Creative mindfulness for kids with Zoe Smart

07/16/24 • 46 min

In today’s episode of the Tranquil Awakenings Podcast, Debbie will be in conversation with Zoe Smart who is a creative mindful practitioner who works with children to access and understand their feelings and emotions, using mindfulness-based practices to assist with this.

During this conversation Zoe highlights that we all have our struggles and difficulties, but we are not taught how to effectively deal with these from being young. Zoe believes that if we were, we would be able to regulate our emotions with increased ease which would in turn improve our connection with ourselves and others.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Emotions are there to give us a message.
When we understand the messages that emotions give us, we can make positive changes.
Mindfulness based techniques can help us to regulate our emotions and reactions.
Emotions are transitory.
We are not our behaviours.
We can learn from our mistakes.
Other people feel similar things to what we feel at different times of our lives.

BEST MOMENTS

“I just think it, for anybody, it can only be a good thing to understand yourself better and be kind to yourself as well.”
“Just think from my own experience as well, of having mental health conditions from, so I had OCD from when I was six, and it's been a very hard journey for me. And we didn't have the kind of understanding, or it was like, ‘Oh, don't cry’.”
“We're not alone. We all feel like this sometimes. Because I think that was a huge thing for me, actually, when I was little, I thought I was the whole world, like, and I just felt like nobody understood. I was all on my own, but we all have our struggles, and we all have our things.”
“I think often we can be so critical and so harsh on ourselves. Far harsher than we would be if anyone else came to speak to us and said they were having a problem.”
“You can't always control external life events but what you've always got that you can control and keep your power with is how you choose to think, feel and react.”
“And you just think it's such a shame. I think because of the school system and how I feel really sorry for them because I know they try really hard, the teachers, but obviously there's so many children with different learning styles and different interests and not everybody is going to fit into that umbrella.”
“Do you need a little cry? What do you need? Why are you here? Is there a reason you're visiting me?”

HOST BIO

Debbie is a seasoned therapist whose journey from being a primary school teacher to an adept therapist has been fuelled by her fascination with the intricacies of human nature. Equipped with advanced certifications in diverse modalities like hypnotherapy, neuro-linguistic programming, mindfulness, meditation, past life regression and many more she has honed her expertise to bring about transformative change.

As a full-time therapist and trainer, Debbie's driving passion is guiding others, as well as herself, towards their best selves. Embracing the concept of holistic beings, she firmly believes in addressing the mental, emotional, physical, social, energetic, and spiritual facets of well-being and healing.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Emotions are there to give us a message.
When we understand the messages that emotions give us, we can make positive changes.
Mindfulness based techniques can help us to regulate our emotions and reactions.
Emotions are transitory.
We are not our behaviours.
We can learn from our mistakes.
Other people feel similar things to what we feel at different times of our lives.

BEST MOMENTS

“I just think it, for anybody, it can only be a good thing to understand yourself better and be kind to yourself as well.”
“Just think from my own experience as well, of having mental health conditions from, so I had OCD from when I was six, and it's been a very hard journey for me. And we didn't have the kind of understanding, or it was like, ‘Oh, don't cry’.”
“We're not alone. We all feel like this sometimes. Because I think that was a huge thing for me, actually, when I was little, I thought I was the whole world, like, and I just felt like nobody understood. I was all on my own, but we all have our struggles, and we all have our things.”
“I think often we can be so critical and so harsh on ourselves. Far harsher than we would be if anyone else came to speak to us and said they were having a problem.”
“You can't always control external life events but what you've always got that you can control and keep your power with is how you choose to think, feel and react.”
“And you just think it's such a shame. I think because of the school system and how I feel really sorry for them because I know they try really hard, the teachers, but obviously there's so many children with different learning styles and different interests and not everybody is going to fit into that umbrella.”
“Do you need a little cry? What do you need? Why are you here? Is there a reason you're visiting me?”

HOST BIO

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Previous Episode

The strength of Yoga with David Hornsey

In today’s episode of the Tranquil Awakenings Podcast, Debbie will be in conversation with David, a yoga practitioner who is also an experienced nurse and mental health practitioner.

