Kids Retreat �20 September 2025
Emotional Management – Nurturing Peace and Happiness and Building Personal�Resilience / Practicing Mindfulness to Balance Body and Mind
Kunzang Chophel
Clinical Psychotherapist
Arousing Bodhicitta mind �
In the Buddha, the Dharma and the Supreme Assembly
I take refuge until I attain enlightenment.
Through the merit of practising generosity and so on,
May I attain buddhahood for the benefit of all beings.
May all sentient beings enjoy happiness and the causes of happiness!
May they be free from suffering and the causes of suffering!
May they never be separated from the sacred happiness devoid of suffering!
And may they dwell in boundless equanimity that is free from attachment and aversion!
What did Buddha Teach?
The Four Noble Truth
The Noble Eightfold Path
Buddha Said:
Do NOT do non- virtuous actions (bad)
Do more virtuous actions (good)
Tame Your ‘MIND’
This is the teaching of Buddha
What is Mindfulness?
Mindfulness helps to develop emotional intelligence
Why is emotional intelligence important?
Deep Mindful Breathing Exercise (3-5 minutes)
1. Sit comfortably in a chair with your feet flat on the floor and your hands resting on your lap.
2. Close your eyes or softly gaze at a point in front of you.
3. Take a deep breath in through your nose for a count of four.
4. Hold your breath for a count of four.
5. Breathe out. Slowly exhale through your mouth for a count of six.
6. Repeat this 4-5 times, focusing solely on your breath.
Why do we suffer? �(Conflict with self or others)
All-thinking or Nothing thinking | Flexible thinking |
Unmanaged emotions | Manage emotions |
Unmoderated behaviour | Moderate Behaviour |
Preoccupation of blame (others/self) | Taking responsibility / Checking yourself |
Emotional Management
The science of mind
Three main parts of the brain:
Instinctive brain (brain stem)
Emotional brain (limbic system)
Thinking brain (frontal lobes)
Dan Siegel’s Hand Model of the Brain�https://vimeo.com/440561117 �
Mindful Exercise -Observation (3-5 minutes)
1.Object focus: Take something you can have at hand. Sit comfortably with feet flat on the floor and hands holding the object.
2.Examine it: Observe the object’s colour, shape, and texture. Feel the texture and notice any patterns or details.
3.Describe it: Silently describe the object in your mind, focusing on one detail at a time.
4.Breath integration: Inhale slowly as you observe one aspect (e.g., color). Exhale slowly as you shift focus to another element (e.g., texture). Repeat for several breaths.
Mindful Exercise -Body Scan (5-10 minutes)
1.Position: Sit or lie comfortably and close your eyes.
2.Focus: Start by focusing on your toes and noticing any sensations or feelings. Gradually move your attention upwards through your body—feet, legs, torso, arms, and head.
3.Let go of tension: If you notice any tight or stressed areas, try to relax them as you breathe out.
Mindful Grounding Exercise (3-5 mins)
1.Observe: Silently observe the surroundings for a minute, noting details you hadn’t noticed before.
2.Engage senses to explore the environment:
Sight: Look around and notice the bright colors and shapes of objects.
Hearing: Listen attentively to the sounds in the room or outside, noticing each sound without following thoughts or distractions.
Touch: Feel the textures of your clothing or any objects nearby, noticing how they feel against your skin without getting lost in your thoughts.
Smell: Take a few deep breaths and notice any scents or aromas in your environment.
Taste: If you have recently eaten or drunk something, focus on any lingering tastes in your mouth. If not, simply notice the taste of the air as you breathe.
3.Stay present: If your mind wanders, gently bring your attention to what you see, hear, or feel. Allow yourself to experience the feeling of rest and calmness as you discover something new in your surroundings.
Mindful Exercise-Gratitude Practice (3-5 minutes)
1.Set the scene: Sit comfortably with your feet flat on the floor and your hands resting on your lap. Take a few deep breaths to settle into the moment.
2.Mindful reflection: Consider at least one thing you are grateful for today. Think about what you chose in detail, engaging your senses to recall the experience and feelings.
3.Expressing gratitude: Silently express gratitude for the chosen experience. Share with a partner or write it down in a journal.
Loving-Kindness Meditation (5 minutes)
1.Get comfortable: Sit with your feet flat on the floor and your hands resting on your lap. Close your eyes or softly gaze at a point in front of you.
2.Focus on breathing: Take a few deep breaths to settle into the moment.
3.Loving-kindness phrases: Silently repeat phrases below that promote loving-kindness, first to yourself, then to others.
I wish to be happy.
I wish to be healthy.
I wish to feel safe.
I wish to feel calm.
The Dedication
སངས་རྒྱས་བསྟན་པ་དར་ཞིང་རྒྱས་པར་ཤོག །
sangye tenpa dar zhing gyepar shok
May the teachings of the Buddha flourish and spread!
སེམས་ཅན་ཐམས་ཅད་བདེ་ཞིང་སྐྱིད་པར་ཤོག །
semchen tamché dé zhing kyipar shok
May all sentient beings find happiness and joy!
ཉིན་དང་མཚན་དུ་ཆོས་ལ་སྤྱོད་པར་ཤོག །
nyin dang tsen du chö la chöpar shok
May they practise Dharma day and night!
རང་གཞན་དོན་གཉིས་ལྷུན་གྱིས་འགྲུབ་པར་ཤོག །
rang zhen dön nyi lhün gyi drubpar shok
And may our own and others' aims be spontaneously accomplished!