On Thursday night, we all celebrated England’s win in Euro 2024 and with the final to come this weekend, it may well be coming home! As tensions and anticipation rise up and down the country, it is important to remember the power of mindfulness and focus for us and the players themselves.
On that note, we are excited to announce our newest activity, mindful penalties, part of our new sport category coming soon. Welcome to a mindfulness exercise designed to improve focus, visualisation and maintain calm under pressure. It helps children develop mental resilience, which is just as important off the pitch in day-to-day life as it is on it.
Mindfulness penalties explained
The activity, slightly tweaked for this week only, will ask you to imagine you’re at the Olympic stadium in Berlin, with the whole world watching. You’re taking the final penalty kick in the Euros final, and your teams fate rests on your shoulders. This moment of pressure mirrors some of the common challenges children will face such as exams, school situations and other anxiety provoking situations.
Here are parts of the audio instructions played from the remotes during the activity, which paired with vibrations and lights guide children throughout…
Visualisation and sensory engagement
Starting by taking a deep breath in and out, ground yourself in the moment. As you place the ball on the penalty spot you feel the cool grass beneath your fingers.
Visualisation is taught to children throughout this activity as it is a useful mindfulness tool to control stress, relax and maintain emotional regulation. The tactile visualisation used here for instance, helps consider the sense of touch, anchoring the mind in the present and blocking out distractions. Many Stix activities harness the senses as a way to practice visualisation. The tactile visualisation is paired with the tactile nature of the Stix remotes with the soft touch of the silicone sleeve, encouraging focus on the activities.
Focussed breathing
As you stand there, you know which way you're going to shoot. Your eyes lock with the goalkeeper. They're trying to distract you, but this is your moment. Nothing will distract you now. Before you take the kick, take a few deep breaths in, and out. In.... and out.... In.... and out...
By using breathing techniques, you can achieve calm and clarity even in stressful situations with many distractions. These techniques are designed to slow heart rate, reduce anxiety, and enhance focus on the present moment. Also, the more children practice their ability to focus on their breathing, the more their focus will improve in all areas of their life.
Emotional awareness and reward
You've done it! You've won the Euros! Wow, what an achievement! What emotions are you feeling right now? Take a moment to savour the joy, the accomplishment, and the gratitude for this incredible achievement!
Prompting reflection on one’s emotional state is an important part of mindfulness. This reflection helps you understand and manage your emotions better, promoting emotional control and intelligence in children. It strengthens the prefrontal cortex’s control over the Amygdala’s emotional reactions, it’s flight or fight instincts. This section also encourages children to feel pride and pleasure for completing the task and showing focus.
In this moment, you've shown incredible focus, determination, and resilience. Remember this feeling.
The activity suggests bringing the focus, determination and resilience shown in during the penalty shootout to any challenge in life. The skills of mindfulness and focus cultivated during the activity can be used to improve your child’s daily life.
More to come from Stix
We continue to add to the Stix mindfulness journey with 18 new activities that are coming soon. They will add to the 12 existing ones, to address different areas of mindfulness, helping to broaden and build on skills that children have already learned. The current 12 activities provide a fantastic introduction and overview of mindfulness, and we want to expand this foundation to continue to challenge children.
One of the most exciting additions is a new sports category on the Stix remotes, which will be released in 2024. We’ve been working on this series of activities as it aligns with our aim to make mindfulness fun and relatable for children, integrating it into day-to-day hobbies and activities they already love. Sports also offer high-pressure situations, with the highest of highs (let’s hope this weekend is one) and the lowest of lows, where mindfulness can be very beneficial. By practicing mindfulness children can learn to retain focus and manage emotions like fear and anxiety during similar situations. Finally, as discussed in our previous blog, ‘Moving more for our mental health’, encouraging children to stay active is crucial for their mental wellbeing. This new category will illustrate the relation between mindfulness and sport.
As we continue to develop new activities for kids, we are collaborating with parents and children to understand their priorities and preferences. Important questions are being asked such as: ‘what specific areas of support would you like them to focus on?’ or ‘what themes do you think your child would relate to?'. If you have any comments or ideas, let us know!
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