Teach your Child Meditation by Lorraine Murray

Meditation is normally seen as an adult activity where people try to find ways to help them balance the stress in their life in a holistic and spiritual way. However it isn’t always considered something that children would or could do.

In society we become increasingly aware, courtesy of the media, of how children experience more and more stress – bullying, exams, dysfunctional families… the list goes on. Nutrition has been highlighted as a key factor in child health and at last, many organisations and parents are realising the link between behavioural changes and diet. What many don’t realise is that the simplicity of meditation practises can help children manage their own stress too.

Life is always full of challenges and stress – in fact stress is a very normal part of who we are. Without the stress response (our fight or flight reaction) we might not live as long. Stress is an in-built motivator and survival mechanism. The problem is not stress, it is how we deal with it and also whether we ignore symptoms that move from acute to chronic stress. So teaching our children these simple methods, like meditation, can help them become more aware of stress and ways in which to keep it in balance.

Being In The Moment

Meditation is, simply put, a way to focus on the moment. Whether that means aware of thoughts and feelings – or focussing on an object or physical sense (eg sound) – it simply means being aware of the now. Often when I teach meditation, adult students are keen to rush along the path of experience to reach their goal. It takes a few tries for them to appreciate that the path is the goal – being aware of it and experiencing it fully.

In some respects, adults are harder to teach mediation to than children. Mainly because we think so much and our intellect challenges anything that it does not understand. Children are happy and willing to listen to a guided meditation. They accept the guidance of words with great curiosity and wonder about what they will experience through feelings and in their imagination.

Focus On The Breath

One of the simplest techniques that I use with children when teaching them meditation is to get them to focus on their breath. Depending on their age, I modify the language so that they can understand what I am asking them to do. If their focus is a little scatty, then I would even get them to place their finger on their nose to bring their attention to the breath that way. Or perhaps you could ask them to place their hands on their chest so that they could feel the movement of their breath entering and leaving their body.

Practical Meditation

People often think that meditation is only a dedicated, daily discipline of rising at dawn, sitting cross-legged and meditating for 20 minutes or so. However meditation can take many forms and if being aware of the moment is key to this, then noticing your breath at intervals during the day (even if it is only for 30 seconds) will still help to bring in balance, perspective and reduce stress.

One of the added benefits of teaching your child meditation is that whilst you guide them to do so, you are participating in the activity too. Therefore you will benefit from the meditation and de-stressing experience also. It is a wonderful thing to do, sharing that moment with your child in meditation and no matter how brief , with regular practise it can help create a stronger bond between the family.

Copyright 2008 Lorraine Murray teaches meditation to all age groups and runs classes in Scotland. She has produced a children’s meditation CD also in download format and has a free children’s meditation track available for download on the website. She is currently writing a book ‘how to teach your child meditation’ which is due for release in early 2009. For more information please visit her company Feel Good Therapies Ltd at www.ilovefgt.com