CARE’s Soothing Place for Adults

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Welcome to the CARE’s Soothing Place for Adults. We hope you enjoy your time here as we provide you with resources to help with mindfulness, wellness, and coping skills for your child. Click any of the drop-down links below to learn more!

Mindfulness Resources for Adults

Mindfulness, as defined by Dr. Jon Kabat-Zinn, who introduced Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) 30 years ago, is “paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally.”

Definitions of mindfulness or mindful awareness generally refer to paying attention to your moment-to-moment internal and external experiences. You take notice of your thoughts, emotions, sensations, sounds, the surrounding environment with an attitude of openness and curiosity, regardless of whether what you are experiencing feels unwanted or unpleasant.

What is Mindfulness? (2 min. 41 sec.)-This short animation illustrates the practice of mindfulness.
Why Mindfulness is a Superpower (2 min. 43 sec.)-Practicing mindfulness is one of the single most powerful things you can do for your wellbeing.
What is Mindfulness…. And What Does It Mean to You? (4 min. 46 sec.)– The video offers a basic understanding of mindfulness, but it also aims to evoke your memory of experiencing what it feels like to be mindful. Most of us have already experienced being mindful before.
The Samuri and the Fly (2 min. 47 sec.)– This animation teaches a lesson about mindfulness and particularly the concept of non-resistance (acceptance) of what is.

Other Mindfulness Resources:

Mindfulness Resources for Adults

What Is Mindfulness– By The Greater Good Science Center at the University of California, Berkeley; The Greater Good Science Center studies the psychology, sociology, and neuroscience of well-being, and teaches skills that foster a thriving, resilient, and compassionate society.
Taking Charge of your Health & Wellbeing: What is Mindfulness– By University of Minnesota; Earl E. Bakkencenter for Spirituality & Healing\
5 Essentials of Mindful Self-Care: Promoting Mind-Body Resilience By Lara Fielding Clinical Psycologist; The Blog Huffpost
7 Damaging Myths About Self-Care By Margarita Tartakovsky, M.S.; PsychCentral
4 Ways Mindfulness and Meditation Can Help You at Work By Dr. Laura Hamill; U.S. New & World Report Health
4 Self-Care Strategies to Avoid Parental Burnout By Mark Bertin M.D.; Garrison Institute
The 5 Main Tenets of Mindful Parenting By Lisa King LCSW, mindfulness teacher; The Blog Huffpost

Mindfulness Resources for Educators

Ten Mindfulness Strategies for Educators-Helping You Achieve Work-life Balance By: Rebecca Best, Phyllis L. Fagell; Association for Middle Level Education (AMLE)
What is Mindfulness? By: Sarah Rudell Beach; Left Brain Buddha the modern mindful life
Can Mindfulness Make Us Better Teachers? By Vicki Zakrzewski, Ph.D; Greater Good Science Center
Spider-Man: Practicing Mindfulness and Increasing Focus By: kids relaxation- Helping parents & educators activate children’s highest potential
Chill Breaks By change to chill: Alinda Health- These two, five, and ten-minute activities will help you stress less when you’ve got limited time.
Breathing Buddies (1 min. 47 sec.)– Best-selling author Daniel Goleman shares a simple but effective exercise he observed that helps kids manage emotions and work on their focusing skills.
“Arrive” – A Mindful Minute Helps Students Arrive in the Classroom (1 min. 38 sec.)– A short video showing Ms. O at the start of class, guiding her students in a simple meditation (“Arrive”). This allows them to quiet their nervous systems and get ready to learn.

Mindfulness Quotes for Adults

These quotes should inspire your mindfulness practice in one way or another without having to be too specific. They may also help you define mindfulness in a way you had not previously thought of. You can start your day with a quote and share it throughout your day to remain present.

Guided Meditation for Adults:

Guided meditation is a state of relaxed concentration invoked and led by another party. It can be a yoga instructor, phycologist, a religious guide, or a recording being played back to you. The guide will instruct you to relax specific muscles in the body until they are comfortable and will then lead you through mental images and visualizations, often of healing light or the dissipation of past wrongs. Guided meditation can be as short as a few minutes or several hours. The purpose is to achieve mental, emotional, and physical healing and stress relief. Click any of the titles below to access the dropdown video.

Helpful Links:

Mindfulness Meditation on Dealing with Anger (20 min. 8 sec.)

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5 Minute Awareness of Breath (5 min. 26 sec.)

10 Minute Awareness of Body and Breath (10 min. 8 sec.)

6 Minute Meditation: Being Mindful of Anxiety (6 min. 23 sec.)

6 Minute Meditation: Mindful of Wellbeing (6 min. 9 sec.)

7 Minute Meditation: Being Mindful of Pain (7 min. 48 sec.)

Working with Residue Meditation

Coping Skills Resources for Adults

Coping skills are methods an individual uses to deal with stressful situations. These may help a person face a situation, take action, and be flexible and persistent in solving problems. Below are different skills and strategies that can be used depending on the person and the situation. It’s important to know that not every coping skill works for every person.

