8 Mindfulness activities to improve emotional health.

A selection of practical mindfulness exercises for both children and adults.

Mindfulness, or mindfulnessis one of the most useful tools for achieving emotional balance and improving concentration and well-being.

Its effectiveness has been scientifically proven, and there is increasing evidence that its use helps to regulate emotions, reduce stress and anxiety, helps you sleep better and promotes creativity. In addition, Mindfulness is also enriching for those people who are completely healthy and without psychological imbalances, who simply want to live their lives more fully.

This ancient practice allows us to be in the present moment. It is a coping style that promotes personal strengths. and helps to be more aware of the immediate experience with a non-judgmental attitude of openness and acceptance. Mindfulness helps to self-regulate behavior and promotes self-knowledge, as well as creating an environment conducive to well-being.

Mindfulness activities for greater emotional balance

But more than a set of techniques to be in the present moment, the Mindfulness is a philosophy of life, an attitude to adopt to reconnect with oneself and to reconnect with oneself and become more aware of the reality that surrounds us. It requires practice and will, so it is necessary to perform a series of activities to improve the ability to be in the here and now with a non-judgmental and compassionate mindset.

There are many exercises for this purpose. Below you can find a series of Mindfulness activities for children and adults.

Activities for children

Children can also be initiated into the practice of mindfulness. In this way, they develop this habit that will help them to know themselves better and relate better with the environment, so they can be happier in the future.

1. Bee breathing

Bee breathing, or Bhramari Pranayama, is a simple but very effective exercise to focus attention on the breath. to focus attention on the breath and to free the mind from agitation, frustration, anxiety and to get rid of anger. Since its practice is not very complex, it is possible to do it anywhere and even at early ages. It consists of covering the ears, closing the eyes, and when we exhale the air it is necessary to pronounce the letter "m" until the end of the breath.

Undoubtedly, it is an easy exercise to practice, even though it is necessary to learn diaphragmatic breathing to be able to exhale for a longer time. The exercise can be performed as many times as you wish, but it is advisable to start with a few repetitions and increase them progressively. The sound that results from this action is similar to the buzzing of a bee, which is why this activity is called "Bee Breathing".

2. The art of playing

To perform this exercise it is necessary to place the children in pairs. One of them is given an object (a feather, a toy, a stone, a ball, etc.) and is asked to close his eyes. The child who has the object describes it to his or her partner.

After one or two minutes, the same process is carried out, but this time it is the other partner who is in charge of describing the object. Despite the simplicity of this activity, it is ideal for teaching young children that they can isolate their senses and, if they want to, can focus their attention to live different experiences.

3. Attention to the bell

This exercise has two parts. The first part consists of ringing a bell and asking the children to listen to the vibration of the sound of the bell. The children must listen attentively and raise their hands when they no longer hear the vibration of the sound. Then, they should remain silent for one minute and pay attention to the other sounds that are heard once the ringing of the bell has stopped.

When the sound ends, the children should be encouraged to share their experiences and say what they heard during this period of time. This activity works on mindfulness and awareness, and helps to connect with the here and now. helps to connect with the here and now..

4. Become a frog

Children can learn to practice Mindfulness by becoming a frog for a few minutes. Frogs are a clear example of what Mindfulness is. Just as when people meditate, frogs remain motionless for a long period of time. They rarely stir, but remain still, observing and breathing calmly, and their belly moves in a pronounced manner with each inhalation and exhalation. By adopting the role of this amphibian, the children learn to stay still, to learn to stay still, to breathe in a controlled manner and to observe what is happening around them what is happening around them without flinching.

...and for adults

Adults can practice Mindfulness in their daily lives virtually anywhere, and any time is a good time to focus on the present moment, adopt a non-judgmental mindset and treat themselves with compassion.

