The Mindful Breathing Workbook for Teens: Simple Practices to Help You Manage Stress and Feel Better Now

by Matthew D. Dewar EdD, Gina M. Biegel MA, LMFT (Foreword by)

Overview

You have the power to lower stress and balance your emotions. Grounded in evidence-based mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), this engaging and empowering workbook will show you how.

Are you stressed out or overwhelmed? If so, you’re far from alone. More than ever, teens are feeling the stress of academic pressure; high expectations from family, friends, and social media; and an increasingly uncertain future. This workbook will show you how mindful breathing exercises and self-care strategies can help you curb stress and difficult emotions, so you can be your best and reach your goals.

In The Mindful Breathing Workbook for Teens, you’ll learn breathing skills rooted in mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), so you can stay grounded, find calm, and shift out of bad moods quickly. By developing your own internal strategies for managing stress, you will feel more empowered and in control—even when faced with difficult situations beyond your control. It’s kind of like having your own stress-busting superpower!

As a teen, you’re faced with more changes than ever—in both body and mind. The good news is that there are real tools you can use to manage life’s changes, challenges, and setbacks. This workbook will be your guide.

In these increasingly challenging times, teens need mental health resources more than ever. With more than 1.6 million copies sold worldwide, Instant Help Books for teens are easy to use, proven-effective, and recommended by therapists.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781684037261
Publisher:	New Harbinger Publications
Publication date:	08/01/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	184
Sales rank:	920,205
File size:	3 MB
Age Range:	13 - 18 Years

About the Author

Matthew D. Dewar, EdD, is a professional educator and author working at the intersection of mindfulness, self-regulation, and emotional resilience. For nearly two decades, Matt has served as an educator and well-being coordinator at Lake Forest High School in Illinois. Trained in curriculum and social-emotional learning, Matt earned his doctorate from the National College of Education. He is also former president of the Coalition of Schools Educating Mindfully (COSEM), serves on its board, and consults with school districts nationally on implementing mindfulness and emotional well-being programming.

Foreword writer Gina M. Biegel, MA, LMFT, is a psychotherapist, researcher, speaker, and author in the San Francisco Bay Area who specializes in mindfulness-based work with adolescents. An expert and pioneer in bringing mindfulness-based approaches to youth, she is author of The Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens and the Be Mindful Card Deck for Teens. For more information, visit her website at www.stressedteens.com.
Gina M. Biegel, MA, LMFT, is a California-based psychotherapist, researcher, speaker, and author who specializes in mindfulness-based work with adolescents. She is founder of Stressed Teens, which has been offering mindfulness-based stress reduction for teens (MBSR-T) to adolescents, families, schools, professionals, and the community since 2004. She created MBSR-T to help teens in a large HMO’s outpatient department of child and adolescent psychiatry whose physical and psychological symptoms were not responding satisfactorily to a multitude of other evidence-based practices.

Biegel is an expert and pioneer of bringing mindfulness-based approaches to youth. She is author or coauthor of the The Trauma and Adversity Workbook for Teens, Take in the Good, The Stress Reduction Card Deck for Teens, The Mindfulness Workbook for Teen Self-Harm, Be Mindful and Stress Less, Mindfulness for Student Athletes, The Stress Reduction Workbook for Teens, and Be Mindful. She also has a mindfulness practice audio CD, Mindfulness for Teens, to complement the MBSR-T program. She provides worldwide multiday trainings and intensive ten-week online trainings, and works with teens and families individually and in groups. Her work has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Psychology Today, Reuters, TheNew York Times, US News & World Report, and Tricycle to name a few. For more information, visit her website at www.stressedteens.com.

