The Arts as a Tool for Mindfulness

According to Jon Kabat-Zinn, the founder of the Stress Reduction Clinic and the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical Schools, 

“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way: in the present moment, on purpose, and non-judgmentally.”

Connecting to the body through breathing exercises or body scans are two familiar ways to bring mindfulness into the classroom. However, there are many different ways to encourage students to become more attentive and focused. In fact, there are numerous websites dedicated to mindfulness ideas for kids. 

Using the arts as a tool for mindfulness is something that is mentioned less, but is equally powerful. Playing an instrument, listening or dancing to music, writing poetry, singing a song, or painting a picture tends to be mindful without any effort required at all. Most individuals who love to create do so by being grounded in the present moment. Creative expression tends to take over when the thinking mind stops. 

You don’t need to be artistic to benefit from using the arts as a tool for mindfulness. In fact, the following ideas can be very simple to introduce to your students or to use for yourself! 

Creative Movement 

Students don’t always feel comfortable moving freely to music without some level of guidance. For this exercise, set up equipment in the gym such as benches, hoops, and cones. Students can walk along the benches, weave around the cones, and twirl inside the hoops (as an example) while meditative music plays in the background. 

Encourage students to move slowly through the space and be intentional with their movements. Have them notice how it feels to move from one piece of equipment to another. Is there one they prefer over another? What “techniques” do they use to stay focused on the movement exercise so they are not distracted by a friend? 

Music Appreciation 

Play a piece of calming music you think your students will appreciate. Have them start by closing their eyes. Encourage them to take deep breaths while they listen. Ask them to focus on what they hear. Can they pick out particular instruments? If the song is accompanied by lyrics, can they make meaning of them? Is there a crescendo or decrescendo in the song? Does the tempo change? Have the class reflect on the music when the piece has finished playing. 

Meditative Painting 

There is something very soothing about stroking a paint covered brush across a piece of paper. This exercise can be done on large pieces of mural paper stretched across the classroom floor or on individual pieces of paper at the students’ desks. Play gentle music while students paint, and invite them to move their brushes in response to the music. Let them know they are not painting anything in particular like a picture. Have them pay attention to their impulses. Are they inclined to make long strokes, circles, dots, or swirls? Do they cover the entire paper with paint or only a small section? How do they feel while painting? Can they paint with their eyes closed? Can they breathe with every paint stroke?

Flow Writing

Invite students to write for two to five minutes (depending on their age) without stopping. They can write anything that comes to mind, but it doesn’t not have to make sense. There is no need to pay attention to grammar, sentence structure, or capitalized letters. Like water rushing down a river they are to let their words flow in a stream of consciousness. They don’t need to write fast just continuously. Remind them not to judge themselves and to just enjoy the process. When the exercise is done they can read back what they wrote. Is there anything that surprised them about the experience? Did they write anything they thought sounded cool or interesting? Did they feel free to write knowing there were no rules or having to get it “right?” 

What other ways can you think of using the arts as a tool for mindfulness? The possibilities are endless when you allow your imagination to go wild. Looking for help with new ideas? Give us a call! We offer FREE 30 minute discovery calls for lesson planning and support. Book your call here. 

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Traci L. Scheepstra, Ph.D., is the CEO/Founder of Embodied Learnings. Read here to learn more about her work in education