A Zen Den at Home

The most loved and lived-in part of my former 4th grade classroom was our Zen Den. It was a space where my students could go to take a time-in, to breathe, and to just be... away from the noise of a busy classroom. Walk in any classroom today and you'll likely find one. Some names you'll see include a Calm Corner, Peace Place, or Zen Zone. It's an essential part of a classroom in today's world. We know that our students (and teachers) need mindfulness so we see the importance of creating a space for them to practice it. I created my first one back in 2016. It consisted of a yoga mat, a sand zen garden, and some mindfulness books. It evolved over the years, as did my experience teaching yoga and mindfulness to students. I knew I wanted to make a space that wasn't just there to be there. Often these spaces have good intention behind them, but aren't effective once put into action. So I created a resource that would effectively teach students mindfulness all while being enjoyable and fun for them.

In my experiences teaching mindfulness in the classroom, I knew I needed a plan and a routine. I didn't want to just throw in a mindfulness practice in here and there, but rather I wanted to establish a foundation of mindfulness in my classroom. After studying the 8-Limbed Path of Yoga during my 200 hour Yoga Teacher Training, I knew I wanted to use this same path to teach my students mindfulness. The limbs focus on kindness toward oneself, kindness toward others, yoga poses, breathing practices, concentration, sense withdrawal, meditation, and peace. These are the topics I built my Yoga & Mindfulness Curriculum around and also based our Zen Den on.

Now that I'm a mother, I know it's this same lifestyle I want to teach my children and model by practicing it myself. Therefore, I took my Zen Den and modified it for the home. This space is ideal for an elementary or middle school aged child. For my toddler, I created a toddler-friendly Calm Corner. Check out my previous blog and my instagram reel to see how I created that!

I updated my resource and it now includes both classroom and at-home options. Come along as I share my best selling product Living the Limbs: Mindfulness Practices for the Classroom and Home.

The most important part of any Calm Corner or Zen Den, is to make it a place your child wants to visit. A place they'll intentionally use in moments throughout the day, so that in times of need, they already know what practices can help them because they've discovered them in moments of calm.

First, I folded up a yoga mat and threw a pillow in the corner, then grabbed some bins to store books and my resources.

Then I hung up our practices. Here's a close-up of the Living the Limbs product. Each limb has four mindfulness practices that teach the corresponding limb.

Be sure to check out my instagram story highlights for my favorite picture book recommendations!

Some tools I added were my Glitter Mind Jar, a peace stone, and a Singing Bowl.

This bin is full of other resources that I have in my shop and have used with children for years.

• My mindfulness bundle including Mindful Mantras, Intentions, and Practices, each on their own ring.

• My 1, 2, 3 Nature Inspired Breathing Poses

• My ABCs of Mindfulness Journals

• My Journey to Peace Yoga and Mindfulness Journals & Curriculum

• and my Mindful Me Journaling Prompts

Curious to learn more about living the limbs yourself? Be sure to get on my email list to be the first to hear when my free guide is available, Living the Limbs: Your Guide to Living the 8 Limbed Path of Yoga.