Libby Public School Series: Mindfulness

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Mindful Movements: Ten Exercises for Well-Being: Thich Nhat Hanh ...





Today I am sharing with you the ten Mindful Movements by Thich Hhat Hanh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mz-dJFkmrk. I have used these exercises myself, with individual kids and in small groups.

Mindfulness: a Mental state of calm, accepting of any feelings, thoughts and emotions in the moment.

We live very busy life's and thus our children live busy life's, what if we could stop and take in the right now, appreciate it and enjoy it. With all the closures due to Covid 19 we may have been experiencing an increased restlessness, our life's have slowed down but our minds and desires have not. Living and enjoying the moment for many is no longer a natural thing. I find myself having to stop and take a deep breath and concentrate on the moment which brings about a calm.

Why Mindfulness? What I have found when working with children who are easily dys-regulated often have their triggers  rooted in past experiences or worries about what might happen in the future. I feel that because of that they often miss out on what is happening right now. Mindfulness can also be helpful for children who have minds and bodies that always seems to be "racing or on the go" due to for instance Autism or ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder).





Mindfulness can be learned but takes effort and time to develop. When working with the kids we work on mindfulness in indirect ways. Take 5 is a great example: name 5 things you see, 4 things you hear, 3 things you feel, 2 things you smell, 1 thing you taste.

Today however I will share a series of 10 exercises, (there is a link to the video at the bottom of the post). The more you practice the easier it gets and the more relaxing the exercises become. I would suggest setting a time aside daily or a couple of times a week and wind down with these Mindful Movements

10 Mindful Movements;
When doing the following exercises the goal is to do them as slow as possible while breathing in and out throughout the whole movement. Over time you will be able to slow down. I used the same descriptions  I use with the kids in school to label each exercise. I have changed the order of the exercises some as well as the breathing patterns compared to the video and book.

Stand with your feet shoulder width, relax your shoulders slowly breathing in and out using abdominal breathing.


  1. Lift arms to shoulder height;  
    1. Slowly lift arms to shoulder height while breathing in
    2. Slowly lower arms to thighs while breathing out
    3. repeat  4 x (total of 5 x)
  2. Reach to the sky;
    1. Slowly reach to the sky with your arms while breathing in
    2. Slowly bring arms down while breathing out
    3. repeat 4 x
  3. Hip/body circles ;
    1. Put your hands on your hips, circle your hips and upper body to the right while breathing in
    2. Circle your hips and and upper body to the left while breathing out
    3. repeat 4 x 
  4. Flower;
    1. Put your hands on the top of your shoulders, spread your arms out while coming onto your toes while breathing in
    2. Bring your hands back to your shoulders while going back on your flat feet while breathing out
    3. repeat 4 x
  5. Arm circles;
    1. Bring your arms forward and make a full circle at the shoulder while breathing in 
    2. Bring your arms backward in a full circle while breathing out
    3. repeat 4 x
  6. Frog knee bends; Put your hands on your hips, slowly squat down while getting onto your toes
    1. Stay on your tip toes  coming back up while breathing in
    2. Put your hands on your hips, slowly squat down while getting onto your toes while breathing out
    3. repeat 4 x 
  7. Toe touches;
    1.  Start with your hands at your toes, while breathing in straighten up lifting your hands to reach for the sky
    2. Breath out while bending back down to touch your toes
    3. repeat 4 x
  8. Single  leg kick;
    1.  Put your hands in your hips or hold onto a chair to balance. While breathing in slowly lift you knee up to hip height, then holding your knee up straighten your leg out 
    2. While breathing out first bend you knee, then slowly bring your knee down putting your foot down
    3. Switch legs
    4. repeat 4 x on each leg
  9. Single leg circles;
    1. Keep your hands on your hips or hold onto a chair next to you. While breathing in straighten your leg and make a circle bringing your leg behind you (pretend you are drawing a circle on the floor with your big toe)
    2. While breathing out circle your leg to the front
    3. Switch legs
    4. repeat 4 x on each leg
  10. Knight; Get in the position as seen in the picture
    11. From: Mindful Movements by Thich Hhat Hanh
    1. While breathing in starting with your hand on the hip of the back leg, bring your arm up pointing to where the ceiling and wall meet, at the same time bend your front knee
    2. While breathing out shift weight back onto both legs and bring your hand back down to your hip. 
    3. repeat 4 x
    4. Switch to the other side  


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