Jewish Mindfulness for Kids by Blanca Sissa with illustrations by Camila Carrossine; Minneapolis: Kar-Ben Publishing; © 2024; ISBN 9781728-486444; 22 pages; $18.99.
SAN DIEGO – Author Blanca Sissa, a certified yoga instructor for children, says sometimes the thoughts in their heads resemble little monkeys jumping from tree to tree, never stopping anywhere in particular. Mindfulness, otherwise known as focusing thoughts on the here and now, is a remedy. In Hebrew mindfulness is called Yishuv Hada’at.
But how does one achieve mindfulness? Sissa advises that is as simple as concentrating on your breathing. She offers a half-dozen Jewish-themed exercises for breathing practice.
One she calls “challah and chicken soup.” Pretend that you are holding a freshly-baked challah in the cradle of your left arm, and a spoonful of chicken soup in your right hand. First, smell the challah, then blow on the chicken soup to cool it down. Repeat the process several times.
Pretending is at the heart of other exercises, such as pretending to blow the shofar, or to fly like Noah’s dove, or to be a dune in the desert through which the Israelites wandered.
One exercise involves observing Shabbat candles. Another has children closing their eyes and stretching out the sound of the word “shalom” – shaaaaa lommmmm! – inhaling the first syllable and exhaling the second syllable.
These exercises can be fun for adults too.
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Donald H. Harrison is publisher and editor of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com