8 Mindfulness Activities To Improve Emotional Health

Mindfulness, or full attention is one of the most useful tools to achieve emotional balance and improve people’s concentration and well-being.

Its effectiveness has been scientifically proven, and there is increasing evidence that its use helps regulate emotions, reduce stress and anxiety, helps sleep better and promotes creativity. In addition, Mindfulness is also enriching for those people who are totally healthy and without psychological disorders, 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 that helps to be more aware of the immediate experience with a non-judgmental attitude, openness and acceptance. Mindfulness helps to self-regulate behavior and promotes self-knowledge, in addition to creating an ideal environment for well-being.

Mindfulness activities for greater emotional balance

But more than a set of techniques to be in the present moment, Mindfulness It is a philosophy of life, an attitude that must be adopted to reconnect with oneself and be more aware of the reality that surrounds us. It requires practice and will, which is why it is necessary to carry out 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

Children activities

Children can also start practicing mindfulness. In this way, they develop this habit that will help them know themselves better and relate better to their environment, so that 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 breathing and to free the mind from agitation, frustration, anxiety and get rid of anger. Since its practice is not very complex, it is possible to do it anywhere and even at an early age. It consists of covering our ears, closing our eyes, and when we exhale the air it is necessary to pronounce the letter “m” until we finish breathing.

Without a doubt, it is an easy exercise to practice, although it is necessary to learn diaphragmatic breathing to be able to exhale for longer. The exercise can be performed as many times as you wish, but it is advisable to start with few repetitions and increase them progressively. The sound that results from this action is similar to the hum 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 pen, a toy, a stone, a ball, etc.), and they are asked to close their eyes. The child who has the object describes it to his 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 the little ones that they can isolate their senses and, if they wish, They can focus their attention to live different experiences

3. Pay attention to the bell

This exercise has two parts. The first of them consists of ringing a bell and asking the children to listen to the vibration of its sound. Little ones should listen carefully and raise their hand when they no longer hear the sound vibration. They should then remain silent for a minute and pay attention to the other sounds that are heard once the bell ringing has stopped.

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

4. Turn into a frog

Children can learn to practice Mindfulness if they become a frog for a few minutes. Frogs are a clear example of what Mindfulness is. Just like when people meditate, frogs remain motionless for a long period of time. They rarely stir, but remain still, observing and breathing calmly, and their bellies move sharply with each inhalation and exhalation. By adopting the role of this amphibian, children They learn to sit still, breathe in a controlled manner, and observe what happens around him 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 yourself with compassion.

5. Exercise of the five senses

This exercise is simple and can be quickly applied in almost any situation All it takes is to be aware of our senses and experience each of them separately. To carry out this activity, you just have to follow this order:

This is an easy exercise to practice, which can quickly bring you to the here and now. How much time you spend with each sense is up to you, but each object of attention should last a minute or two. The idea It is not performing a meditation, but returning to the present with an improved state of consciousness

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 cognitive and empathic abilities, where the receiver is not a mere recipient of the sender’s words. Many times we think we are listening when in reality we are hearing.

Active listening is not hearing the other person, but rather being totally focused on the message 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 tries to convey through non-verbal language.

To perform this exercise it is necessary to get in pairs One member has two minutes to explain a pleasant experience in his or her life or an opinion about a recent event, while the other actively listens. What do your look, your posture or your gestures say? Does he seem proud when he tells it? Does it transmit passion? The recipient has two minutes to carefully observe their partner’s non-verbal communication. After finishing the exercise, both tell their experience as active listeners.

7. Mindfulness Eating

With the pace of life we ​​have today, it is common for us not to stop for a moment to connect with ourselves, not even when we have a few minutes to eat, because we either turn on the television or we are thinking about what we have. What to do this afternoon. Well, it is possible to practice Mindfulness while we eat or have breakfast. Qto perform the conscious eating exercise you simply have to pay full attention to what you are going to eat.

You can start by focusing on what you are holding. Observe the feel of what you have in your hands (for example, a piece of toast or a fork). Once you are aware of the texture, weight, color, etc., focus your attention on the smell. Finally, put food in your mouth, but do it slowly and with full awareness Notice the flavor or texture as it melts in your mouth. This activity can help you discover new experiences with foods that you frequently consume.

8. Pay attention to the center of the image

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

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

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 at a candle flame.

To learn more about Mindfulness

Everything related to Mindfulness is very interesting due to the potential contained in this set of habits that are easy to apply to daily life, but it is also true that it is not easy to explain what it consists of 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 topic more accessible. The M-PBI Mindfulness Training Program

In this training program that you can take in several Spanish cities, you 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 Integrated Brief Practices (M-PBI) of experts in Mindfulness.