Table of Contents

Foreword Gina M. Biegel, Ma, Lmft vii

Dear Reader: We're Not Perfect, So Let's Not Stress About It 1

A Note to Caring Adults 5

Before You Begin 7

Section 1 Master the Basics of Mindful Breathing

Activity 1 Cultivate Mindful Attention 14

Activity 2 Pay Attention to Your Breathing 32

Activity 3 Feel and Relax Your Body 39

Activity 4 Know Your Emotions Through Your Breathing 47

Activity 5 Notice Your Breathing to Experience Your Surroundings 52

Section One Reflection

Section 2 Use Your Breathing to Manage Your Emotional Stress

Activity 6 Measure Your Breathing to Assess Your Stress Levels 60

Activity 7 Be Mindful of Your Stress Bucket 67

Activity 8 Pay Attention to What Your Breathing and Your Body Tell You 77

Activity 9 Record Your Stress Levels over Time 86

Section Two Reflection

Section 3 Improve Your Breathing to Improve Your Emotional Control

Activity 10 Sit up Straight 106

Activity 11 Choose Your Formal Breathing Posture 122

Activity 12 Shut Your Mouth! (And Breathe Through Your Nose) 126

Activity 13 Breathe Lightly, Slowly, and Deeply 131

Section Three Reflection

Section 4 Breathe Your Way to Self-Care

Activity 14 Make Self-Care Deposits into Your Well-Being Account 136

Activity 15 Exhale Slowly to Sleep Better 144

Activity 16 Write, Live, and Breathe Your Life Philosophy 153

Parting Thought: Make the Most of Your 30,000 Pebbles 169

Acknowledgements 170

Endnotes 171

Interviews

Dewar resides in Chicago, IL.

Editorial Reviews

Along with learning emotional regulation and stress management strategies based on the science of stress, mindfulness, and breathing, Matthew Dewar offers a truly unique process for increasing the joy in your life, honoring the gift of each day, and becoming your own person. As a beloved high school teacher and well-being coordinator, he ‘gets’ teens and uses brilliant anecdotes to help make the transformative concepts in his book stick.”
—Tracy Heilers, founder and executive director of the Coalition of Schools Educating Mindfully (COSEM), and coauthor of Educating Mindfully

Tracy Heilers

Matt Dewar’s book is remarkable. To take a topic that has already been written about by so many, like mindful breathing, yet do it in such a unique way that offers much new insight and practical application is outstanding! There is even a brilliant section on finding one’s core life principles. This book is going to help a lot of teens better manage their emotions, focus, and energy.”
—Todd Corbin, CPC, international speaker, certified parenting coach, and coauthor of the best-selling Mindfulness for Student Athletes

Todd Corbin

While the teen years can be challenging, they are foundational—and what can be more foundational than the breath? Merging the gifts of this workbook with reflection and action, this guide serves as a ‘life coach’ of support for teens and the adults who love them. Full of tools and wise guidance, this workbook can launch teens into young adulthood with skills that will last a lifetime.”
—Tovi C. Scruggs-Hussein, Tici’ess, Inc. leader and healer; creator of the EI2: Emotionally Intelligent Equity and Inclusion approach; and visionary of Racial Healing Allies™

Tovi C. Scruggs-Hussein

Matthew Dewar has written the ultimate breathing workbook for teens, and every teen should have a copy. This practical and useful guide will set the stage early for a lifetime skill of breath awareness and regulation. It is just the antidote stressed-out teens need. It’s the perfect prescription for today’s frazzled teens.”
—Barbara Larrivee, EdD, author of A Daily Dose of Mindful Moments and Cultivating Teacher Renewal

Barbara Larrivee

There is no doubt that we are living in unprecedentedly stressful times. Teens are especially vulnerable to the emotional, cognitive, and physical impacts of stressors. Dewar’s book is an incredibly valuable gift to teens, therapists, and parents. Teaching the importance of breath to teens can be a challenge, and Dewar demystifies this process in a way that is relatable and deeply insightful. This essential resource has been long overdue!”
—Goali Saedi Bocci, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist, author of The Social Media Workbook for Teens, coauthor of The Positivity Workbook for Teens, and adjunct professor in the Pepperdine Graduate School of Education and Psychology

Goali Saedi Bocci

A powerful combination of practical wisdom, precise instruction, and passionate advocacy for the power of mindful breathing. Matthew Dewar has written a much-needed book that will support countless teens, and I’ll be recommending it often.”
—David Treleaven, PhD, author of Trauma-Sensitive Mindfulness

David Treleaven

A practical guide to mindfully balance your breath, body, emotions, and stress.”
—Christopher Willard, PsyD, author of Growing Up Mindful and Mindfulness for Teen Anxiety, and faculty at Harvard Medical School

Christopher Willard