Book Review: Mindfulness for Children by Uz Afzal
This post may contain affiliate links, please see my privacy policy for details.
I stumbled across this book at the library recently just by chance, and I am so glad I did. Here are some highlights from this beautiful little book that I thought were worthy of sharing with you!
About the Author:
Uz Afzal has worked as a teacher in state and private education for over 20 years. If there’s anyone I trust to know about mindfulness and children (and how effective it can be) - it’s definitely a seasoned teacher! Beyond this, she holds many accreditations in teaching mindfulness.
She was also selected to become a consultant for Goldie Hawn’s highly acclaimed MindUP Programme (active in the UK and US) - impressive.
What I loved most about this book:
Uz Afzal, the author, organized the different mindfulness activities so beautifully in this book. They read like simple recipes, and the organization of them by topic (“For Sleeping”, for example) really helped my unique brain to connect with the techniques and actually remember them, so that I could rely on the ideas with or without the book, whenever the need arose.
Practicing Gratitude with Children:
I especially loved the exercise on gratitude, titled “The Glass of Gratitude”. Practicing gratitude is something I have been doing for myself for the past few months (I’ll admit, for the first time ever - consistently, at least).
Every morning, before I start my day, I write down on a piece of paper 5 things I feel grateful for. I do this first before anything else, before I allow my brain to explode into to-do lists and brain dumps, and spiral either in a good way or bad way, as I often do.
This simple, very quick, daily practice has changed my brain chemistry - I can actually feel it. I feel more at peace in general, I look around and see the positive of everything around me, and I have even caught myself involuntarily saying “I’m so grateful to have…” in normal conversation with people, and I truly feel…happier/luckier/more content. Your brain really does believe whatever you decide to consistently tell it.
I love the visualization factor of Uz Afzal’s exercises - they work so well for children, but have been really helpful for me, too!
Bedtime magic:
The Sweep and Sleep exercise found in this book is a game changer. I can barely get through the practice without falling asleep myself - and it’s worked especially well for my youngest, who always wants “one more book” and then “one more” and “one more” again…let this book be your last book, and it will be the one to finally conk your little one out! And probably you, too…
Before you go, tell me what you think!
I love hearing from you - so tell me in the comments below: have you read this amazing book? Or do you have any amazing mindfulness exercises that you use on a regular basis with you kids? Let me know what works for you! The more exercises I have memorized, the better (in my books)! And as always, thanks so much for reading and being here with me.
