Introducing mindfulness to teens - help requested

Living Room
#1

Hi,

My son’s high school is hosting a day on wellness and I was asked to volunteer to lead a couple of mindfulness exercises. Do you have any simple exercises to recommend? I have 30 minutes to do a couple of exercises and am planning to include the raisin exercise.

I wanted to also share with the students some interesting statistics about people / students that have a mindfulness practice and how they have benefited. Do you have anything you could share that might be of interest to the students, including how mindfulness helps people perform better?

Any suggestions are much appreciated.

Kind regards,
Brian Kaminer

#2

Dear Brian,

I use to give Mindfulness exercices to teens with eating disorders. It means that for me they are more teens,… than “with a ETD”.

The exercices I use to do is helping them to connect with the body and the moment. It could be simple exercices of yoga, simple exercices of touching something and enjoying the senses, or as art therapist I try to guide them to an artistic exercice. Painting with the hands, listening music, etc… and see if they can be aware of the sounds, silents, etc…

Everything they can help them to connect with the senses is always beautiful and powerful for them.
Good luck and enjoy it!

Kind regards,

Gaëtane

#3

Thank you for sharing your work and ideas.

Kind regards,
Brian

#4

Hi Brian,
I work with diabetic type one teens and I have tried different practices with them, some times longer sometimes shrter and I have seen thet what they liked best were the raisin meditation and the mountain one, but I think that teen realy feel YOU and the trust YOU give to the practice :)
take a look to
http://mindfulnessforteens.com / http://health.ucsd.edu/specialties/mindfulness/youth-family/teens/Pages/default.aspx
and interesting exercizes on The Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens: Mindfulness Skills to Help You Deal with Stress by Gina Biegel MA

good luck

Alessandra from Italia

#5

BDI Behavioral Diabetes Institute in California run by William Polansky might have a few ideas on the subject. Or Jenn Nash in the U.K. does a lot of work with Diabetic Eating Disorders. Perhaps one of them will be able to assist.