Mindfulness: Benefits and Exercises

Mindfulness is a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you’re sensing and feeling in the moment, without interpretation or judgment. Practicing mindfulness involves breathing techniques and other practices to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress.

What are the benefits of mindfulness?

With an emphasis on present-moment awareness of the present moment without judgment, mindfulness can help teenagers manage the stress of school, relationships with peers and family members, and other life stressors. Mindfulness may be practiced alone or in a group, depending on your teen’s preference.

The benefits of mindfulness may include: 

  • less distress

  • decreased impulsivity

  • increased awareness of self, emotions, and behaviors

  • improved emotion regulation

Mindfulness has been used to treat or reduce symptoms of:

  • anxiety

  • depression

  • ADHD

  • disordered eating (e.g., binge eating and restrictive eating disorders)

  • chronic pain and illness

  • sleep issues

  • stress related to playing competitive sports

How do I get my teen to practice mindfulness?

The goal of mindfulness meditation is simple: to pay attention to the present moment, without judgment. During mindfulness meditation, you will focus on your breathing. It’s normal that your mind will wander. You’ll bring yourself back into the moment by refocusing on your breathing, again and again.

We won’t be able to convince adolescents of the benefits of mindfulness practice without modeling it ourselves. We don't have to be perfectly calm all the time, but we should show that we can handle stress and respond thoughtfully to challenges.

Mindfulness Exercises

FIVE SENSES

Use this exercise to quickly ground yourself in the present when you only have a moment. The goal is to notice something that you are currently experiencing through each of your senses.

What are 5 things you can see? Look around and notice 5 things.

What are 4 things you can feel? Pick up an object and notice its texture.

What are 3 things you can hear? Notice all the background sounds: birds chirping, etc.

What are 2 things you can smell? Maybe you can smell flowers, coffee, etc.

What is 1 thing you can taste? Pop a piece of gum or candy in your mouth or sip a drink.

 

EQUALIZING BREATHING

Take four seconds to breathe in through your nose and four seconds to breathe out through your mouth. That is, as you inhale count: one . . . two . . . three . . . four. Do the same as you breathe out.

Do this for four or five breath cycles. Avoid holding your breath after the inhalation or the exhalation, just smoothly transition from one phase to the other.

SHOULDER SHRUGS 

Raise your shoulders as if trying to touch your ears with them. Breathe in while doing this. Feel the muscles in your neck and shoulders tense. Then, all at once, let your shoulders drop while breathing out. Feel the tension leaving the muscles of your neck and shoulders. Repeat the shrug a few times, inhaling on the shrug and exhaling on the release. Keep your jaw relaxed as you do these.

RELEASING TENSION 

Emphasize the difference between holding tension in your body and letting go of this tension. Bend your toes up as if to touch your shins. Hold them there while you tighten your thighs, buttocks, and fists. Take a deep breath and hold it while you clench your jaw and close your eyes. Hold all that tension for five seconds. Then, let it go all at once—don’t ease off—feel the tension draining from your body as you exhale.


RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW 

Most of us worry about events that never actually happen or things that have already happened. Reality consists of one time and one time only, the present. Repeat to yourself as often as needed throughout the day: Where am I? Here. What time is it? Now.

Useful Resources

Mindful.org: Teaching Mindfulness to Teens

The Child Mind Institute: Mindfulness in Adolescence

Greater Good Science Center: Mindfulness for Teens

Psychology Today: Mindfulness for Teens

Mindful Schools: Mindfulness Resources for Teens

 

Rebecca White