Wednesday Wrap The Third!! What is Mindfullness?

[taziness]

Precisely! That little voice......!

[taokat]

I agree @Emily_May. I want mindfulness to be my calm and safe place, which cannot be obtained if I'm judging myself on how I'm achieving (or otherwise!) mindfulness. It's all falling into place, thank you.

[taziness]

Emily, I'd like to ask about your advice on getting teens, young people motivated to try Mindfulness....?

[Emily_May]

Exactly @taokat!

Unless we have achieved a sense of calm and safety through open non-judgmental awareness, then it is very difficult to be present and model mindfulness to the teenagers we are engaging with.

We often jump quickly into trying to teach teenagers mindfulness as a skill, rather than as adults practicing to be mindful (present and non judgmental)

[Ngaio-RO]

Aaand I'm back...sorry, laptop swap!!

Great questions so far.

And thanks for your last one @taokat I wanted to ask how @Emily_May explains mindfulness to young people.

[Emily_May]

@taokat - this is a tricky one.

Introducing any idea to a young person is about finding ways that it is relevant and meaningful for them, and engaging with them around the topic in a way that feels intuitive and natural for them. Lectures and theoretical explanations rarely work well, but when we a) model mindful awareness ourselves and b) use in the moment opportunities to discuss and encourage mindfulness then we have a much better chance of sharing the message with them. 

[Emily_May]

I find that teaching a teenager mindfulness is less about walking them through the steps or giving them a definition, but more about modeling mindfulness yourself as a parent - i.e. being open and present in your interactions with your teenager, in a way where you are engaged in the moment with them, without judgment.

One of the most crucial ways adolescents learn how to relate to themselves and others is through the relationships they have with key people in their life. When a parent remains ‘in the moment’ with their teenager, they offer them a safe, secure and stable base that allows their teen to calm down, think clearly and act according to how they want to act rather than how their ‘in the moment’ emotions are compelling to act.

[Ngaio-RO]

@Emily_May Have you come across any great analogies that encapsulate mindfulness for you that can be used to explain it?

[taziness]

Indeed, I've brought in the experts We need mentoring too So good to recognize our own limitations isn't it!?

[taokat]

I was going to say @Emily_May and @taziness - don't call it mindfulness!! My daughter does practice mindfulness but when I say that word her eye roll is priceless!

We tak about in terms of ways to calm her body, settle her thoughts.