Press Pause With A Mindful Stop

Do you ever feel like the world is spinning too fast? Thoughts race through our mind and it’s easy to get caught up in them. Press pause by practicing a Mindful STOP. This mindfulness technique was developed by Dr Elisha Goldstein, it works by diverting our attention from what's going on in our head, to what's going on in our body. We release our thoughts and emotions and this gives our mind space to identify where our attention needs to go. This meditation is suitable for 9- 12 year olds.

Transcript

Welcome to your mindful stop.

Let's start with finding a comfortable seated position,

Somewhere that your back can be nice and straight.

You can be lying down or sat upright.

Rest your hands comfortably in your lap.

Close down your eyes as you start to settle into your meditation.

Let yourself just be perfect as you are right here in this moment.

Relax all the little muscles around your eyes,

Your cheeks,

Your jaw.

Feel your shoulders relax,

Your arms,

Back and belly.

Let your hips feel heavy,

Your legs,

Your feet.

Relax into the moment,

Stopping everything that you are doing.

Take a full breath in and a long breath out.

Another full breath in and a long breath out.

With each breath let your body feel heavy.

As you breathe,

Notice where you feel the sensation of the air coming in and out of your body.

Is it under your nose?

Maybe it's in your chest,

Perhaps your belly.

Notice where you feel your breath come in and out of your body.

Take another full breath in and then this time breathe out like you've never noticed the sensation before.

We begin to observe.

Observe your experience sitting here in this moment.

Are there any sensations,

Any feelings in your body?

Gently scan down from the crown of your head to your toes,

Noticing any tightness,

Any tingling or any other sensations or feelings that you might have.

What emotions are you feeling right now here in this moment?

Name the emotions without any judgement or using labels like good or bad.

All emotions are valid.

Be open to experiencing any emotions that come up.

Now observe your mind.

Are you able to focus or are you distracted,

Thinking about what's coming up in the future or something that's happened in the past?

Remember that there's no right or wrong answer.

We're purely observing what's happening right here in this moment.

We'll end by proceeding.

Ask yourself the question,

What is most important right now to pay attention to?

Whatever comes up for you in your mind right now is what you'll continue with.

Remember you can use your mindful stop whenever you're feeling overwhelmed,

Whenever there's too much going on and you're not sure what to do next.

And when you're ready,

You can open your eyes.

Congratulations on completing your mindful stop meditation.

Namaste.