So What is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness means paying full attention to something. It means slowing down to really notice what you're doing.

Being mindful is the opposite of rushing or multitasking. When you're mindful, you're taking your time. You're focusing in a relaxed, easy way.

Mindfulness happens naturally sometimes. And sometimes mindfulness based interventions can be really useful in relation to specific isolated aspects of performance such as penalty kicks in football or a serve in tennis. Mindfulness and meditation allows us to increase our body awareness, our movement, and our breathing. This can be helpful for sports players who are relied upon to produce moments of quality under intense pressure. We often see kickers or servers go through very specific routines before each kick or hit and these routines often involve specific breathing patterns uses to enhance relaxation and mental focus. In these moments, you may also see players using positive self talk to enhance their confidence and faith in their ability. This is a practical example of how mindfulness can be used to regulate athletes' breathing during high pressure moments.

That calm focus, that way of paying attention to what you're doing, taking your time, taking it easy& — that's you being mindful! And being mindful just helped you take your best shot.

Yoga Makes It Easier to Be Mindful

· Many mindfulness programs involve just working with the mind. Basically, you sit down and practice keeping your attention on your breath, bodily sensations, or the food that you are eating. When your mind drifts somewhere else, you notice that your attention has drifted and bring it back to the object of focus. Many people have mastered mindfulness in this way.

· But mindfulness and yoga go hand in hand. Yoga can even make it easier to be mindful. A well-designed yoga sequence can help you feel less scattered, more calm, more alert, and even more focused. This is partly due to the movements and breathing, but also to the fact that you are — you guessed it — being more mindful of what you are doing.

· One of the eight limbs of yoga described in the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali is Pratyahara translated as “control of the senses” or “withdrawal of the senses.” With pratyahara, we start to shift our awareness or attention away from the stimuli that our senses are feeding us and toward our inner self, or mind. This is one of the necessary steps before doing meditation.

How are yoga and mindfulness connected?

Mindfulness and yoga go hand in hand seamlessly because both aim to achieve that higher order of awareness or connection between the body, mind, and spirit. Both, yoga and mindfulness guide you to quieten your mind and form a connection with a deeper understanding of yourself and your surroundings.

Mindfulness is something that we can cultivate through a yoga practice. The breathing techniques that are used during yoga helps us connect with our body in the present. It also builds our awareness of all that is happening around us at that time.

What exactly is Mindfulness for Kids?

Mindfulness for kids is really no different than mindfulness for adults.

The key difference is the way in which it is delivered – particularly with the use of tapping into the imagination of kids with visualisation and games.

Mindfulness is about learning to be curious, inquiring and interested in the exact flavour and pattern of an experience without trying to alter it – weather it be pleasure, pain, joy sadness, embarrassment, headache or heart break.

Mindfulness is not about trying to relax, it is the sense of calm and increased clarity .

Mindfulness gives one the skills to learn how to creatively respond to stressful situations and relationships rather than reacting habitually.

Benefits of Mindfulness Practice for ALL Kids :

All kids can benefit from yoga and mindfulness as it will give them skills and techniques to benefit their lives now and in the future as they experience bigger emotions, more stressful situations and relationships.

Positive effects of mindfulness practice include:

Feel calmer, less stressed, improved sleep
Increased focus and concentration
Ability to choose healthier strategies in times of stress
Slowing down when feeling big emotions with the ability to respond to thoughts and feelings
Ability to be proactive rather than reactive
Kindness towards yourself
Greater empathy of people and animals

· The practice gets kids more in tune with their bodies, thoughts and feelings. It builds awareness of body and breath. Through this awareness they can learn more about how their body works and learn to slow down their racing thoughts and increased heart rate, allowing them to focus and concentrate – especially at school in the classroom.

· Kids with ADHD and those on the Autism spectrum (1 in 20 in Ireland)can benefit from these practices with many of the exercises assisting kids engage with their emotions and feelings, offering them tools for self-regulation and increased self-awareness.

· Kids with vestibular and balance difficulties also benefit from mindfulness yoga, which often involves balance on one leg, enabling the nervous system to develop improved balance skill and awareness.

