Meditation for children
Many parents are silvers if it is advisable to meditation for children. Meditation is a powerful tool whose main objective is to exercise the mind through attention, to reach a state of mental calm and serenity. When you meditate, you get innumerable benefits to physical and mental level, an important improvement of the health, well-being and greater happiness. Considering all these benefits, why not facilitate the exercises of meditation to children, who are in full development at the physiological level, mental and as human beings? Currently, there are numerous programs to introduce the exercises of meditation to children in classrooms. This initiative, which began in the united States, is now spreading also in Europe, more and more colleges that join the initiative implemented programs of Meditation and Mindfulness in your educational plan. In parallel, also fathers and mothers can take on the challenge, practicing with your children, meditation for children, through simple techniques, will help them to manage their emotions, their life and achieve greater happiness.
How to help the meditation to children my children:
When you perform meditation exercises for children, your children will reap two immediate benefits:
Calm: the first effect of meditation for children, it is the calm and serenity that it offers. The meditation exercises for kids consist of to focus their attention, helping them to be more quiet and calm, increasing their capacity to focus attention in any situation.
Concentration: just like adults, to be more calm, increases your concentration. When you develop your ability to focus thinking, helps them to improve the attention, either to what you are doing at that moment, to be present and attentive to an explanation, or to attend and manage with greater skill and their emotions and desires. Imagine how far we would come if we could learn how not from that age.
“If you teach meditation to each child of 8 years, eliminaríamos the violence in a single generation”. Dalai Lama.
12 Benefits of meditation for children:
1. Learn to better manage their emotions and thoughts.
2. Increases your concentration and attention span.
3. Improves academic performance.
4. Increase their self-esteem.
5. Reduces stress and child anxiety.
6. Enjoy a better rest and more restful sleep.
7. You will become more responsible, reducing your impulsiveness.
8. Increases empathy and their capacity for gratitude, improving their social relationships.
9. Boosts your immune system.
10. Improves the ability to deal with life situations.
11. Provides the basis for a maturity more solid.
12. It will be much more happy.
Some meditation techniques for children:
It is important to meditate with the little ones, adapt the practice with meditation exercises for children, providing them with tools adapted to his age range. Remember that children do not have the same ability of concentration than adults, in addition to that, initially, there is a previous intention conscious of to meditate. To do this, there are numerous fun techniques, using stories, metaphors with nature, or elements of their environment everyday, with which you can bring meditation to your kids:
Meditation for children under 3 years of age: in the younger ages, simply “allowing them” to be with us during our own meditation, by letting them get close, by in arms, and, simply, to let them be until they are tired. Let us remember that one of the greatest sources of learning in humans is imitation. You can spend a few minutes before or after your meditation routine to “simulate” a meditation to be with them.
Meditation for children 3 to 9 years: in this age range, we can apply techniques already involve more actively the child, through activities that by “games” bear meditation. We can use stories, books, songs, sounds, or even through breathing, using metaphors that are fun, like a frog, and to allude to the movement of the latter with our belly breathing... Anything that help us to focus the attention of the child serves to help you meditate. After 5 years, we can already introduce a mantra simple.
Meditation for children as young as 8 or 9 years old: at this age, children are more able to understand some of the attitudes required to meditate. We are able to raise breathing techniques, practice meditation in silence, or to follow a guided meditation in which through tales adapted to their age, leads them to the meditative state. Of course, the mantra will always be, a great object of attention.