Mindful Moments for Kids

  

It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that I recommend Kira Willey's  CD - "Mindful Moments for Kids".  I have been sharing it in my classroom over the last couple of years and absolutely love it!  She has 31 one minute tracks that guide children to breathe deeply, slow down, use their imagination and simply enjoy the moment. The last track is a beautiful song called "Just be" - perfect to listen to before drifting off to sleep at night. It's amazing how big an impact pausing for one small moment can make throughout a busy day.
Kira has recently given the public permission to download this treasure for free during these difficult days of school closures due to Covid-19.

 Here is a Kira's webpage 

And a TED talk about using "bite size" mindfulness in schools

Every-body's Got a Heartbeat

The first sound we experienced was our mother's heartbeat. Before our parents knew our name (perhaps), they heard our heartbeat. This universal common experience is a soothing primal memory - like a drum beat.

So when we get stressed out, or our "engines run high" it makes sense to reconnect to the soothing rhythm of a resting heart beat.

When we take 6 nice, long, deep breaths in a minute (count up to 5 on the inhale and back from 5 on the exhale 6 times) we can "sync" our breath to a resting heartbeat and stimulate the vagus nerve. This nerve "turns on" the parasympathetic nervous system. In other words, it creates a physiological condition where we "tend/mend & befriend" or "rest & digest". We experience feelings of peace and ease, as opposed to the typical "fight/flight/flee" responses of stress.

Here is a great song for kids that affirms the universal delight of our shared heartbeats!

The next time you find yourself feeling stressed out - stop & breathe 6 times per minute, placing your right hand on your belly and your left hand on your heart. Let your vagus nerve sync your breath with a resting heartbeat to return to feelings of peace and ease.