Recommended resources for promoting mindfulness

One Perfect Moment: I really like this one! I've used it quite a few times with my own children and in groups of pupils. At only 9 minutes long, it's a great video to introduce children to meditation. Plus, lady who voices it has the most wonderful calming voice.

Rainbow Breath: There are lots of videos online that demo calming breathing techniques to children. This is a lovely video by Go Noodle who incidentally have some brilliant free resources for both mindfulness and more formal learning in subjects such as maths and English.

Cosmic Kids: Cosmic Kids have a huge number of videos available online based on yoga and meditation. Many of them are themed to suit children's interests: Disney, Harry Potter, Superheroes and so on. I really like this one in particular as it encourages children to slow everything down and focus.

Videos

Music

"Weightess" by Marconi Union: Sometimes music has the power to change our emotional state in an instant. Neuroscientists have found that this song is THE most calming song in the world.

"Watermark" by Enya: As a child of the 80's I was brought up on a healthy diet of Enya songs and frequently sang along to made up lyrics from Orinoco Flow. This is a beautiful instrumental with an interesting video.

"Clair De Lune" by Debussy: One of my absolute favourite songs to start my school assemblies. The first few notes of this song drifting out from the hall speakers always captured the students attention and stilled them. A pupil once told me, "When I listen to it, I feel like I'm floating Miss." If that's not mindful, I don't know what is.

"Blackbird" by The Beatles: Songs with lyrics can be mindful too. This is the song that I walked down the aisle to at my wedding as well as one I love using with my pupils. Not only is it an incredibly simple sounding and peaceful song but its lyrics lend themselves to all sorts of imagery. In past lessons, I've played it quietly to students and asked them to draw, write or think about what they see as the lyrics unfold and a story emerges.

"Hoppipolla by Sigur Rós: Translated from Icelandic to English ''Hoppipolla' means "Jumping in puddles" and this sums up just how absolutely euphoric and joyous the song is. A great one to share with children and ask them about how the music makes them feel. The video is pretty special too and could lead to some thoughtful discussions about how we view getting older and elderly people in our society.