Kids Meditation

Meditation, yoga, and other mindfulness practices are popping up in recent years—and for good reason. Studies have shown that teaching kids mindfulness practices can build students’ attentiveness, respect for fellow classmates, self control, and empathy, all while reducing stress, hyperactive behavior, ADHD symptoms, and depression. In addition, grades are shown to improve for students who participate in mindfulness programs.

Giving our children the tools to help them fend off negative thoughts and behaviors, build self-confidence, focus, and treat others and themselves with respect and appreciation is a gift they will have for the rest of their lives.

What is mindfulness?

Mindfulness is a whole body-mind state of awareness that involves ‘tuning in’ to the present moment, with openness and curiosity, instead of ‘tuning out’ from experience. Mindfulness is a state of being fully awake to life – being aware and undistracted in the present moment. It is about focusing attention on the present, rather than thinking about the past or worrying about the future- which is often our brain’s default mode.

Mindful awareness is something that we all possess and that can be strengthened through practice. Mindfulness can be developed through formal sitting meditation practices, or through informal everyday mindfulness activities that use the senses to anchor the attention: such as mindful walking, listening to music, eating or conversation. Mindfulness is a clinically proven tool to support well being and mental health by reducing stress and allowing life to be experienced more fully.

The benefits of mindfulness with children

• Research shows that mindfulness training increases connectivity in the frontal lobe of the brain, which is linked to improved attention, memory processing and decision making abilities.
• Mindfulness training involves tuning in to internal and external experiences with curiosity resulting in increased self-awareness, social awareness, and self-confidence.
• Mindfulness training increases children’s ability to self-regulate their emotions, especially difficult emotions such as fear and anger, through breathing and other grounding techniques.
• Mindfulness has been shown to improve empathy or the ability to understand what another person is thinking or feeling, which improves children’s awareness of others and helps them to build positive relationships.

Mindfulness and childhood mental health

• Mindfulness training has been to shown to reduce the severity of depression, anxiety and ADHD in children.
• Mindfulness builds resilience by giving children skills to help them to cope better with stress, as well as engage more fully with themselves and the world.

Program

Our Mindful Kids meditation program is designed to give you tools and techniques that you can use as a family. We will be exploring :

• Meditations for children
• Kid-friendly yoga and breathing practices
• Mindful games
• Stress, anxiety and ADHD-management tools for children (without medication)
• Emotional intelligence and compassion cultivation exercises

We will create a safe sanctuary space and guide them to open to “me” time to connect within to honor themselves and others.

Suitable for Children aged 7 to 12 years old.

Eligibility 

Children can be aged 7 to 12. The prerequisite is that the child wants it themselves and open to exploring.