Being a teenager could be very tough. Teenagers between 13 and 19 years face real challenges as this happens to be the most critical stage of their lives. They are exposed to intense external and internal struggles. Besides fighting out hormonal changes and puberty problems, they have to absorb parental, social, work, and school pressures.
Moreover, responsibilities also start to build up making the situation worse. Mindfulness exercises for teens can help them in such situations and let them enjoy a better life.
How to practice mindfulness exercises for teens?
Many ways are there to practice mindfulness activities for kids. All of these focus on achieving alertness and relaxation. They also involve paying attention to the thoughts and sensations without any judgment. It involves stopping everything you are doing, taking a breath, observing the emotions, feelings & thoughts, and proceeding with something that supports the present moment. Here are some mindfulness techniques that one can follow.
- Body sensations: Notice all body sensations like itching or tingling sensation without judging them and allow them to pass. Also, notice all parts of your body starting from head to toe.
- Sensory perceptions: Notice all sensory perceptions including signs, smells, sound, taste, and touch. Name them without any judgment. Also, feel them, and then allow them to go.
- Emotions: Allow emotions without judging them. Accept them as they come, acknowledge them without any judgment, and then allow them to go.
- Urge surfing: Endure cravings and let them pass. Also, notice how the body feels as the urge enters. Give auto suggestions that you can control the urge and it will subside. Also, wish for the craving to go away.
What are mindfulness exercises for teens?
Mindfulness exercises help a teenager to be aware of their thoughts and feelings and can push them past their boundaries. Thus they can seek more joy in their lives and have inner peace. One can do mindfulness activities for high school students alone or with friends. The following are some of the mindfulness exercises for teens.
- Mindful eating: Being mindful helps a teenager to do better. Just take something you love to eat, hold it in your hands and think how it feels. Think about everything including look, smell, taste, etc, and enjoy each bite.
- Mindful breathing: Sit in a comfortable position, close your eyes, and watch how you breathe. Do it easily without any force. Focus on how it goes in and comes out and how you feel it in your nose. Do it for a few minutes. It will make you calm.
- Mindful walking: Focus on how your body moves when you walk. Do it while you walk slowly step by step. Bring your mind to walking as it wanders.
- Mindful word: Think about a soothing word like peace, love, and the like. Think about the word silently and focus on the word when your mind wanders.
- Journal writing: Garb a journal and write something. It helps to manage anxiety and depression. Stress, and helps to fix priorities.
- Set up a mantra: Think something positive and repeat that in your mind. It helps to go deep into the mind and develop self-awareness.
- Start coloring: It is one of the easy mindfulness activities for students. Start coloring page in the coloring book. Focus on the process and think about how you are feeling about it. It will help you stay focused on the present.
- Body scanning: Everyone has an amazing body that moves and makes sounds without being aware of them. Sit somewhere comfortable and think about your feeling on the skin. Also, cover the entire body all the time being still. It helps to slow down everything.
- Drink Tea: It is a soothing beverage. Focus on what you are feeling while sipping tea. Try to notice all sensory perceptions it will make you more mindful.
- Express Gratitude: It is one of the perfect mindfulness activities for middle school Write a list of gratitude at the end of the day. Note at least five things as a part of mindfulness.
- Candle Study: Light a candle that will burn for a few minutes. Watch it burn for 5 to 10 minutes and let your mind and thoughts wander. It is one of the mindfulness exercises for teens and leads one to meditation.
- Dancing: Invite your friends and turn up the music you love. Now start dancing to the rhythm. Concentrate on the dance and discuss your feelings with friends.
- Yoga Class: Attending a yoga class is a great way to achieve mindfulness for teenage anxiety. Focus on breathing while you do yoga exercises. It will calm your mind and you will be aware of what is going on inside the body.
- Start Cooking: Cooking has therapeutic effects and doing it in a group makes it more entertaining. Just settle on a recipe that everyone agrees to and divide tasks among the group. Prepare ingredients focusing on smells, flavors, and textures, and be attentive to the process.
- Solve puzzles: Puzzles are entertaining for everyone. When you solve a puzzle you get a feeling of accomplishing something.
Benefits of mindfulness exercises for teens
Today’s teens face several challenges from social media. It makes growing up a difficult task. For this reason, they need to be mindful. Practicing mindfulness delivers many benefits. The following are some of them.
- Reduces rumination
- Decrease depression
- Stress & anxiety reduction
- Boosts working memory
- Improve focus
- Less emotional response
- Improved cognitive flexibility
- Builds satisfactory relation
- Better physical health
- Improves overall wellbeing
Final Note
Mindfulness exercises for teens can tune their actions, behaviors, and emotions to face the challenges of life and enjoy internal peace. We hope this article gives you some ideas of how to incorporate them into your teens routine.
Also read:
Transcendental Meditation Mantras helps calm busy minds
