5 Mindfulness Exercises for Teens
published April 17, 2023
Photo by Brad Neathery on Unsplash
by Mia Barnes
What activities can teens engage in to reap the benefits of mindfulness? Here are five you can suggest. You might even implement some of these into your lesson planning to bring more mindfulness into the classroom.
1. Journaling
Journaling can be an effective mindfulness activity as it helps you tune into your inner experience and describe it in black-and-white words.
Here are a few prompts that can work well for teens:
What social media hashtag best describes your personality and why?
What activities make you the happiest and why?
In what ways do you feel loved right now?
What are 3 things you are grateful for today?
If you’re a teacher, introducing your students to the idea of managing anger by penning a letter they never intend to send or doodling cartoons as a way to express creativity are helpful exercises in emotional regulation.
If you’re a parent, you can encourage journaling behavior by letting your kids see you do it. It’s important to keep their journal sacrosanct, avoiding the urge to sneak a peek. Journaling for mindfulness works best if you assure your teen that their innermost thoughts remain private.
2. Sensory Focus Exercise
Focusing on their senses is a great way to teach teens about the subconscious cues that can drive their behavior. For example, an entire ad campaign is built around the idea that “you’re not you when you’re hungry” — what teen isn’t familiar with being “hangry?”
Teach your students grounding exercises like 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, where you name five things you can see, followed by four you can touch, three you can hear, two you can smell and one you can taste. Taking quick breaks to focus on one’s surroundings can help them clear their heads. You can introduce them to the concept and also to their lesser-known senses. For example, 'interoception’ refers to physical sensations arising from inside the body — consider how a headache can impact your mood and behavior.
3. Mindful Breathing
There are many different breathing techniques teens can use to be more present or to calm and center themselves before exams. Here are a few options
2-to-1 breathing: Exhale roughly twice as long as each inhale.
Boxed breathing: Inhale for four, hold for four, exhale for four and hold for four before inhaling again.
Alternate-nostril breathing: Pinch one side of the nose shut while inhaling deeply through the other, then switch the hold, exhaling through the other side.
4. Yoga and Qigong
Gym teachers, take note. Yoga and qigong are two excellent mind-body practices that can help teens reap the benefits of mindfulness. Yoga allows the opportunity for teens to rest and explore creativity, self expression and body awareness. The combination of physical poses and breath training have been seen to be especially beneficial for teens who suffer from extreme stress. Additionally, they’re the perfect physical activities for those who don’t enjoy participating in competitive sports.
5. Mindful Walking or Hiking
Some may find it surprising that hiking can be a form of mindfulness, but hiking can be a version of walking meditation. There are many different versions and techniques to mindful walking. For example, focusing on each different sound you hear or walking barefoot. While encouraging them to observe their thoughts, focus on feeling and breathe work on their next adventure. You might take a walk with your class (or your own kids), or perhaps point them toward surrounding natural areas like parks that they may not know about but can visit on weekends.
The Benefits of Mindfulness for Teens
Mindfulness offers many benefits for teens. It can help them deal with the unique stressors they face during this stage of their lives and provide meaningful self-care interventions they can take with them into adulthood.
Consider sharing the benefits of mindfulness for teens with your students. If appropriate for your context, you might try integrating some of the above activities into your lesson planning to help your class members thrive.
About the Author
Mia Barnes is a writer specializing in mental health and wellness. She is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Body+Mind Magazine and has also written about gaining clarity through mindfulness and meditation for The Mindful Word. She is a frequent contributor to Mindful Teachers.
Related Posts
There are many more resources on mindfulness for teens here at MindfulTeachers.org, including the following posts: