Mindfulness Program For Rural Nebraska Early Childhood Education Providers
Calm, comfort and healing for providers and the children and families you support, as well as help with releasing feelings of being overloaded. Find healing mantras, breathing exercises for calm, mindful activities centered around Nebraska flora and fauna, yoga stories and meditations in the themes below.
FEBRUARY THEME: FINDING LIGHT THROUGH NON-ATTACHMENT
Are you finding that everything is feels a bit too much? It is very easy to get caught up with worries about what the future might look like, how things in the past have led to this moment, and a day-to-day feeling of being stagnant and stuck. Help prioritise your sense of peace this month, by supporting your well-being and practicing non-attachment. We can practice this by being a part of this world, but finding moments to not get so caught up in it, the dramas, the worries, the material gains and losses, the politics, the pandemics and so on. Find moments to be completely at peace, by finding a sense of wholeness in the present moment. Let’s not forget to have joyful and calming moments in our life, no matter what is going on around us, and teach little ones around us the same too!
Meditation: “Non-Attachment and Letting Go”
Prioritise your peace and happiness ~ Practicing non- attachment can help us! Embrace changes, do your best to stop comparing yourself to others, enjoy life and love unconditionally, even if just for fleeting moments.
activities for kids
january theme: welcoming change
The start of the new year is always a good time to check in with ourselves, find stillness, and welcome fresh possibility and change ahead of us. Enjoy pausing in breath and body this month, and perhaps getting creative with some vision board making! Enjoy bringing this theme into your daily life this month, and as always, take what you need and leave what doesn’t serve you!
Meditation: “Welcoming Change”
This theme is centered upon shifting with these changing times and seasons. This is a time for us to check in with ourselves, appreciate how far we have come, and set intentions for the coming days and weeks ahead of us.
activities (to do on your own and/or with your little ones!)
yoga story and mantra
DECEMBER theme: balanced and grounded
As we enter the Winter season, let’s settle and ground ourselves. Grounding ourselves into our day, or into any moment, by taking a step back and bringing awareness into our body and breath can be so beneficial to our wellbeing. All that’s needed are a few moments to reset and refocus, enabling us to continue with a clearer mind and greater sense of inner peace. Enjoy bringing this theme into your daily life this month and as always, take what you need and leave what doesn’t serve you!
“Body Scan Meditation”
(Time: 13:30 minutes) ~ Take a moment for yourself to clear away stress and let go all that is weighing you down. Get in a cosy position in your chair, on your couch or lying down, grab some blankets and cosy socks and settle in. Put on headphones/earphones, close your eyes if that feels right, and feel your worries melt away. A great meditation to listen too before bedtime too.
activities with children
NOVEMBER theme: CONNECTION AND COURAGE
Welcome to your wellbeing program. We want to support you through any challenging times you might be experiencing whether it’s a moment, a day, week or year. This month, we’ll focus on building up connection and courage during challenging times. Now is a time to encourage connection to yourself and also with others, whether that be your friends, family, or community, to provide that all important reassurance we need. Children also go through a lot, so we’ve included a few activities you can do with them too!
We will reconnect to our inner strength, our breath, let go of what no longer serves us which might be holding heavy in our hearts, and draw in positivity to replace what we let go of.
Meditation: “Let Go” (available via Spotify or AnchorFM in buttons below)
(13-minutes) Get cosy in your chair or on the floor, even wrapping yourself in a comforting scarf or blanket. Relax your body and sink into the earth below. As you soften the face and body, feel yourself melt into the earth. Let go of any tension you're holding physically, in the abdomen, the heart, and let go of weight on the shoulders. You are held here... Begin to slow down your breath... Let go of thoughts in the mind, and focus on the breath... Soften, lengthen, relax.... Now ask yourself the question, "what can I let go of right now?"....
ACTIVITIES WITH CHILDREN ~ (Or Try on your own too!)
