Category: Yoga For Teenagers

Managing thoughts

17/12/2020

One of the things I have noticed with teaching teens is the increased levels of anxiety that they are experiencing. A great deal of anxiety can be traced back to an original thought that once we begin to focus on can take on a life of its own until we literally cannot think of anything else. I was given this visualization and simple tool by my yoga teacher as a way to help manage the nature of the mind when it comes to thoughts with the hope of cultivating awareness and reducing triggers for stress. It uses a mobile phone as a reference to convey this idea which all teens can relate to as most of them have one. I believe in making things teen friendly and relevant as a way to offer them support!

Materials required – a mobile phone

How to facilitate it:

Hold up your mobile phone for a moment and explain that we are using the idea of a phone as a tool to practice an approach that may help us to manage the nature or our minds and recurring thoughts.

Imagine that you have something that is on your mind at the moment and it is beginning to create a level of stress. It may be an upcoming exam, a fight with a friend or whether you are going to get a place at college perhaps.

When you notice that thought coming into your mind again visualize that thought as an ‘ID Caller’ – see the ‘ID Caller’ appear on your screen. Decide as you see that thought whether or not you feel like answering the caller – or engaging with that thought. Perhaps you simply see it and decide you do not feel like engaging with that ‘caller’ and ignore it.

As you begin to use this practice it enables you to look at the thought from a slightly different perspective. Taking this approach offer the possibility for the thought to not have a hold over you, reducing potential stress and a less of a reactive response as it loses its charge gradually with no attention.

I love this analogy and have found it to be accessible for some teens. Why not try it and see if your teen likes the idea or not? I am passionate about finding ways to empower teens to manage their mental and emotional well being.

Teens love to have fun too!

9/3/2020

UPDATE: Due to the COVID-19 and Australian Health guidelines this event has been postposed to later in 2020.. Please come back and check my Schedule here. In the meantime please enjoy some of the suggestions I have in this blog with your children and teenagers at home.

This month I decided to share a teen tip with you especially with my upcoming Teen Training in Brisbane April 17-19 at One Family Yoga & Fitness.

One of the things I have noticed with my teen students is the absolute necessity to have FUN with them. I think we can get easily forget that even in their rapidly changing body and increased level of responsibility in their lives is a ‘Child’ that wants to have fun – don’t we all actually! This is one of the reasons that I always make laughter and fun an essential ingredient in my class!

Recently we played a memory game which I figured would help them explore their ability to focus and memorize what they saw before them. Also indirectly a different way of enhancing their skills to study for exams! What was really sweet was how they seemed excited at the prospect of playing the game and at the same time became nostalgic with one another about when they were tweenies and loved doing this together!

What you need and how to play

A collection of random objects natural or manmade – it could be a shell, feather, coin, flower absolutely anything really.

Arrange them on the floor in front of them and then name each one together.

The students then close their eyes and you remove one of the objects – call out “ready”! They then open their eyes and see if they can identify the missing object.

They have to raise their hand first before they can say what they think it is ☺.

It is lots of fun and a great way to relax and unwind before relaxation.

Managing thoughts

Teens love to have fun too!

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