The biggest problem I see in teaching teens mindfulness is that it’s all from the parent’s perspective. This creates a parenting approach to mindfulness when it needs to be from an equal standpoint. In this blog, I’m sharing how I learned mindfulness as a teen because learning mindfulness is what taught me to be confident and happy as a teen…
Mindfulness has always been a huge part of my teen years. It taught me how to be myself, become an entrepreneur, and pursue my passions, and it’s why I’m a mindfulness coach today.
Every Teen Needs Mindfulness
When I was 11, my family and I moved into an RV to travel the world. I’ve been living in an RV ever since. I never stepped foot in a school my entire life and this made me very different from my peers (so shocking, right?). Travel changed my perspective and not going to high school made my interest very different from other people who are my age.
My friendships became very toxic and I became a black sheep,. I thought being myself was unwanted. I became insecure and would be the quieter one in my friend group out of fear of being judged. They made me believe that I would never be good enough to be accepted by my peers.
I used to think this. But then I learned a life-changing skill that got rid of those beliefs and insecurities. It was a skill called “mindfulness.”
What Is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness is simply an awareness for everything happening internally and externally in the present so we can start living with intention.
Learning Mindfulness As A Teen Taught Me To…
- Be confident in myself
- Love myself
- Overcome anxiety
- Pursue my passions
- Find my purpose
- Be an entrepreneur
- Express myself
- Be grateful
- Embrace any challenges
- And live a fulfilling life by the time I was 15
So, Isabelle, how do we learn to be mindful teens?
This blog will give a charcuterie board of mindfulness for teens so you can cultivate a mindfulness practice that works for you. So without further ado here is the complete guide to mindfulness for teens.
Mindfulness Practices All Teens Should Do
Mindfulness Meditation For Teens
Let’s just start this blog by ripping off the band-aid. The big question, “Do teens really need to meditate?”
Tell me if any of these thoughts have gone through your head…
- “Meditating is boring”
- “Does it really do anything?”
- “Meditating is just sitting in silence”
I’ve been practicing mindfulness for a long time. But when I started meditating at 15, my mindfulness skyrocketed! It’s like trying to drive with the emergency brake on and then having it released.
Meditating is a great mindfulness practice for teens. However, there are some things you should know so that your practice is both successful AND enjoyable.
Meditation teaches us to make space for important thoughts to come out, this is why meditating is essential. When we sit in silence, we allow any deep rooted problems, emotions, thoughts, and more to come out of hiding to be healed.
Related Blog: Beginners Guide To Meditation For Teens
Mindfulness Journaling For Teens
Journaling seems very mainstream but its benefits are amazing and it is likely a practice you’ve already picked up. Journaling helps us express what we tend to repress.
It’s a safe space for us to release any emotions we are ignoring and it improves our awareness of our self-limiting beliefs and subconscious programmings. Journaling is where we release the thoughts that come up in meditation. It is simply the act of writing down what’s going on inside of us. \
I recommend teens get into the habit of journaling if they want to cultivate mindfulness in their life. Download my free journal prompts to get started.
Yoga For Teens
Ahhhh yoga, the spiritual juju activity that all of us have heard of by now. Regardless of its trendiness, yoga at its core is a great mindfulness practice for teens. A big part of being mindful is having body awareness and getting movement.
Without movement, our energy is stifled and we can’t expect our minds to feel clear enough to be mindful. There are many different forms of yoga and you don’t have to go to a class to practice yoga either. (Psst, we have yoga flows on our app!)
Mindful Creativity For Teens
Over my years of teaching and learning, I’ve discovered that mindfulness starts with creativity. Everyone needs a creative outlet to be happy and mindful. What’s yours?
Maybe it’s not stereotypical painting, drawing, singing, or sculpting. Maybe it’s dancing, climbing, running, writing, baking, cooking, etc. Anything that requires creation is creative. To cultivate your mindfulness practice, be mindfully creative.
Mindfulness Breathwork For Teens
The breath is our first home. It’s something we always need to come back to. It keeps us grounded (and alive as a matter of fact (;).
This is an easy and fun practice teens can utilize to become mindful. It improves our respiratory system, expanding our oxygen intake, and therefore improves our body’s functioning. Breathwork can be a powerful tool for calming any anxiety and for energizing ourselves.
Mindfulness Mantras For Teens
Having a personal mantra is a must! Whether you want to feel more present, safe, confident, empowered, beautiful, or brave, a mantra will train your brain to believe any positive thing about yourself and undo those negative beliefs.
Are You An Anxious & Stressed Out Teen?
Enroll In Week 1 Of My LIVE Mindfulness For Teens Group Today! Eliminate your anxiety + be supported in the process!.
Nature Grounding For Teens
Grounding in nature is a necessary part of being mindful. Nature supplies us with source energy (which may sound like yogi juju stuff but it’s true). When we are disconnected from nature, we feel sluggish, distracted, and disconnected.
Reconnecting to nature and grounding into it is important for our physical and mental health. Maybe you live in a city and you don’t really have the option to go stand in the woods but nature is always near us in many different ways.
Find a place where you can be barefoot and ground yourself into the dirt. This is an amazing exercise to add to your mindfulness practice.
Use these tools and your mindfulness will be easy peasy! Please share this blog with other teens so they can be mindful too!
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Related Blogs:
- Best Mindfulness Activities For Teens
- How To Overcome Stress & Anxiety As a Teen Using Mindfulness
- 15 Best Meditations For Teens
- Beginners Guide To Meditation For Teens
- 90 Mindfulness Journal Prompts For Teens
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