This toolkit was developed by New Leaf Foundation.

HERE’S HOW THE CREATORS DESCRIBE THIS TOOLKIT:

This 4-week activity book is designed to introduce you to mindfulness. Mindfulness can be done anytime and anywhere. We’re often practicing mindfulness without even realizing it! Everytime we pause and pay attention to what’s happening around us in a curious way, we’re being mindful. In this pause, we have a chance to be fully in the present moment, which can be helpful when we’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed, worrying about the past or the future. Mindfulness can help us build focus, manage anger in positive ways, sleep better and generally feel better mentally, physically, and emotionally.

While mindfulness often leads to a feeling of calm, it’s not always peaceful. Like building a new muscle, it takes time and practice to develop a new skill, and our experiences will be different from day to day. Be easy on yourself, try to stay curious about the process, and know that there is no such thing as a perfect mindfulness practice.

HOW THIS WORKS:

• You’ll be given a series of short 2-5 minute meditation recordings along with reflection activities and writing prompts.
• Try to do the weekly meditations as often as you can — it could be once per day or a couple of times a week. We’ve included a chart for each week so you can track how often you tried it.
• You don’t need to sit in a fancy position to meditate. You can sit any way that’s comfortable to you, lie down, or even listen to a meditation while walking. It’s best to choose a position that allows you to stay awake while still feeling as relaxed as possible.
• Write your answers for the reflection activities down on a piece of paper or in a notebook. You can do them once or try them a few times — it’s up to you!

Follow the links in the toolkit to access the meditation recordings, or find the complete playlist at this link.