Mindfulness Bell (5 min. 24 sec.)– The recording contains nothing but the pure sound of a Tibetan singing bowl being repeatedly struck with a soft mallet. It was taken from Mindfulness Bells Volume 1. Christopher Lloyd Clarke. This calming sound is a wonderful focal point for meditation. Simply absorb your attention in the sound of the mindfulness bell.
Mindfulness Exercise (1 min. 28 sec.)– This mindfulness exercise is like staring at a candle flame. Be mindful of the thoughts that come into your head, but don’t follow them. Just observe and release.
Butterfly Hug (4 min. 9 sec.)– The Butterfly Hug is an effective technique to use when you’re feeling anxious or overwhelmed. It’s calming and grounding and can be done anywhere, anytime you’re feeling anxious or stressed.
Tapping Techniques (2min. 52 sec.)-This exercise consists of a series of tapping movements on various parts of the body to be done while repeating both negative and positive sentences
Mindful Minutes for Teachers & Students: “Fist Clenching” Mindfulness Exercise (1 minute)– Teachers, sharing short and simple mindfulness strategies for calm for their students (and themselves)! When we take a break to be present using guided mindful techniques, we increase focus, productivity and empowerment.

Wellness Resources for Adults

“If you get tired, learn to rest, not give up”

Gardening as a Mindfulness Activity:

Caring for your garden can be a great form of mindfulness meditation. By connecting with the earth and with the practice of gardening, you can cultivate a healthy mind and feel calm and connected.

Practice gratefulness.
Be present by studying a flower, its color and texture.
Blow on leaves.
Listen to the sounds of nature in the garden, such as the wind blowing on the leaves to the birds chirping.
Mindful eating. Growing your own food gives you the satisfaction of eating something that you took care of and grew.

Local Gardens to Visit

Nutrition

Good nutrition is important, no matter what your age. It gives you energy and can help you control your weight. It may also help prevent some diseases.

Healthy on a Budget

Healthy on a Budget:

Nutrition and Mental Health

Nutrition and Mental Health:

Study reveals a link between certain diets and their impact on mental health. Poor diets, researchers say, play a role in worsening mood disorders, such as anxiety and depression. However, diets rich in vegetables and olive oil, such as the Mediterranean diet, can improve symptoms of depression and anxiety.

https://neurosciencenews.com/diet-mental-health-15384/

Foods that can help with moods and:
Leafy greens.
Walnuts.
Wholegrains.
Yogurt.
Berries (Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries)
Fish (fish oil, omega 3’s)

Eating a healthy diet high in fruit and vegetables, seafood, and whole grains or a more Mediterranean diet—which includes lots of olive oil and more legumes, meat, and dairy help with depression and anxiety. The more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains you include in your diet the more benefits you will get not only for your physical health but mental health as well.

Healthy Adjustments

Healthy Adjustments:

Week 1: Add more veggies and fruit, go for all types to get the most nutrients. Dark greens (broccoli, spinach), red and orange (sweet potatoes, carrots)
Week 2: Bring on the Whole Grains! (Brown rice, rolled oats, whole wheat pasta)
Week 3: Cut back on salt (sodium) and sugar, look for labels like no sodium or not salted when shopping
Week 4: Bring it all together for a successful healthy eating pattern! No food is forbidden- the key is to add more of the foods that are nourishing for your body and less of the foods that aren’t.

Nutrition Tips

Nutrition Tips:

A great way to get youth to drink more water is by adding flavor drops to mimic fruit juices.

Sweetleaf: water flavor enhancers
Mio: flavored water enhancer
Monk Drops – 100% Monkfruit Liquid Sweetener

Exercise

Physical activity or exercise can improve your health and reduce the risk of developing several diseases like type 2 diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular disease. Physical activity and exercise can have immediate and long-term health benefits. Most importantly, regular activity can improve your quality of life.

Workout guides and website resources:

TEDx Talks Videos

Our team has taken the time to find some helpful TEDx Talks videos that are provided to you below. These videos are just examples of the many available to you online.

The Power of Mindfulness: What You Practice Grows Stronger by Dr. Shauna Shapiro

How do we change? In this pioneering talk, Dr. Shauna Shapiro draws on modern neuroscience and ancient wisdom to demonstrate how mindfulness can help us make positive changes in our brains and lives. (13 minutes and 52 Seconds video)

Beyond the Cliff | Laura van Dernoot Lipsky

In this talk, Laura offers us a window into the cumulative toll that can occur when we are exposed to the suffering, hardship, crisis or trauma of humans, other living beings, or the planet itself. Held within a larger context of systematic oppression and liberation theory, we will dive into what gets hard and how to work toward reconciling it both individually and collectively. (19 minutes and 23 seconds video)

Rethinking Challenging Kids: Where There’s a Skill There’s a Way by Dr. Stuart Ablon

In this video, Dr. Stuart Ablon, Director of the Think: Kids program in the Department of Psychiatry at MGH, describes the general tenets of a model of care called Collaborative Problem Solving, which was originated by Dr. Ross Greene in his book The Explosive Child. (19 minutes and 25 seconds video)

All it takes is 10 Mindful minutes by Andy Puddicombe

When is the last time you did absolutely nothing for 10 whole minutes? Not texting, talking or even thinking? Mindfulness expert Andy Puddicombe describes the transformative power of doing just that: Refreshing your mind for 10 minutes a day, simply by being mindful and experiencing the present moment. (9 minutes and 24 seconds video)