Are you looking for more ways to practise meditation and mindfulness in your daily life? Kids Help Phone collaborated with Smiling Mind, a leading prevention-focused mental health not-for-profit organization in Australia, to give young people in Canada access to new, self-guided tools and resources.
Meditation and mindfulness are similar. They’re both about giving your full attention to the present moment in an open and non-judgmental way. They can help you relax, focus, ground yourself, build a self-care routine and more.
It can be helpful to practise meditation and mindfulness using self-guided tools. You can check out the info and resources from Smiling Mind and Kids Help Phone below for support building your skills.
How can I practise meditation and mindfulness?
Watch videos
What is mindfulness?
Mindfulness is paying attention to the present moment with openness, curiosity and without judgment. Watch this video to learn more.
[Narrator] Just as exercise helps us take care of our bodies, mindfulness is a skill that keeps our minds healthy. Mindfulness helps us perform at our best, and better navigate the inevitable ups and downs of life. Mindfulness is noticing and being curious about what’s happening right now. It’s the opposite of being on autopilot. When our bodies are doing one thing and our minds are somewhere else, often thinking about the past or worrying about the future. When we’re mindful, we engage our senses deliberately and we really take in the things that we can see, smell, hear, taste, and touch. Just as we can build our muscles by going to the gym, we can build our mindfulness muscle through regular practice known as meditation. All it takes is a few minutes a day to see the benefits. So find the time. Your mind will thank you for it.
Why do we need mindfulness?
Mindfulness helps us focus better and think more clearly. It can help us to relax, reduce stress and may improve sleep. Why else do we need mindfulness? Watch out this video to learn more.
[Narrator] Our minds are great at distracting us. Much of the time, our minds are back in the past or off in the future, planning, worrying, reminiscing, daydreaming. On top of this, most of us are leading busy and stressful lives and technology has made it harder than ever to find the off switch. Practicing mindfulness can help us better manage the competing demands of our busy lives and the benefits of doing so are pretty impressive. Mindfulness helps us focus better and think more clearly. It helps us relax, reduce stress, and may improve sleep. It can also help us better access our creativity and be more productive. Mindfulness also helps us make better choices by allowing us to respond with awareness rather than habitually react to the events of our daily lives. Not only that, mindfulness can make us a whole lot happier. What are you waiting for?
How to practise mindfulness
Meditation is easier than you may think. Do you want to learn how to practise mindfulness and build a habit? Watch this video to get started.
[Narrator] There are lots of myths about meditation. Like, you have to sit cross-legged on the floor, you have to stop thinking, it requires a huge time commitment, or it’s only for people who aren’t coping. None of these are true. Meditation is easier than you may think. You stop, place your attention on one thing like your breath and try to hold it there. When you become distracted, which you will, simply notice and bring your attention back. Becoming distracted doesn’t mean that you’ve stopped meditating, losing focus and refocusing over and over again is meditation. You can also practice mindfulness by bringing your full attention to everyday activities like brushing your teeth or eating your lunch. Mindfulness isn’t hard, the hardest part is remembering to do it and doing it regularly. Find a way of being mindful that you enjoy and practice as often as you can.
Try audio
You can try Smiling Mind’s audio meditations if you’d like to practise mindfulness through a guided experience. You can listen to these meditations in English and / or Arabic. Click the play button on the meditation exercise you’d like to try below!
English
Golden Glow
Speaker 1: Notice that your body [00:01:00] is starting to feel very relaxed. Almost like your body is sinking down into the bed or floor under you. Your body begins to feel warm and heavy.
Speaker 1: Imagining now, in your mind, [00:01:30] that you're at the beach. You're at the beach with someone special, someone who's kind and who loves you very much. Your someone special might be someone in your family, one of your parents, or a brother or a sister perhaps, or it might be a special friend, [00:02:00] or maybe it's your pet. It can be anyone you feel safe and happy with.
Speaker 1: You've had a fun day at the beach with your someone special. [00:02:30] You played together in the water. You made sandcastles together. It's now late in the afternoon and you're sitting together on the sand, resting, looking out over the ocean.
Speaker 1: [00:03:00] You notice the sun moving slowly down in the sky. A big ball of golden light sinking slowly into the ocean. [00:03:30] The sky is filled with color. One minute it's orange and then slowly it changes to a deep red and then to a beautiful, bright pink. You can't believe how beautiful the sky looks.
Speaker 1: [00:04:00] Imagining now with each breath in that you're breathing in the beautiful golden light of the sun as it continues to sink slowly down into the ocean below. [00:04:30] The golden light of the sun washes over your whole body. It starts at the top of your head and moves slowly down over your face. It washes [00:05:00] over your eyes, your cheeks and into your neck. This golden light feels warm and soft inside your body.
