Finding mindfulness activities for teens that they like can sometimes be challenging. Being mindful is more than just thinking about others and their feelings. There is a lot more to it. When teens complete different mindfulness activities, they’ll quickly learn how to adapt to all the changes happening in their lives and bodies. You can teach the art of mindfulness through fun activities that can easily keep teens engaged.
Mindfulness Activities For Teens
What Is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness involves being more aware of what you’re feeling without overreacting or lashing out. Whether you’re feeling happy, frustrated, anxious, or sad, you become more aware of what you feel and why you feel that way. Not only will you have a good understanding of what you’re feeling, but you may also understand how others feel, which helps you avoid judging them.
Mindfulness makes a difference. Even if you’ve mastered the art of it, your teenager may still need to learn how to practice mindfulness and experience its benefits. You can encourage your teen to meditate and complete teen-friendly mindfulness activities to experience it firsthand. The correct exercises will leave your teen feeling calm and relaxed instead of stressed and anxious over various situations.
How Mindfulness Helps
Mindfulness helps people of all ages in dozens of different ways. There are legitimate reasons to practice mindfulness, especially when you want to feel better on the inside. Some of the advantages of mindfulness include:
- Lower stress levels. If you’ve noticed your teen is stressed due to different things, such as school exams and friendship, mindfulness can help. It encourages teens to focus on the moment instead of worrying about things they can’t control or change. As a result of mindfulness, teens tend to feel less stressed.
- Reduce emotional responses. It’s relatively normal for teens to react in an emotional way when dealing with anything. Unfortunately, they do not always think before they speak or react to something. A teen who completes mindfulness activities is less likely to have such an emotional response to a situation. Instead, the teen realizes that nothing is worth getting too worked up over.
- Help with concentration. Some teens have a difficult time concentrating in class. They may be so focused on what is going on around them that they’re unable to focus on anything of importance. However, mindfulness can help with that. It improves an individual’s ability to focus on what is truly important.
- Improve an individual’s mood. The right mindfulness activities can indeed improve an individual’s perspective. Most teens do experience mood swings and rebellious behavior at one point or another, which is normal. However, if a teen learns mindfulness activities at an earlier age, they’ll handle their emotions a lot better. They’ll end up in a better mood instead of feeling so angry and hostile over uncontrollable situations.
These are the primary advantages of mindfulness that teens can benefit from. If you’d like to help your teen reduce feelings of anxiety, improve their mood, and even increase their ability to concentrate, offering different types of teen-friendly mindfulness activities is a must.
5 Easy Teen Friendly Mindfulness Activities
No matter your teenager’s age, there are mindfulness activities that they can participate in to improve their mood. These activities will allow your teenager to take advantage of the benefits that come from practicing mindfulness.
Mindful Dance Sessions
Special dance sessions will help your teen get in touch with their body. One of the best dance styles to do to practice mindfulness is modern dance. It requires different steps and movements to help your teen better understand their emotions and how other things make them feel. You can dance together in the living room while watching videos on YouTube for inspiration. If not, you can always sign your teen up for mindful dance classes. Make sure it’s something your teen would like to do beforehand.
Yoga
Yoga is one of the best types of exercise to do when learning mindfulness. Instead of running around or doing anything too strenuous, your teen can relax and focus on their breathing. Yoga consists of both movements and breathing techniques that leave people feeling good both inside and out. It can provide your teen with a fun way to learn about mindfulness and all that it has to offer.
Outside Exploration
Exploring outside is a fantastic mindfulness activity for teens. You can take your teen to a national park or hiking trail to walk at a steady pace while enjoying the surroundings. Getting out and experiencing nature firsthand tends to leave people feeling calm, peaceful, and at ease. It’s also a great way to encourage exercise while getting your teen off their electronics for a bit.
Cook Together
Get together with your teen in the kitchen and tackle a new recipe. It’s quality time you’ll get to spend while teaching your teen about mindfulness. Cooking and baking are mindfulness activities because they require concentration and calmness. Find new recipes that you can try together to spend some time in the kitchen.
Journal Writing
Encourage your teen to write in a journal. You can provide a unique, colorful journal that makes writing more fun. It’s a great way to encourage your teen to become more mindful. Writing in a journal allows your teen to express themselves and get things off their chest without any judgment. It’s the perfect stress reliever for teens. If you’re going to provide your teen with a journal to write in, make sure you’re giving them privacy to express themselves without fear of you reading through everything.
Teaching your teen mindfulness activities at an earlier age is essential. Your teen can participate in these different activities to improve their mood, build their self-confidence, and learn to handle different situations properly. Even if your teen is feeling a bit skeptical about things at first, providing fun activities will make such a difference for them. Your teen will look forward to trying a lot of new activities while reducing stress and anxiety in their lives. It’s never too early to practice different mindfulness techniques with your teen.