5. Five Senses Exercise

This exercise is simple and can be quickly applied in almost any situation.. All that is needed is to be aware of our senses and experience each of them separately. To perform this activity, just follow this order:

• Observe five things you can see. Look around you and pick out something you wouldn't normally notice, such as a shadow or a small crack in the ground.
• Look at four things you can feel. Become aware of four things you are feeling in the present moment, such as the texture of your pants, the feel of the breeze on your skin, or the smooth surface of the table where you are resting your hands.
• Notice three things you can hear and focus on the sounds around you. For example, a bird, the noise of the refrigerator, or the sound of traffic on a nearby road.
• Notice two things you can smell. Pay attention to smells that you are not usually aware of and notice whether they are pleasant or unpleasant. The smell of nearby pine trees, the beach if you live on the coast or a fast food restaurant near your home.
• Watch the taste in your mouth. Focus on the taste of the present moment. You can take a sip of a drink you have on hand, chew gum, eat something and even notice the taste in your mouth without ingesting anything.

This is an easy exercise to practice that can quickly bring you into the here and now. How long you spend with each sense is up to you, but each object of attention should last a minute or two. The idea is not to is not to perform a meditation, but to return to the present with an improved state of awareness..

6. Active listening: observe non-verbal language

This activity is ideal for developing active listening skills, which is a form of communication that requires an effort on the part of our minds. requires an effort on the part of our cognitive and empathic capacitiesIt is a form of communication that requires an effort on the part of our cognitive and empathic abilities, where the receiver is not a mere recipient of the sender's words. We often think we are listening when we are actually hearing.

Active listening is not listening to the other person, but being totally focused on the message that the other individual is trying to communicate. It is being in the here and now with full awareness. We not only focus on the sender's words, but also on what he/she is trying to convey through non-verbal language.

To perform this exercise it is necessary to get into pairs. One of the members has two minutes to explain a pleasant experience in his or her life or an opinion about a recent event, while the other listens actively. What does his or her look, posture or gestures say? Does he or she seem proud when he or she tells it? Does he or she convey passion? The receiver has two minutes to carefully observe his partner's nonverbal communication. After finishing the exercise, both tell about their experience as active listeners.

7. Mindfulness Eating

With the pace of life we have today, it is common that we do not stop for a moment to connect with ourselves, even when we have a few minutes to eat, because we either turn on the TV or we are thinking about what we have to do this afternoon. Well, it is possible to practice Mindfulness while we eat lunch or breakfast. Po do the Mindful Eating ExerciseYou simply have to pay full attention to what you are going to eat.

You can start by focusing on what you are holding. Notice the sensation of what you are holding in your hands (for example, toast or your fork). Once you are aware of the texture, weight, color, etc., focus your attention on the smell. Finally, take the food to your mouth, bring the food to your mouth, but do so slowly and with full awareness.. Notice the taste or texture as it melts in your mouth. This activity can help you discover new experiences with foods you frequently eat.

8. Attention to the center of the image

To carry out this activity it is necessary to visualize the audiovisual content shown below.:

The objective of this exercise is simple: to focus attention on the point that is displayed in the center of the image despite the changing pattern of color around it, which can become distracting or provoke unwanted thoughts. It is an ideal exercise to get started in the practice of mindfulness and to begin to become aware of the thoughts that are to become aware of the thoughts that come to mind and which we are sometimes not aware of. that sometimes we are not aware of.

The purpose of this exercise is not to get lost in these thoughts, which can be very pronounced in people prone to anxiety. This experience is similar to the phenomenon of silent fixation that results from staring into a candle flame.

To learn more about Mindfulness

Everything related to Mindfulness is very interesting because of the potential of this set of simple habits to apply to everyday life, but it is also true that it is not easy to explain what it is as an activity and what are the mechanisms by which it improves our quality of life.

Fortunately, several experts on the subject have been developing training workshops to make this subject more accessible. The Mindfulness Training Program M-PBI.

In this training program that you can take in several Spanish cities, we work with both the theoretical and practical aspects of this discipline, and teach how to apply them in different contexts, based on the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Program (MBSR) of the Massachusetts Clinic and the Training Program based on Brief Integrated Practices (M-PBI) of experts in Mindfulness.