"How do you feel Sage?", I ask my four year old, and she replies almost always, "Good." Good is such a default answer for her that she would answer "good" if people ask her ANYTHING. "What's your favorite color Sage.? Sage saids assuredly," Good."While we always chuckle about it, I want her to be able to identify exactly what she feels in her body so she can decide what she feels comfortable to opt in or out of with people and with herself.

It made me think. How do we help her feel safe in her body and help her develop n awareness to the wide range of sensations and emotions potentially present in her body? Furthermore, how do we help her set boundaries for her own body and encourage her to respect other people's boundaries at the same time.

“Mom, I feel invisible”, said my then 5 year old toffee colored daughter Monroe Snow. As I drove her home from school, I immediately could feel sadness fill my body, because I remember vivid moments in my childhood when I felt invisible and like I didn’t belong. I remember picking up on non-verbal verbal communication that I didn’t belong. I felt, what people call, otherized. Often I wondered if it was my culture, my skin color, my hair, my gender, my speech. Either way, it sucked to feel this way.

For this reason, I have become OBSESSED with fun ways to cultivate a sense of belonging for my self and young ones equally.

When I began teaching children and adults, I would use mindfulness practices to bring attention to the students’ bodies for self regulation. I often encouraged them to close their eyes, but I made a big mistake. I didn’t give them choices.