Meditation can not only bring great benefits in adults, but children can also achieve a change in attitude and way of seeing life!
Meditation is not just a technique, it does not mean sitting children to meditate for a while and then forget about it, it implies assuming a different lifestyle and understanding that children need to be happy, not be the best, they need to play and have a relaxed pace of life. Meditation can become a kind of antidote to many of the modern problems. We give you some exercises to start with your children:
Before starting, just remember some recommendations: when they are small, 4 or 5 years old, just 5 minutes a day of “meditation” will suffice. When they are older they can dedicate 15 minutes a day to this activity. Always do it at the same time, at least three days a week and in a quiet place, where you won’t be interrupted.
1. Technique “The Astronauts”
The goal is for children to learn to focus. To do this, tell him that they will be playing astronauts visiting other planets. He will be the earthling and you will be the alien. Then give him fruit and ask him to touch it with all his senses, as if he had never seen it. You must describe it as if it were an alien fruit that doesn’t know what it is.
2. “Meteorological Part” Technique
The goal is to enhance the child’s emotional awareness, making him win in introspection. You just have to sit down and close your eyes and start asking him questions about what he is imagining, focus on the weather, if it is cold, hot, if it rains or is cloudy.
Take the opportunity to explain that moods change as time and is normal.
3. “Like a Frog” Technique
The objective of this technique is to make the child learn to breathe deeply and begin to take the first steps in mindfulness meditation. Explain that she will imitate a spider, and she may suddenly jump up and down or just sit still. Ask him to breathe like a frog, slowly taking the air in through his nose as he inflates his tummy and gently releasing it through his mouth, as he deflates, he should concentrate on the movement of his tummy as he breathes. In this way you teach him self-control and, incidentally, help him breathe properly.