May is Mental Health Awareness month and it is an important time to reflect on simple ways we can support our mental health. Turning to the body is a one way to improve your mental well-being.
For this, we can use to the five senses to help us tap in and connect with ourselves on a deeper level to foster our mind-body connection.
Our senses play an important role in connecting ourselves to our body and can provide self-soothing techniques that we can do to bring calm to our body and mind. Here are some ways that help both adults and children support their mental health by using the 5 senses.
Touch. Our skin is the body’s biggest organ, with our hands holding hundreds of thousands of neurons making it very sensitive to external stimulus. When you’re presented with an anxious situation, a simple method is to run your hands under cold water. This will help cool down the body in an instant. Weighted blankets are also great options, especially for kids! Weighted blankets reduce anxiety, promote better sleep, reduce tantrums, and help children with ADHD. We like this one.
Taste. We can turn to our favorite comfort foods, or home cooked meals, in highly stressful or anxious times. While it’s best to avoid junk food or use food for comfort all the times, we can all seek a little pleasure in a warm meal, cup of tea, or even a ginger candy to sooth our nerves.
Smell. Aromatherapy treatment has many positive benefits on improving our mental well-being. Lavender essential oil is beneficial for calming, citrus scents help boost mood, and peppermint can aid in upset stomach. If you don’t have access to oils, simply taking a breath of fresh air, or smelling flowers in a garden, can shift the energy in your body from an anxious state to a calm state. Try these kid-approved aromatherapy products from Aura Cacia.
Sight. In yoga, the term pratyahara, translates to withdrawal of the senses from external stimuli. You can use an eye pillow during savasana in class or follow a guided meditation before bed (find one here)! For kids, coloring mandalas or practicing color therapy is a great way to begin withdrawing the senses and focusing on a calming task at hand.
Sound. Sound therapy, and the effects of sound frequencies, has proven to increase mental well-being and support our emotional state. We can listen to relaxing music, recite mantras, or play guided meditations to help calm the body. Try our Yogi Beans meditations for kids are here on Insight Timer!
Learning to be more in tune with your five senses will help deepen your mindfulness practice and give you tools to have when you need. All of the techniques above will help reconnect you to your body and provide self-care through the five senses.