Find Your Calm
- Library Zest Team
- Feb 9, 2022
- 5 min read
Mindfulness is a proven strategy to reduce stress and develop positivity. We are living in uncertain times and everyone feels that stress, even young ones. Mindfulness is a great way to teach children of all ages how to find a sense of calm in a world that feels very un-calm.
Question: What is mindfulness?
Answer: It is a type of meditation. It involves breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and the mind.
It's about being aware of all that the present moment is--our feelings, the sensations in our bodies, the sounds, sights, and smells of the world around us.
"Give your stress wings and let it fly away." -- Terri Guillemets
Question: How do we start practicing mindfulness?
Answer: To start, we have to try what works for us and our family. We need to learn what mindfulness means to us.
A great way to learn about mindfulness is to read about it. Our Coordinator of Children and Family Experiences, Holly, has put together a great list of books all about mindfulness that you can take home today.
Follow Your Breath: A First Book of Mindfulness by Scot Ritchie
Follow the story of Pedro as he learns there are many ways to manage the stress of his upcoming move. Fun mindfulness activities follow the story. By learning how to incorporate mindfulness into their lives, children gain lifelong coping skills they can use to stay physically and mentally healthy.
A Walk in the Wood: Meditations on Mindfulness with a Bear Named Pooh [audiobook] by Dr. Joseph Parent and Nancy Parent
In our frantic world, who better to guide readers through this transformative practice than a long-beloved bear who has perfected the art of simply being? A Walk in the Wood offers life lessons grounded in the simple act of slowing down, observing what is around us, and being present in our lives moment by moment.
Mindful Kids: 50 Mindfulness Activities for Kindness, Focus and Calm
This kit includes 50 creative mindfulness games, visualizations and exercises divided into 5 categories to help children feel grounded, find calm, improve focus, practice loving-kindness and relaxation. Also included is an instruction booklet with tips on how to modify activities and make them inclusive for all children and all abilities.
Sitting Still Like a Frog: Mindfulness Exercises for Kids (and Their Parents) by Eline Snel
This little book is a very appealing introduction to mindfulness meditation for children and their parents. In a simple and accessible way, it describes what mindfulness is and how mindfulness-based practices can help children calm down, become more focused, fall asleep more easily, alleviate worry, manage anger, and generally become more patient and aware.
The Headspace Guide to Meditation and Mindfulness: How Mindfulness Can Change Your Life in Ten Minutes a Day by Andy Puddicombe
Andy Puddicombe, a former Buddhist monk, the Voice of Headspace, and the UK's foremost mindfulness expert, is on a mission: to get people to take 10 minutes out of their day to sit in the here and now. This book offers simple but powerful meditation techniques that positively impact every area of physical and mental health.
Big Breath: A Guided Meditation for Kids by William Meyer
Does your breath sound like ocean waves? Can you feel it all the way down to the tips of your toes? By the time you open your eyes, you might just feel a little lighter. In this book, William Meyer's gentle prompts, alongside Brittany R. Jacobs's illustrations, make meditation as fun as a game, but with big results.
Puppy in my Head: A Book About Mindfulness by Elise Gravel
Kids experience anxiety and can feel overwhelmed just like adults do, and this picture book serves as both a story and a step-by-step guide to help calm kids down. Ollie is the puppy living inside of our narrator's head, and when Ollie panics or is too energetic, the narrator feels that way, too! But she learns to handle the situation with her breath and her mindfulness, and by talking it out with an adult.
"We can't control everything that happens, but we can change our experience of those things." -- Headspace
All of the books shown above are family and kid-friendly. All are designed to help children slow down and find their calm. Simple things like breathing techniques and yoga poses not only help us all stay healthy but they have a positive effect.
Question: Is mindfulness for everyone?
Answer: Yes, it sure is!
Adults can practice mindfulness too. The following books are designed to help adults slow down and find their calm as well. We could all use it right now!
Mindfulness to Go: How To Meditate While You're On the Move by David Harp
A lot of people are just tired of feeling stressed and are looking for effective ways to get a grip on their emotions and, quite simply, to calm down. This book is your pocket guide to reaping the benefits of meditation. Starting with the most basic exercises, you'll work your way up to creating a personal mindfulness strategy that will help you remain cool, calm, and collected in every situation, no matter what life throws your way.
Mindfulness: An Eight-week Plan for Finding Peace in a Frantic World [audiobook] by Mark Williams and Danny Penman
Everyday life is so frantic and full of troubles that we have largely forgotten how to live a joyful existence. Based on the techniques of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy, the unique program developed by Williams and his colleagues, the book offers simple and straightforward forms of mindfulness meditation that can be done by anyone―and it can take just 10 to 20 minutes a day for the full benefits to be revealed.
Mindful Meditation for Busy Lives: Active Meditation Throughout the Day by Chris Berlow
This accessible, breezy guide introduces the concept of active meditation—moving meditations in which mind, body, and spirit become totally immersed in a single activity. This book takes readers through the many possible ways to meditate throughout even the busiest day, whether it’s during a session of high-powered exercise or while performing simple tasks like cooking and cleaning.
The Mindfulness Revolution: Leading Psychologists, Scientists, Artists, and Meditation Teachers on the Power of Mindfulness in Daily Life by multiple contributors, edited by Barry Boyce
A growing body of scientific research indicates that mindfulness can reduce stress and improve mental and physical health. Here is a collection of the best writing on what mindfulness is, why we should practice it, and how to apply it in daily life, from leading figures in the field.
Mindfulness for Compassionate Living: Mindful Ways to Less Stress and More Kindness by Dr. Patrizia Collard
Self-compassion is a life-changing way of thinking that is rooted in mindfulness. By learning to have more loving kindness and forgiveness for ourselves, we have more empathy and compassion for others.
The self-compassion movement has been growing rapidly over the past two years with recent research into the neuroscience of compassion showing that changing our thinking habits makes new neural pathways in the brain - and that compassion can be learned.
The benefits of this practice are personal and global, from learning to manage chronic pain to relieving stress, boosting the immune system and circulation, along with improving relationships as we connect more authentically with others.
All of the books featured in this blog post are available from the Essa Public Library. Place a hold yourself or email or call us and we can get a copy for you.
Visit Library Zest contributor Victoria's mindfulness podcast post for more tips, advice, and information on finding your calm.
- Dawn Travers
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