Easter is a great time to engage in fun and mindful activities with your child.  Yoga and mindfulness games are a perfect way to celebrate this holiday while keeping children active and supporting their wellbeing. Here are some ideas for incorporating yoga and mindfulness into your Easter celebrations.

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Yoga Hunts
Create an Easter egg hunt with a twist by adding yoga poses to the mix. Write yoga poses on small pieces of paper and place them inside plastic eggs (if you have them already, if not let's be more environmentally friendly by just doing cardboard egg shapes! I promise, it works just as well!). Hide the eggs (or egg shapes) around your garden or home and have kids search for them. Once they find an egg, they must perform the yoga pose inside (or what is written on the shape). This is a fun way to get kids moving and practicing yoga while searching for eggs.

No time to plan? I have you covered! I have a free Yoga hunt pack available to print off (with some egg-cellent jokes may I add) available here: 
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Another way to incorporate mindfulness into your Easter celebrations is by playing mindfulness games. One game that kids love is the "mindful breathing" game. Have kids sit in a circle and take turns holding a small object, like a stuffed animal or egg. Each child takes a deep breath, then passes the object to the next person in the circle. The intention is to focus on the breath and stay present in the moment.
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Another fun mindfulness game is "mindful listening." Ask the children to close their eyes (or take a soft gaze down in front) and listen carefully to the sounds around them. After a few minutes of listening, have them share what they heard. What is the furthest away thing that they could hear? What was the closest thing? Could they hear their own breath? What about the person next to thems' breath? This is a great way to help kids tune into their senses and become more aware of their surroundings.

One person lays in the middle of the room with a Easter egg beside them, this is the Easter Bunny. The bunny is guarding the egg but is very tired. Everyone else gathers in a circle at the edges of the room. As the ‘bunny’ sleeps, the children must sneak up to get the egg (this could be a real Easter egg which could then be a prize or just a pretend one. If the bunny hears any noise, he/she/they can wake up and scare everyone back to the start. If someone is successful in getting the egg without waking the bunny, the game can end here (and maybe they get to keep the egg, take it in turns to allow everyone to win one) or for something extra they have to get it to a certain spot before the bunny wakes and chases them. If they get caught, the game starts again. It’s fun to switch turns so that everyone can have a turn being the bunny.  

Another fun mindful practice is taking a 'Rainbow Walk.' Take a walk out in nature or use this activity on a walk to school or the shops etc. It can be a fun way to walk mindfully. Look around and see if you can see something for each colour of the rainbow. 
Can you see something that is red? Orange? Yellow? Green? Blue? Indigo? Violet? ​

With Easter eggs being in huge supply at Easter, how could we not take this time to mention a 'Chocolate meditation'?

This one is a lot of fun for kids and adults alike! Just be sure to choose a chocolate that is suitable for everyone you are practicing with  (e.g. Nut free, vegan etc). If the children are comfortable with it, allow them to close their eyes. Then place a piece of chocolate into each person’s hand. Instruct them to feel the chocolate in their hands and smell it for a moment before they place it on to their tongue. When on their tongue ask them to bring attention to how it feels in their mouth. Can they feel what shape it is with their tongue? What tastes are they getting? Explain that there is no need to answer these questions out loud, rather just in their own heads and then you can have a discussion at the end. Now can they feel the chocolate start to melt? How does that taste? Where can they taste it? Allow this time mindfully having the chocolate with your prompts and when everyone is finished discussing how they felt about that practice. You may like to repeat and give no instruction, just allow them to experience it in their own way in quietness.  ​

Easter is a wonderful time to celebrate with family and friends. Incorporating yoga and mindfulness games into your celebrations can help kids stay active, focused, and mindful. By adding these ideas into your family traditions, you can create a fun and meaningful Easter experience for kids of all ages.

What is your child's favourite thing about Easter? Comment Below! 

And don't forget to get your free Yoga hunt print out, this will help make Yoga fun and engaging for your child this holiday. 

What does the term ‘fill your cup’ mean?

Do you know at the end of a long day, where you’ve helped everyone with everything, and you just feel done? You’re ready to climb into bed, and feel like if one more person touches you or asks for anything, it is possible that you may go insane? This is when your cup is empty. You've been pouring from it all day, filling up everyone else’s cup but leaving nothing for yourself. Maybe someone will come along and fill it up for you, but quite often, you need to find ways to fill it back up yourself. 

The same goes for our children. Their cups drain and empty just like ours, and while we try to fill it up for them, it is important that they know how to fill it up themselves too. 

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Tip #3 Fill your cup together!

Just as we can fill our own cups or each other's cups, we can also fill our cups together! Do something your child loves with them, or something you both enjoy. Spend this time together, connecting and being really present. It could be reading, baking, rock climbing, going on a day trip or holiday, swimming - anything that lights you up and makes you feel good, peaceful or just simply present. 

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I have shared 7 tips with you that will help your child to fill their cup and practice self-care. In this post we have looked at the importance of self-awareness, your own practices and habits as a parent, the importance of connection and spending time together, boundaries, routines, taking time when we need it and not as part of a schedule and also the benefits of having fun. 

If you haven't already, check out the video about doing a 'check in' with your child below.
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Get your free guide here: Calm Seas

This place gets crazy at the weekend, but the kids love it. They were jumping and playing for the whole hour, coming back to me with their little red faces, ready for a drink, when they were done. 

As we are walking out, after the playing and after our food, my youngest stops, sits down and puts his hands in the soil of a plant pot at the bench.  
Now we all want to get home at this point and in the past I could have been tempted to rush him along or tell him to stop, but I stopped with him to let him have this moment. He was completely present with the feel of the soil in his fingers, paying no attention to anything around him, not caring about what others would think. He was just at peace with the earth. 

I know how when we go to places like this, no matter how much fun he has, the overstimulation is a lot for him to handle. It comes out after in all kinds of ways especially if we don’t take time to transition from one task or activity to the next. In this moment, he wasn’t just sticking his hands in the dirt for the sake of it, but because he was practicing self-regulation. He was grounding himself with this sensory experience. 

He can do this with ease because we practice self-awareness. 

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​Practicing mindfulness as a family can help promote self-awareness among family members and create an environment of understanding and support. Mindfulness helps individuals recognize their thoughts, feelings, and reactions to events in a non-judgmental way. By coming together as a family to practice mindfulness, you help create a safe space for children to express their feelings and learn from each other.

For example, take the story of the Baxter family. They all had busy lives with school, sports clubs, work etc, but after a suggestion from a friend, they decided to try mindfulness as a family. They started by spending some time each day sitting together in a comfortable, quiet space. Each person was encouraged to take a few moments to focus on their breath and observe their thoughts and feelings.
After just a few weeks, the Baxter family began to notice positive changes. They were more aware of their emotions and how they were affecting their actions. They could also better recognize how their behaviour was impacting each other. The family members also became more patient and understanding of each other's needs and feelings.
Overall, the Baxter family's life changed for the better. They were able to better communicate their emotions and needs to each other, leading to more connection and love. Mindfulness helped them become more self-aware and live more intentional lives.
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This is possible for your family too.