Mindful Spaces: Mindfulness and My Body
Reviewed By Janet Mawdesley March 20, 2024
Author Katie Woolley, Rhianna Watt. Illustrations Sarah Jennings
Distributor: Amazon
ISBN: 979-8887701318
Publisher: Mayo Clinic Press Kids
Release Date: March 2024
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Mindfulness and My Body is an intriguing book as although it has a very adult title, it is aimed at six to eight years old range of younger readers and while it is a sobering thought, children of all ages experience distress, anxiety and worry.
As their years are young, they usually do not have the skills to cope with challenging emotions and when a book such as Mindfulness and My Body is created, it is boon for anyone with children, teachers of young children and even, though it is out of the defined age range, young tween-agers.
A series of simple exercises involving learning to listen to their bodies, recognise when something feels wrong and how to use Mindfulness techniques to learn to pause, to take time out to look at what is going on, can help them learn to embrace that moment.
Each section has an activity and exercise to help further the understanding in a tactile manner, as in in the first section, ‘What is Mindfulness’ which has ‘making a pinwheel’ which helps to help illustrate the breathing technique and how breath affects what you body can do. Complimentary exercises have also been included at the end of the section.
Simple descriptions such as ‘butterflies in your tummy’, making a tiger pose or maybe an elephant pose in yoga based exercises encourage feeling how the body moves, and when the senses are involved a treasure hunt for things that smell can help connect to the present, leaving the past behind and the future where it should be, not yet here.
Over the course of the book, the five sense are presented with bright colourful scenes and characters, with the final section discussing how you can set up your day from the minute you get out of bed. Mindful Check-in details are provided.
An excellent traffic light system allows children to self-manage their emotions as they flow throughout the day with a great craft activity to be used as a reminder every day.
Part of the Mindful Spaces series from the Mayo Clinic, Mindfulness and My Body should be considered as an essential tool kit, or emotional first aid kit, for anyone with young children growing up in today’s world.