Resources and Meditations for Difficult Times
​Free Youth Lessons and Meditations

In light of the current  health crisis, it is important that we all have a mental health plan. This means we need to have a plan for how we will take care of ourselves and our family members' wellbeing. Mindfulness and Mindful Self Compassion are a few of the tools that can help people find balance and calm in the midst of this “storm.” It is easy to tap into other people’s fears as well as our own and to dwell on these fears. It would be easy to let these fears snowball and for us to catastrophize. Living in fear will not help us and will not help our families. We must find a way to  find ways to work with our fears in a healthy way. 

Parents, you can model  self care behavior for your children and teens. There are many resources out there, but sometimes it is overwhelming to know where to start. So, I will be offering daily meditations and short teachings. You can do these by yourself, or together with family members. These Meditations can be done once or throughout the day at various times. 

Mindfulness can help us become aware of our feelings, thoughts, and physical sensations. Knowledge is powerful, it can inform us with clear heads and hearts what actions can be taken, what we can control, and what we cannot control. 

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We have an opportunity as a nation to do our part, to help heal and care for ourselves, and families, friends. We have proven in our past history that we can rise to the occasion and I believe we can do it again through kind, compassionate action. Please feel free to share with your friends and family. 

With deep gratitude, Cheryl Blackington mindfulness teacher
                  owner of Teens Just Breathe LLC

Resources

Here you will find a collection of leaders in the mindfulness world and a collection of resources to help guide you. This will be updated frequently. 

Daily Free Meditation Series for Youth

Below you will find a mindfulness series for the elementary ages, as well as a series for adolescents. I plan on updating these twice a week.
I urge you to watch these together and to set aside daily time to practice.
My goal is to have the weeks practices uploaded by Wednesday. Remembering, daily mini practices are very helpful, and practicing with your family can be very calming.

​I also plan on offering individual or small group mindfulness coaching. Please contact me as needed!

All Meditations can be found on my youtube channel:
Cheryl Blackington of Teens Just Breathe
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Elementary Ages Mindfulness Series

Adolescent Ages Mindfulness Series
This is the introduction to the elementary mindfulness series. The first lesson will be posted Tuesday March 24.
Lessons will be posted on Tuesdays and Thursday.

For these videos, I suggest that you and your child find a quiet place where you can sit for 5- 10 minutes. It is a good idea to pick the same place to practice each day, and also a time of day to practice. I like to practice in my bedroom each morning. I try to do it each day even when I don't feel like it. And right now, we all have plenty of time on our hands!  I will give a challenge to you in each video for you to try out. It would be easiest for you to put me in your calendar as a reminder to access the new videos as they unfold. Please share them freely!

Lesson Two: Mindful Breath: Anchors
You may lay down or sit up for this practice.
The Teen Mindfulness Talks and Meditations will be posted here each week on Wednesdays and Saturdays beginning Wednesday March 25, 2020.

Why mindfulness? Mindfulness helps us find calm and balance through difficult times. When we experience stress, fear, or anxiety it is often overwhelming and we may find it careening out of control.  If you learn the tools of mindfulness, you can learn how to calm your brain. You can learn what to do when difficulties find you.

Find a quiet spot that you can listen and practice mindfulness each day. Whenever we learn something new, it takes a while for it to become a habit. So, I recommend practicing the lessons every day. Start small, even 5 minutes will help you. You may find that you want to try it more than once a day right now! When I am struggling I practice it quite a bit as it really helps me. 

This too will pass. How will you use this time? 

Please reach out, ask questions, ask for help! And feel free to share with friends and family.









            Lesson Two: Mindful Breath: Anchors
Elementary Lesson Three: Learning About our Brain
Adolescent Lesson Three: Learning About our Brain
Lesson Four: Letting Go of Worries
Adolescent Lesson Four:
​Noticing Impulses, Worries: Letting Go