· According to brain imaging research, practicing mindfulness can alter brain structure in a way that can improve a student’s reaction to stress. It thickens the cerebral cortex, which is responsible for perception and reasoning, and increases blood flow in the brain. And not only does mindfulness training reduce stress levels, it can also help alleviate anxiety or depression.

· A final reason to try mindfulness in your classroom or for your child?It can be especially helpful for children with learning disabilities, particularly attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). One study found that children with learning disabilities who received mindfulness training earned better grades and had fewer behavioural issues compared to before they started the program.

Children are naturally mindful and engaged with the world around them,so provides a wonderful starting point for teaching mindfulness and yoga for kids. Our challenge is to nurture this connection by teaching skills that will reinforce and support its development.

You can find mindfulness within your yoga practice, whether you like a gentle flow with these 5 easy tips.

1. Focus on the Present Moment

It’s not always easy, but through yoga breathing, poses, and relaxation exercises, we have the ability to shift our focus from the external to the internal, from what happened before we arrived on the mat or where we need to be next, to what is happening in our mental, emotional, physical body in the present moment. Hone in on your breath, and how your body feels as you move through each pose, and you’ll be less inclined to be caught up in your to-do list.

2. Practice Non-Judgement

Yoga gives us the beautiful opportunity to simply observe how we are feeling in present moment mentally, emotionally, and physically, without being judgmental or negative. Yoga isn’t a contest, and when you show up on the mat ready to just be with your body, no matter how you feel or look moment-to-moment, you can begin to let go of insecurities and embrace your inner strength.

3. Let it Go

Even when we are trying to be nonjudgmental, there may be moments during yoga when expectations and criticism creep in. These are the amazing learning moments where we get to practice letting go. Yoga teaches us to focus on what is, not what we want things to be, and sometimes that means letting go of any disappointment so you can appreciate the here and now.

4. Connect.

Yoga gives us the opportunity to nurture ourselves so we can nurture others. By taking the time to practice yoga, we build self-awareness. This deeper connection with ourselves ultimately helps us to connect more authentically to our community.

5. Find Your Peace.

Our bodies and minds are connected. When you take the time for the physical practice of yoga, you’ll have the ability to be more flexible both physically and mentally. In other words, yoga helps us to ride out the storm, so you’ll be better able to experience mental calmness, composure, and an evenness of temper, especially in the face of adversity or conflict.

Some of the mindful practices with our body :

1 SPINE: Ask yourself in every pose, “What is my spine doing here?” The answer should always be that it is extending. Try to lengthen in every posture by creating space between each vertebrae, utilizing your back and core muscles for support.

2 SENSE OF GROUNDING: Assess which parts of your body are touching the floor as you practice. Actively push those parts into the floor as a way to engage your whole body and build strength.

3 TRANSITIONS: As you transition between poses, be aware of how your body moves. Pay attention to physical sensations—both muscular and skeletal.

4 BREATH: Throughout your practice, check in with your breath and see if it’s rhythmic, fluid, and consistent. Use deep Ujjayi Pranayama, or Victorious Breath, with even inhales and exhales.

Best yogic mindful practices for kids :

Omkar : chanting of Omkar and other Slokas we do mindfully , actually while chanting these mantras we should listen with our own ears and feel the nice positive vibration in the body .

Asanas : All the Asanas ,especially Balancing asanas are very good like Tadasan,tiryak tadasan,tree pose ,all the warrior poses,Down ward Dog, cactus pose,Natarajasan,windmill etc,.

Pranayama : all the breathing practices we do mindfully like Deep breathing with Ocean breathing, Ujjayyi,bhramari , alternate nostril etc.

Yoga Nidra: it is the one of the best practice to remove our stress , anxiety and any other negative thoughts when we do mindfully . here we do focusing on

Meditation : actually Meditation and mindfulness both are very similar . but Mindfulness is the awareness of "some-thing," while meditation is the awareness of "no-thing." There are many forms of meditation.

Look out for Children's Yoga classes, camps and workshop this summer.

I will be offering weekly classes in Mayo this summer and I'm available for online lessons also.

For information call or WhatsApp +6620536082 /+353896031643

Mindfulness and Yoga for kids