Mindfulness Meditation

Disclosure: I received samples of Zafooz for free from Moms Meet to use, to review and to post 100% my honest opinion. 

As the tag on my blog says my goal is for my family and I to live “…a happy gluten free and allergy friendly life.” However, like many things in life there are always some type of obstacle. This year was a rough year for my twins, they were victims of bullying. Of course, I know that these types of occurrences are very common that schools have HIB policies and guidance counselors to help resolve these issues. However, how can we deal with the aftermath at home? Even when the bullying stopped at school, my twins were still ridden with anxiety from the incidence.

I really want to thank Moms Meet for sending us our sample Zafooz, which I like to call our Multi-Tasking Therapeutic Stuffie. It was a great tool to introduce my twins to mindfulness meditation. Did you know that there are studies that supports meditation to mitigate the effects of bullying (Zhou, Liu, Niu, Sun, & Fan, 2016)?

Mindfulness meditation is combination practice of buddhist meditation and contemplative psychology. Mindfulness is a type of meditation in which you focus on being intensely aware of what you’re feeling, no judgement or outside influences. Here are just a few examples of techniques used in mindfulness meditation (I also feel these were the easiest to practice with young children).

• Focused breathing: The twins were taught to breathe in and out, try to eliminate the negative thoughts of the day and the memories of bullying.
• Pay attention to the details: Slow down your breathing and just try to experience your environment with your 5 senses. (Smell the air, hear the wind through the leaves, feel the breeze on your skin, etc…).
• Self acceptance: Treat yourself well as you would with a good friend.

How did our Zafooz come into our mindfulness meditation practices? These might look like just another toy that your child is going to want because they are absolutely adorable. However, they are much more than a cute toy…they are comfort pillows, sturdy meditation seats and sometimes a friend.

Practical pros:

1. Sturdy base, its not overly fluffy that you sink to the floor. (Even this mama sat on it and there was a nice support.)
2. There is a zipper on it for you to remove the Zafooz cover to wash and air dry. (This is excellent since it is geared to young children.)
3. There is a little side handle on the side that made it great for my kids to carry on our road trips or to clip on our carry on.
4. Each Zafooz character has a story and you can pick the one that would fit your child’s character or circumstance.

Practical cons:

1. I really truly wished that it came in different sizes, some kids are just bigger than others. With my fraternal twins, one of them fit better on it than the other…thankfully they loved the Zafooz so much that it didn’t matter. Also, to be honest, I would love an adult version because sometime this mama could use some meditation after a stressful day.

Overall, the kids loved them and the Zafooz website was filled with articles and resource on the best practices for mindfulness meditation.

If you are interested in getting your own Zafooz, click  SHOP ZAFOOZ and use this Coupon Code: breatheBhappy for 15% off. This offer is valid until July 22, 2019.