New Delhi, Oct. 9 -- Marking World Mental Health Day, Prithvi Raj Banerjee, founder of the US-based volunteer-led nonprofit MindGym Initiative, has called for greater focus on preventive mental well-being, particularly among children and young adults facing digital distractions, information overload and modern-life pressures.
Banerjee, an IIT (BHU) and MIT-trained technologist and mindfulness coach, said simple mental exercises could help improve concentration, manage anxiety and develop healthier thinking patterns.
"Just as physical exercise strengthens the body, carefully designed mental exercises can help train attention and emotional self-regulation," said Banerjee, author of Mindful Thinking. The initiative views attention as a skill that can be strengthened through regular practice.
In his book, Mindful Thinking: Simple Ways to Let Go of Your Anxiety, Boost Your Productivity and Rewire Your Thoughts, Banerjee outlines 12 MindGym techniques structured into an eight-week programme. These include Belly Breathing, Bumblebee Hum, Balanced Breath, Body Radar, Word Anchor, Catch & Drop and Play & Pause. MindGym workshops also use interactive games and biofeedback-based activities, including Mindball, to make attention training engaging.
Since 2017, the initiative has conducted hundreds of workshops involving thousands of children and young adults from varied backgrounds. Observations before & after sessions indicated improvements in participants' ability to settle and sustain attention, though these are not clinical evidence of treatment effectiveness.
Banerjee said managing attention is an essential skill in a technology-driven world. Proceeds from his book support free MindGym workshops.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.