Mind Over Summer: How To Make Mental Fitness Part Of Your Family’s Routine

When school winds down and summer break begins, most families focus on camps, trips and keeping screen time in check. But what if this quieter season is actually the perfect moment to teach kids a life-changing skill? According to mindset and wellness expert Vaishali Joshi, founder of oraHuman, summer is a golden opportunity to help children (and parents) build emotional resilience, focus, and inner calm. In this Q&A, she shares how to weave mindfulness into everyday family life, why summer is the best time to start, and the simple daily tools that make everyone feel more connected—no extra screen time required. —Noa Nichol

You describe summer break as a golden opportunity for teaching mental fitness—why is this often-overlooked time such a powerful window for emotional growth?

For one – the weather is better and we can teach mental fitness outside and that usually makes everyone happy 🙂 

But seriously – summer is generally when the pressure is “off” – especially for high school students who have the maturity to share and grasp concepts like stress. There is less noise and distraction in the brain – at least from school related demands. Its also great because there is time for them to learn and then truly experience the shift or immerse themselves enough to buy into how effective these practices instead of 1 hour a week sessions which would be held during school years due to limited time. 

How do you define “mental fitness” for kids, and why is it just as important as physical or academic development?

Mental fitness is about giving kids insights into their thoughts and emotions – an awareness of how their brain processes information that leads to thoughts and emotions and how they can actually be informed about what thoughts and emotions they want to act on and how. It empowers them to stay well of mind and emotion. There is this cool line I read on a recent post: IQ opens doors, EQ opens worlds and “WellQ” sustains worlds. Kids become aware of the multiple intelligences they possess so they can be conscious when they are responding to their daily experiences like exams, friends, parents, social media etc. This kind of fitness teaches them how to become more empathetic, present, calm and creative. It helps them identify distraction and it helps them focus. They learn to expand their awareness and perception so they do not feel tied to only one desirable outcome like getting 100% in math. They learn to be mentally agile and prepare for different outcomes. Mental fitness has so many benefits – the most important being how to manage stress and anxiety by strengthening their parasympathetic system. Empowering them to calm down. No physical or typical academic curriculum gives them these tools. 

Many parents might assume mindfulness or resilience training is too complex for young children—how do you make these concepts age-appropriate and fun?

For kids aged 5-12, mindfulness is about getting them to experience shifts in their moods and behaviors when they consistently practice movement and breathwork. That awareness is very important. During Covid, I taught a small group of elementary school kids who were stuck at home in my neighbourhood. At first, they were all distracted and “bored” but as the days went by, they learned how to quiet down and follow me because they loved how they’d feel at the end of class – some would go to sleep on their mat. On the other hand, I taught yoga to athletes at a well known high school. It was a mandatory class once a week at 7 am. I had hockey, basketball and track athletes. They came in with eyes rolling and pretty big egos. At the end of the term, they all sat in silence holding oranges talking about the qualities of the orange that they felt humans could learn from. We had deeper conversations. These practices soften egos, open minds and foster connection within and with others – which are critical leadership traits. 

What does a typical day of mental fitness look like in a family setting? Can you walk us through some simple habits or rituals that really work?

Sure – parents have a wonderful opportunity to create a family culture of mindfulness with kids over the age of 4. In my house, I started teaching breathwork to my son at age 4. He is 14 now. Here are a few things we do: 

1. Develop a daily morning 5 min ritual of connecting with self. SIt together in front of an altar where we pray or any place of connection you keep in your home. Light a candle, do a reading and practice a simple 2 min breathwork practice. In our home, we end with gratitude to the earth we walk on and name actual people in our circle that are struggling with illness or otherwise. 
2. After school, make it a routine to walk outside in nature – even in the winter. In the summer, we practice grounding by walking barefoot on grass or even stone. 
3. At night, spend 15 mins doing some calming tai chi or bedtime yoga – share a word or two about how each person feels about their day or what they are looking forward to the next day or one thing they learned. No judgement, commentary or advice. Just listening. Youtube is great for quick bedtime exercises. 
4. Eat mindfully i.e. without screens and maybe in silence. Take time to feel certain foods through senses like smell and touch. 
5. On weekends, plan some charity or community work or go to a place of spiritual practice – doesn’t have to be religious. It can be a family yoga class or a craft class that requires using your hands to feel and make things. Or go take a stretch goal like hiking in the hills by Milton. 
6. Institute rituals like leaving devices in a locked box away from where we sleep. 

We do not get to all this everyday – but when we fall off the wagon, we get back on it. These things are harder to start as kids become teenagers but it’s not impossible. When you start earlier, you foster a deeper connection in kids about what family is and how important it is to do things with family. 