Speaker 1: [00:05:30] As you continue to breathe in this warm, golden light from the sun, it melts further down into your body, all through your chest and [00:06:00] tummy and all through your upper back and lower back.
Speaker 1: [00:06:30] This warm golden light continues to move slowly down into your upper arms, your lower arms and all the way down into your hands and fingers. [00:07:00] The golden light now moves down into your upper legs, your knees, your lower legs and all the way down into your feet and toes.
Speaker 1: [00:07:30] The sun is sinking all the way down into the ocean. It's going to sleep now. The sun needs to rest so that it can light up the sky once more tomorrow. [00:08:00] As the sun sinks down into the ocean, it's getting darker outside now. The golden light of the sun is still inside your body, filling it with warmth. All of your muscles and bones are glowing. [00:08:30] They feel soft, warm and relaxed. [00:09:00] This golden light inside you feels like a soft, warm blanket over your whole body. You feel sleepy after your day at the beach. [00:09:30] You stretch your body out and allow yourself to settle down into the soft sand beneath you as you drift off into a peaceful, restful sleep.
Bubble Journey
1
00:00:02.280 --> 00:00:05.000
The bubble journey.
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00:00:05.320 --> 00:00:10.300
We would like to take you on a little
journey to the Land of mindfulness.
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The Land of mindfulness is a place
inside you where you're safe and strong.
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00:00:16.450 --> 00:00:21.460
A place where you can put
a big smile on your mind.
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To go on this journey,
we'd like you to lie on your back
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00:00:25.450 --> 00:00:34.280
on the floor with your eyes closed or
half closed, looking down at your belly.
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Put your hands on your belly.
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Take three really big breaths.
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Can you feel your hands move up and down?
10
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Do you know what's causing them
to rise and fall like this?
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00:01:01.720 --> 00:01:05.680
It's your breath that causes this.
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Feel your hands rise and fall
with every breath you take
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as you breathe in.
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Imagine your breath moving
deep down into your belly.
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Now let your breath return to normal.
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See if you can still feel your hands
moving up and down with your breath.
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If your mind gets distracted,
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bring your attention back to feeling
your hands on your belly.
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Rise and fall with your breath.
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You're going to count ten of your breath
as you feel your belly rise and fall.
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Rise and fall.
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So
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let's count one as you breathe in,
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two as you breathe out.
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Three in,
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four out,
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five in,
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six out,
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seven in,
30
00:03:00.080 --> 00:03:03.480
eight out,
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nine in and ten.
32
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Good.
33
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Now you can put your hands
on the floor beside you.
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Take another big breath in and imagine
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you're breathing in a glowing bubble
with every breath.
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Feel that bubble grow
and fill up your belly.
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What colour is your bubble?
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Feel how the bubbles glow.
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Makes your belly feel warm and relaxed.
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With your next big breath,
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move the bubble all
the way down to your feet.
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Feel how the bubbles glow.
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Relaxes your feet
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now with your breath.
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Allow the bubble to float
up to your lower legs
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and up to your thighs,
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relaxing each part of your legs
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with every breath you take.
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The bubble floats further up through your
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body, warming and relaxing
each part that it passes.
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It now moves up through your hips,
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to your back,
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your belly
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and chest.
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It passes your hands and your arms,
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warming and relaxing them.
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It now rises all the way up
your neck and your face,
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00:05:43.080 --> 00:05:46.720
relaxing your tongue,
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jaw,
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ears
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and your eyes
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until you breathe the bubble out slowly.
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Can you feel how your whole
body is now warm and relaxed?
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Take a moment now to thank your
body for all its hard work.
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Your feet and legs for carrying
you around all day.
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Your hands and arms for lifting things.
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Your belly, chest and your organs
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for breathing and pumping
blood and keeping you alive.
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Thank your head and face
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for picking up information
and making sense of the world.
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Well done.
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You've just put a big smile on your mind.
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I'm now going to ring
a Bell to end the exercise.
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Listen to it until you can't hear
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the ringing of the Bell anymore
and then you can open your eyes.
Arabic
Mindful Listening
يمكنك الجلوس أو الوقوف أو الإسترخاء ايهما تفضل .
يمكنك فتح عينيك تليين نظرك أو يمكنك إغلاق عينيك (3 ثوانٍ) .
قد ترغب في أن تأخذ أنفاسًا طويلة وبطيئة بينما تستقر في هذه الممارسة.
تنفس ببطء و الزفير ببطء (6 ثواني).
