Sometimes, when we’re too stuck in our heads, a simple way to quiet the brain and be mindful in the moment is to notice your surroundings! Here are two of my favorite go-to activities to tap into the senses and release the pressure of the moment.
Sensational Discovery
You can do this exercise sitting, standing, or lying down. Inside or outside.
You can do this exercise sitting, standing, or lying down. Inside or outside.
Here’s what to do:
1) Take 3-5 deep breaths in and out through your nose. You can keep your eyes open or closed, whichever feels more comfortable for you.
2) Gently open your eyes and name…
5 things you see
4 things you hear
3 things you are touching
2 things you smell, and
1 thing you taste.
3) Finish up by taking 3-5 more deep breaths!
Get the whole family involved by practicing with your child or partner!
Talk about what you each noticed. You can even make it a game by describing the object and seeing if others can guess what you saw, touched, heard, smelled, or tasted.
Go on a Sense-ational Scavenger Hunt!
Go on a senses scavenger hunt around your house or your neighborhood!
This is a great exercise for your creativity! There are so many ways to do it. You can challenge yourself or others to look for specific objects that test each sense like in this free downloadable scavenger hunt I designed for my students.
Or, you can focus on a single sense at a time. Here are a few ideas:
1) Playing with smell: Grab the spices out of the pantry. Can you distinguish one spice from another? How about with your eyes closed?
2) Playing with sight: Pick a color, then walk around your house or neighborhood looking for all the things you see of that color.
3) Playing with hearing: Listen for sounds around you and see if you can imitate them.
4) Playing with touch: Touch things that you find around the room. Notice if they’re smooth or bumpy; hard or soft; warm or cold.
5) Playing with taste: Remember those spices from the pantry? Can you distinguish one spice from another by taste? How about with your eyes closed?
