. The Buddha pose focuses on the promotion of mindfulness by placing emphasis on breathing. The straightened posture required for this pose helps to open the airways and encourage deeper and more relaxing breathing. This, in turn, allows you to be at one with your body in its simplest of states. The Buddha pose is one that we perform with all if our age groups, in our mum and baby yoga classes here at KalmaBaby and is loved by the children!
The Tree Pose – When trying to mindful, being still is often the most effective way to achieve this. The tree is a symbol of peace and solidarity, which is exactly what the tree pose emulates. By focusing on balance and inner peace, the tree pose allows you to be poised, concentrated and strong. This is a great pose for mindfulness as it promotes relaxation and peace, allowing the mind to stay focused on being present in the moment. A posture we try often in our children’s yoga classes with partners!
The Easy Pose – Mindfulness is easy with the easy pose! This pose is so simplistic that the body had no choice but to relax. Relaxation is a crucial factor in achieving mindfulness. The easy pose allows your thoughts to be centres in the moment, and helps you shut out your environment and the distracting noise of the external world. This pose is great for beginners as it does not require a great deal of physicality, leaving your mind to be the centre of attention. That said, it is hugely effective and widely used within our childrens yoga programme!