Meditation and mindfulness for young people

Meditation and mindfulness can help you to relax, reduce stress, and notice your thoughts and feelings. Read tips for meditation and mindfulness below.

Meditation is where you train your mind to focus on the present. It can help you to relax, reduce stress, and notice your thoughts and feelings.

It can be a good way to calm your mind and reduce negative self-talk, helping you to be kinder to yourself.

Learning to meditate takes time and practice. You're learning something new, and there is no pressure to get it right every time.

There are different meditation techniques, but one of the most common is to focus on breathing.

If you find your mind wandering or thinking about other things, that’s normal. Try not to be harsh on yourself. Let yourself recognise the thoughts coming to your mind and try to return your focus back to your breath.

You might also want to try listening to a guided meditation. This is where someone talks you through what to do, which can be helpful when you are just starting out.

Mindfulness is a form of meditation. It’s when you try and bring your focus and your attention to what you’re doing and to the things around you.

Being mindful can help you understand how your body is feeling, and to notice what you see, smell, taste, and hear. This can also help you be more aware of your thoughts and feelings.

Finding ways to be mindful, and practicing mindfulness, can take time to learn. It might take a while to get the hang of it, but it can have lots of great benefits, so it’s worth trying to see if it works for you.

Thank yourself for being here and taking the time to check in with how you’re feeling. 

There are lots of different ways you can practice mindfulness. It’s all about grounding yourself and trying to be present. Grounding yourself is a technique where you take notice of your surroundings and use your senses to be present and calm your body. 

You can try grounding yourself and being mindful by thinking about colours, textures, smells, sounds, and how things feel. Try to focus your mind on one thing at a time for as long as you like and then move on to the next one.  

You could try:

• Looking at things around you and name them to yourself.

• Listening out for five different sounds - you could be outside and hear the wind, birds, or a car passing. If you’re inside you might listen out for a TV, other people, or sounds from outside.

• Touching different objects and noticing how they feel - this might be something you’re wearing, a blanket, a water bottle, or anything else that feels grounding.

• Try the 5-4-3-2-1 technique – Name five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can taste, and then take one big breath.

• Body scan – this is when you focus on different parts of your body, slowly moving from the top of your head all the way down to your toes. 'Scan' your body as you go, thinking about how different parts of your body feel. Maybe some parts are tense, warm, tingling, or relaxed.

• Colouring or drawing – enjoy the colours or shapes of your drawing rather than focussing on drawing something specific.

• Writing – writing about your experiences and how you’re feeling can help you to organise your thoughts and calm your mind. Keeping a journal, or regularly checking in with yourself through writing, can be a good way to practice this.

• Walking – if you can, getting outside can be a nice way to ground yourself and practice mindfulness. Try thinking about the way the soles of your feet feel on each step, listening to the different sounds of the outdoors, and the feeling of air on your skin.

• Dancing – if you can, getting up and having a dance can be a fun way to practice mindfulness. Try taking notice of the music, how it makes you feel, and how you move.

• Eating or drinking – focusing on a taste can be a great way to ground yourself. Slow down your chewing and think about how things taste and feel in your mouth.

It’s normal for your thoughts to wander. When this happens try to refocus your mind back to what you were doing or back on your breath. If you do this every time it happens it will help your mind to learn.  

You can do these exercises anytime and anywhere. You can do them for as long or as little time as you like. 

Everyone has different ways of trying to relax, calm their nerves, or help with anxiety. But, taking some time for yourself, whether that’s through meditation, being mindful, or doing something else you enjoy, can really help if you’re feeling overwhelmed.

Meditation might not work for you, or you may feel that it does not help you in the way you need. We've got lots of other tips, and ways to get support, that might suit you better which you can find here.

All of the information on this page was created with practising health professionals. This page was reviewed in April 2025. We will next review the page in 2028.