Angels of Light
Children's Foundation

Mindfulness is noticing what your mind is doing, aware of where we are, and not overly reactive or overwhelmed by what’s going on around us.

It is a technique using controlled inner-stillness that is always available, even when our life or circumstances feel out of our control. It is possible to be mindful/aware/attentive to everything in our experience, including anything we experience through our senses, as well as our thoughts and emotions.

To be mindful is to be present right here, right now by using your breath to anchor yourself & relax your mind and body so you can pause and be less reactive.

Why is mindfulness important for children?

We spend a lot of time developing our intelligence in school and strengthening our bodies by participating in sports or exercise. However, we pay very little attention to our minds. We ask students to pay attention all day, yet we never teach them HOW! When we develop and strengthen our minds, we are increasing our ability to focus, recognize our thoughts, feelings, and sensations as they arise, being no judgmental, curious, and kind. We then make better decisions and be more empathetic to ourselves and those around us.

This mindfulness curriculum is the way to teach students ‘How’ to pay attention and gives them life skills as well helps them further develop cognitively and emotionally by using Nature as one of our main base tools. Nowadays, there are so many distractions with computers, cell phones and busy schedules, by giving yourself time to be still and quiet can activate your creative mind.

Mindfulness for young children is as simple as teaching them to notice what is happening right now. They learn to take notice of how their body feels and what they see, smell, taste and their emotions.

Mindfulness helps children create space between the emotions the children are having and the actions they will take to respond to them.

What is the difference between mindfulness and meditation?

Where mindfulness can be applied to any situation throughout the day, meditation is usually practiced for a specific amount of time. Mindfulness is the awareness of “some-thing,” while meditation is the awareness of “no-thing.”

The Mindful Program Benefits

Our programs are solution driven, it is a way of life, it is set up to succeed.

Mindfulness helps children to be in the moment by maintaining a moment-by-moment awareness of their thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations, and surrounding environment. This is something that they naturally do when they are very little but a skill that tends to get lost as they grow older.

• Case studies in schools and learning facilities teaching mindfulness practicing with children over a period of 8 weeks have noticed a difference in the following.
• Improvement on concentration and self-awareness.
• Increase a child’s attention as they become more grounded in the moment Increase social emotional awareness.
• Helps with anxiety issues, self-esteem and confidence.
• Leaves the children feeling calmer and more balanced within themselves better decision makers and better leaders.