Activate your spidey senses with mindfulness

 

My mindfulness challenge this week wants you to channel your inner Spiderman. As a superhero, Spiderman needs to be aware of what is happening around him all the time. Have you tried out your spidey senses lately? Mindfulness (which means paying attention) can help you to notice more in your environment just like spider-man. It can even help you to focus or calm down when you need to. Test out your powers by focusing on your five senses: listen, look, touch, smell and taste.

 

What sounds can you hear around you right now? Maybe you can notice sounds that you didn’t realise were there before. Spider-man can pick these up all the time with his super listening skills. Try this out wherever you are. How many different sounds can you detect?

 

Find a special object in your classroom or at home. Maybe you can find a stone, a marble or a crystal. Have you ever looked closely at this object? Turn on your super spider sense of sight by noticing the different colours, patterns and shapes you can see. What did you notice that you didn’t realise was there before? Your spider-man senses are waking up!

 

Use the same object or choose another one. Close your eyes and turn on your sense of touch. What can you feel as you hold it? Is it soft or hard? Wet or dry? Smooth or bumpy? Cold or hot? Touch all the different parts of the object and notice what you feel. You are in the zone, just like spider-man!

 

Next turn on your super sense of smell with a delicious treat. Find a raisin, slice of apple or piece of chocolate. Spider-man turns on his sense of smell to detect any dangers and to hunt for his prey. Before you gobble it down, take a moment to smell what’s in front of you. Have you ever really smelt this before? Does it smell sweet, sour, salty? Something else?

 

Finally spider-man uses his sense of taste to notice all the flavours and textures of his meal. Take your first bite and chew slowly. What can you taste? How does it feel in your mouth? Take your time and enjoy each bite. Notice how the flavour fills your whole mouth and when you’re ready, swallow and feel you food slide down your throat and into your tummy.