You talk about the ‘WOW Moment’ as a tool for kids to reset emotionally—can you explain what that is and how parents can use it during meltdowns or tough moments?

My son now starts his breathing practice in the midst of challenging situations and conflict – its inspiring and funny at the same time. But it was a wow moment when he first did that at age 12 while I was having a tough conversation with him. I had to ask him why he was breathing “like that” and he said he felt calmer and it helped him listen. He displayed tolerance. His school once called and told me there was nothing to worry about because he had had an altercation with another boy but had chosen to “go to a nearby window and breathe” before he returned to speak to that boy. Kids can display these wow moments when they shift a language pattern and behavior in a positive, kinder direction because they can observe themselves starting to feel negative emotions like anger. When they come home and can speak about how they shifted, its a big win or wow! So I teach kids how to look at a scenario in more than one way and how they are much more empowered when they feel they can show up in a myriad of ways.  

What are the biggest myths or misunderstandings parents have when it comes to emotional intelligence or mindfulness in children?

One of the biggest myths or misunderstandings is that mindfulness means sitting in one place and meditating. Or that it is the same as minding one’s behaviour with others. There are a myriad of tools and techniques in the mindfulness box – meditation is just one. Mindfulness techniques strengthen our parasympathetic system which is the nervous system that relaxes us and allows for quiet reflection. When we can do that, we are able to consciously leverage our “full mind” i.e. look at a situation from multiple angles and make sure we act in alignment with what we truly value with the multiple intelligences we possess – like emotional intelligence. 

Your background includes mindfulness training with leaders like Eckhart Tolle and the Art of Living Foundation—how do those philosophies shape the way you approach mental fitness for families?

Mentally fit children learn from mentally fit parents and role models. This is why I offer the ORA Experience for working professionals and parents. The premise of mindfulness schools that I have studied with are somewhat the same: Observe yourself first. Be kind to yourself. Discriminate between what matters and does not matter in the present moment. Release what does not serve your way forward. Do not get attached to what your analytical brain or your intuition predicates. Leverage other parts of your brain. In families, these types of lessons heal or strengthen relationships. Families can forgive, listen actively, acknowledge hurt, move past arguments and difficult incidents with greater ease. 

Summer often brings screen-time battles. How can parents use mindfulness techniques to help kids (and themselves) set healthier digital boundaries?

Its a conversation about how much choice kids have with device use. At a young age, if kids are given devices to stay entertained, they will not develop the muscle of discovering other things that give them other types of fun and entertainment. Like sports, reading books, playing outside, doing chores etc. It’s the act of letting go of a device and switching gears to do something else. If they grow up around parents who are always on their devices, there is no way to teach them otherwise. Age 4-6 is a great age to introduce device use with rules like “you get 1 hour all weekend – you decide what day and how many mins you want to play each time” or “on weekdays, no device time between 6-8 pm”. What we are teaching is something called “healthy detachment” and mental agility – the muscle that helps us let go of one thing and move on to the next. Summer is a time of being outdoors and in third places like camps or summer jobs. Create a schedule that involves social interaction and a set schedule to get out of the house and create impact elsewhere. Letting them sleep in half the day and then have no consciously planned schedule or alternate interests or chores leads them back to the instant gratification they get from devices. It also promotes lethargy and inertia of body and mind.  

How can parents model emotional resilience in everyday moments—especially when they themselves are feeling overwhelmed?

We are in a collective epidemic of stress, anxiety, burnout and loneliness. And let’s face it – kids are challenging. A lot of parents do not feel they are showing up as best as they can or are reporting sustained strife with their kids. And its not just their won mental health parents are worried about – in a recent Pew Research study, 76% of American parents report depression and anxiety as being their #1 worry for their kids. Having a mental fitness practice and taking proactive control of their own mental health practices is imperative for parents. Here are a couple of tips: withdraw and practice silence in tough situations. Make your point, listen if your child is being respectfully communicative and do not invite a power struggle until both sides have decompressed. It’s not easy – because they are our kids and our worry for their future and wellbeing plays out in every scenario – but step back and observe – are you taking on too much pressure in any given scenario. Learn to CHOOSE your stoic response. Another tip: No matter how hard the workday has been, stick to ONE family habit – I listed a few earlier on in this interview. 

If a parent wants to get started this summer with building their family’s emotional toolkit, what’s the first simple step you recommend?

Consciously plan calming, reflective and empathy-based activities 2-3 times a week – volunteering, grounding, breathing, nature based activities, art, reflective conversations. Stay consistent. There is a very cool book we read as a family in our morning prayer sessions called “The Book of Awakening” by Mark Nepo. We open a random page and read it out loud and get each person to interpret the short story as a life lesson. Each story ends with a recommended mindfulness practice.