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This moving meditation is to help children visualize the practice of rooting in order to rise. We root to ground, to find strength. We rise as we become heartful, kind to ourselves, others and the world around us.
Continue reading “Moving Meditation: Root to Rise”
This activity is a variation on the popular ice-breaker game, Toss the Beach Ball and is wonderful for children of any age range as well as adults. The idea is to inspire young children to think of the small things in their lives they’re grateful for.
Continue reading “Toss the Gratitude Emoji Ball”
Ready for a little fun? In honor of National Scavenger Hunt Day, add a dose of mindfulness to a classic scavenger hunt with your little one.
It was a bluebird day: clear skies, faint hint of fading clouds, brilliant sun. Green blanketed fields, gardens and any spare ground thanks to the recent rain. You could say it was just another beautiful day in Durham, California at Ponderosa Elementary, the new site for the hundreds of students who lost their school – and many their homes – in the Paradise Camp Fire last November. And it was – but side-by-side with the ordinary was the extraordinary.
Continue reading “Peace Kits for Paradise: When Giving Is Receiving It Lights the Spark in All of Us”
It is almost impossible to imagine going through what the Brown family has endured in the past four years — two family members battling cancer, daughter Finley and mom A.J. Not only have they survived, but Finley’s fighting spirit and A.J.’s unwavering gratefulness are nothing short of astounding.
Continue reading “Mindful Family Spotlight: A Mother & Daughter Story of Resilience and Gratitude”
Conceived by a U.S. Senator back in 1970, Earth Day (celebrated annually on April 22nd) has become a global movement bringing over a billion people from around the world together to work towards the common goal of protecting our planet for future generations. Continue reading “Mindful Parenting Round-Up: Earth Day Every Day”
It’s officially spring in the Northern Hemisphere, the time of year when we begin to enjoy more daylight than dark. It’s also a time when the world, literally, comes into balance.
Continue reading “Honoring the Seasons: Spring”
I realized the other day that in my 40 years of living on this earth, I don’t think I have ever stopped to thank my knuckles — yup, my knuckles.
We often forget this mundane part of our body that does so much for us each and everyday. I wanted to share this simple insight with my girls so we played a little game.
Round 1: Place a marker (or any object) on the floor or table and pick up it up with your hands. Turn the object over in your hands and really feel what it’s like it hold it. Ask your kids to notice how their hands work to hold the object.
Round 2: Make your hands as stiff as possible with absolutely no bending allowed (the kids loved this no bending challenge). Now try to pick up the marker with your hands.
In Round 2, the task becomes pretty tricky. In fact, it’s almost impossible to pick up any sort of object without the help of the other stiff hand.
Gratitude Share: After we played both rounds, we discussed that Round 2 was much harder. I asked the girls if they’d ever stopped to thank their knuckles and how hard they work for us. I mean it took me 40+ years to say thanks to mine!
We then talked about the other little things we don’t notice on or about our bodies or in our homes that help us all the time, like doorknobs and eyelashes. It’s amazing what you realize when you pay attention to small details and kids are expert observers once they get started!
As a child, I recall looking at cars and thinking that we are in such awe of the end-product and yet the nuts and bolts get almost no love. Our knuckles might not be the most interesting or exciting parts of our bodies, but without them, we’d have a hard time using our hands. Noticing our own nuts and bolts is a great way to appreciate often overlooked necessities we don’t always notice in our everyday lives.
Gratitude is simply perspective. When we’re mindfully aware of the most ordinary details of our lives, like our knuckles, we don’t have to search far or dig deeply to feel gratitude. We do, however, have to commit to a practice of shifting our perspective, of tuning into a different way of looking at our life. It’s then that we realize that it’s the most ordinary that’s providing us with the most extraordinary abilities as humans.
It is mid-November, therefore we must begin preparing for 1) a sumptuous feast to end all feasts and 2) extended time spent with family, friends and neighbors and 3) all the high and low feelings that come with embracing the season. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming, though. What if we carved out a portion of that preparation energy and diverted a bit to fully embrace (in ourselves) and encourage (in our littles) feelings of gratitude both leading up to and on Thanksgiving Day? Continue reading “Mindful Parenting Round-Up: Gratitude & Thanksgiving”
The autumn equinox recently occurred, officially heralding the return of the fall season. Can you feel fall in the air yet? The changing of the seasons is exciting. Perhaps we’re looking forward to pumpkin spice flavors, falling leaves and upcoming holidays. For many of us, however, life goes on as usual. We don’t always notice the days are getting shorter and the nights longer, and simply continue on with our activities and priorities. Continue reading “Honoring the Changing Seasons: Fall”