David initially began his yoga practice for fitness, in time noticing that the benefits went way beyond this, assisting with mental and emotional wellbeing, and spiritual connection.

During this conversation, David discusses the parallels he has made between the medical model and within therapeutic and energetic practices such as yoga and different types of therapy, noting how these can play a vital role in supporting our health and well-being.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

There is often an overlap between different types of therapies and well-being practice.
When we resist life’s circumstances, we struggle.
We have innate wisdom within us to heal and release.
Acceptance is an important aspect of healing.
When we take care of our needs, it is easier to make better judgements and decisions.
It is important to be able to honour and release different emotions.

BEST MOMENTS

“I see it in the way we respond when we have to go into a particular posture in yoga or one of the asana. This, and a lot of the grounding techniques that we accept, you know, that calm the nervous system, science recognizes them, they have been around for millennia.”
“I think we still have the wisdom; I think innately we have it; I think it's ingrained. If you look at animals and kids for instance, like if a dog's stressed and it gets away and shakes off, doesn't it? You know, we do that as humans, but we kind of stop ourselves doing it because of the way we might look, you know, or how we're perceived.”
“I mean the asana, the postures themselves, there's no hierarchy in them. So, I struggle in Sukhasana, which is easy pose. I struggle in that. But these postures I think are meant to represent the challenges in life. You know and completing them isn't the aim, it's how you respond to them.”
“The most important relationship in the world is with yourself.”
“And that's what suffering is, isn't it? It's resistance.”
“And the more we do this, these little maintenance things for our lives, whether it is exercise, sleep, hydration, you know, co-regulation, you know, being with others, these little, tiny things, what that does to you is it affirms you, and you're then able to make better, more well-informed judgments and decisions.”

HOST BIO

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Next Episode

Reading the Tarot with Ana

In today’s episode of the Tranquil Awakenings Podcast, Debbie will be in conversation with Ana who reads the tarot. Ana, who is from Brazil, was brought up to explore various healing traditions, her father being a healer within their community. From a young age, this opened her up to the complexities of how our energy and intentions have an impact on our wellbeing.

When Ana was first guided to read the tarot, she was initially overwhelmed, unsure as to how this would be incorporated into her life. Over time however she began to find it an insightful tool to create a picture and to tell stories to guide the individuals that she worked with. Over time she developed additional skills such as studying astrology which she incorporates into her readings.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

Having a reading can help to give confirmation about how we feel and where we want to go within our lives.
A good quality tarot reading can help to show us what we need to know or what is playing out within our subconscious mind.
To learn the tarot takes time and patience.
When tuning in to another’s energy, or giving a reading, it is important that the practitioner is in a good place mentally, emotionally, physically and spiritually.
Astrology can give a lot of insights into a person’s character, their past and the challenges that they face.
Tarot cards work best when they are read in conjunction with one another to give a deeper insight.

BEST MOMENTS

“I think that it was back in 2014, one of my guides said to me, you need to start being very prepared because you are going to be a healer of healers and then I was just like, oh my God, you must be joking.”
“I think, I believe that it's the most precious thing that I ever came across in my life because it shows exactly what the eyes cannot see, you know? So, shows things about the subconsciousness. It shows like really, really everything that it's behind.”
“You must be joking. I'm not going to buy tarot cards. And they were like, yes, you are going to buy tarot cards. And then I got really upset. You know what I mean? Because my first deck, I was just open it. And then I was just spreading the cards and I couldn't read anything. And I was just like, why are you doing that to me?”
“But nowadays when I spread the cards in there, I see as they become like motion pictures.”
“My father was a healer. So, six years old he was already like initiated me. Nine years old I was already like giving Reiki to people. So, they are like, it's studying and studying. I'm someone that studies a lot, quantum mechanics, archetypes. I study numerology, astrology.”
“You know, every single card, it's so precious on its own and has its own, like, story to tell.”

HOST BIO

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.