إذا شعرت أن التنفس منشط للغاية فيمكنك ترك ذلك .
بخلاف ذلك خذ نفسآ واحدٍ او اثنين من الأنفاس اللطيفة والبطيئة واسمح لنفسك بالوصول بالكامل إلى هذه اللحظة ستة ثواني
الآن أبدأ في الاستماع إلى الموسيقى والأصوات الطبيعية (20 ثانية)
لاحظ كيف تجعلك تشعر في عقلك وفي جسدك (15 ثانية)
انتبه حقا إلى الأصوات المختلفة التي يمكنك سماعها (15 ثانية)
ما اكثر ما يلفت انتباهك ؟
ربما الطيور (15 ثانية).
صوت الماء .
صوت النسيم اللطيف الذي يهب عبر اشجار . (15 ثانية)
حاول الاستماع إلى الأصوات دون تحليلها (3 ثوانٍ) .
مع التركيز أكثر على التجربة السمع معرفة ما إذا كان يمكنك الاستمتاع التقدير القدرة على السمع حقا (20 ثانية).
إذا كان عقلك مشتتًا ، مشتتا بالافكار فأبحث عما إذا كان بإمكانك ببساطة ملاحظة وأعاده تركيز انتباهك برفق الاستماع إلى الأصوات.
فعل ذلك في كل مرة تشتت انتباهك وكن لطيفا مع نفسك كما تفعل (20 ثانية)
هل تستطيع أن تلاحظ من أين تبدأ الأصوات المختلفة وأين تتوقف . (20 ثانية).
المسافات بين الاصوات وكذلك الأصوات نفسها (20 ثانية)
بينما تستمر في الاستماع أدعوك لاخذلاحظه للتواصل مع نفسك
قد تضع راحة يدك برفق على قلبك (10 ثواني)
كن فضوليا بشأن شعورك وانت تفعل هذا (10 ثواني)
هل يمكنك أن تقدم لنفسك بعض الرعاية والعطف من خلال لفتة المس هذة ؟ (10 ثواني)
ربما تذكر نفسك بأنك تبذل اقصى ى جهدك (10 ثواني)
ربما تذكر نفسك انه من المهم أن تأخذ وقتًا طويلًا لنفسك وأن نبطئ وتراجع نفسك (10 ثواني)
يكافح الجميع أحيانا (10 ثواني).
انظر ما إذا كان بإمكانك حقا تذوق هذه الرعاية والعطف الذي تقدمها لنفسك والاستمتاع بها (10 ثواني)
في غضون قليله سيقع الجرص غضون بمناسبة نهاية هذه الممارسة تحقق مما إذا كان بإمكانك الاستمرار في الاستماع حتى لا تسمع الرنين بعد ذلك.
Pause and Reset with the Breath
يمكنك الجلوس أو الوقوف أو الاستلقاء ، أيهما تفضل ... (2 ثانية)
ويمكنك أن تفتح عينيك وتنعيم نظراتك أو تغمض عينيك ... (3 ثوانٍ)
الآن ، استقر على هذه الممارسة بأخذ ثلاثة أنفاس طويلة وبطيئة ... (6 ثوانٍ)
معرفة ما إذا كان يمكنك السماح للجسم أن ينعم قليلاً مع كل زفير…. (6 ثوان)
أثناء التنفس ، لاحظ بعض نقاط الاتصال الجسدي. ربما تلاحظ شعور قدميك على الأرض ، ويداك تستريحان في حضنك ... (6 ثوانٍ)
اسمح لأنفاسك أن تستقر على إيقاعها الطبيعي الآن ... (5 ثوانٍ)
انظر ما إذا كان يمكنك ببساطة ملاحظة حركة أنفاسك في جسمك ، داخل وخارج ... (5 ثوانٍ)
إدراك أن جسمك يتنفس من تلقاء نفسه دون الحاجة إلى فعل أي شيء ... (5 ثوانٍ)
أخيرًا ، خذ دقيقة للتحقق مع نفسك. لاحظ ما إذا كان أي شيء قد تغير - جسديًا أو عاطفيًا أو عقليًا - بغض النظر عن مدى دقته (10 ثوانٍ)
سوف يرن جرس للإشارة إلى نهاية هذا التمرين القصير. حاول الاستمرار في الاستماع حتى لا تسمع الرنين بعد الآن.
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If you would like support with meditation, mindfulness or anything else, you can reach out to Kids Help Phone 24/7.
Kids Help Phone would like to thank Smiling Mind for their partnership, sharing their resources with young people in Canada and supporting youth mental health!
