Weekly Mindfulness Toolbox: Happiness
Daily Mindful Activities
by Jen Armstrong, here co-founder
It is important to be happy right? Absolutely! But it is unrealistic to be this way all of the time as life loves to throw a lot at us, good and bad. In light of Children’s Mental Health Week, we wanted to share our happiness toolbox to offer coping mechanisms for when the rough stuff comes our way, as well as to help bring in some joy into your life.
The mental health and wellbeing of our children is of course of upmost importance, and we know that children (and adults) can benefit greatly from practicing mindfulness and yoga as it can support their feelings of self-acceptance, emotional resilience and overall wellbeing.
Here is our toolbox with some creative ideas, breathing techniques, poses and more. We hope you enjoy and even if you just connect to one of the practices you should notice a difference in the way you feel!
Monday morning motivation: Gratitude
Try bringing into your morning routine a moment of reflection, maybe just after waking up or before you leave the house-
“I am thankful for all the happy times I share with my family and friends”
“I will do my best to make this week filled with happiness and joy”
Tuesday + Observation:
Pay attention to all the times throughout the week that you, or your child, show happiness, or make someone else happy. You could even create a happiness chart for example making a ‘Happiness Rainbow’- which you draw a line of colour to add to the rainbow when acknowledging a happy moment. There is no point scoring here, it is a family team effort, so no child feels like they have done better than another.
Wednesday + Creativity:
Happiness Jar- Find an old jam jar and clean it so it’s a blank slate. Get some creative bits and bobs and on little pieces of paper/card you and your child write down the things that you like about yourself which makes you happy- this could be things like ‘I give lovely cuddles’, ‘I am friendly to people’ etc.. and put them into the jar. Decorate the jar, add sparkles and write your name on in however you wish. You can refer to the jar if your child is feeling sad, to remind themselves of the positive.
(photos: HERE Om:Pop at Melcombe Primary School with Family Support, Hammersmith & Fulham)
Thursday time in + developing relationships:
Take some time to ask your child what makes them happy, and you do the same for yourself. You want to try and focus on ‘time in’ here, so making them think about things they like to do together such as snuggling up with mum with hot chocolate and a favourite book, or giving each other little hand massages, baking some healthy cookies, extra snuggles before bed etc.
Whatever they (and you!) come up with, try and do one of those things during the following days, it can be their ‘Special Happy Time’ with you. Make your time together about quality not quantity.
Friday breathing exercise + emotional resilience:
Happy Hippo Breath- taking a nice deep breath in, and with hands on your tummy release a sound which is a bit like Santa’s ‘ho ho ho’, and feel your hands raise every time to come to sound. Try and last for as long as you can!
Use this to bring your child to stillness and also to bring joy as well- due to the silly nature of the sound it creates!
Saturday yoga poses + strength and flexibility:
This can be part of a morning or evening routine to book-end the day with a bit of positivity or laughter.
1. Happy cat cow pose- share a time that you felt happy during the day.
2. Downward dog pose (three legged)- wag your tail (i.e your leg!) in the air like a dog does when it’s happy. Maybe add some doggy sound effects too.
3. Happy baby pose- lay or your backs, roll from side to side and enjoy a moment stillness at the end (a good pose right before bed!).
Sunday night affirmation + self-concept:
“I am happy.”
“I bring joy to those around me.”
“ I am loved.”
We hope you enjoyed this Happiness Toolbox! For other HERE Mindful Toolboxes, click the button below, and as always, contact us any time you have questions.
We are here for you, for them.
