Do You Meditate with Your Kids?

Do you meditate with your kids? ??‍♀️

Meditation has tremendous mental, emotional, and physical benefits, for both children and adults. Studies have shown that meditation and mindfulness can lead to improved mood, regulation, focus, and school performance among children. More and more schools are incorporating some form of yoga/meditation/mindfulness into their curriculums and after school programs, and have seen amazing results!

As a Kids Yoga teacher, and a Kids Yoga Teacher Training Instructor, it’s my job to encourage families to try yoga, practice yoga, and use yoga tools and teachings in everyday life! It’s something so simple, and so beneficial to your child’s development and emotional health and happiness. So give it a try!

This weekend, introduce your kids to meditating! Mine loooove little guided meditations…especially about the beach.

Here’s an easy way to start:

??‍♀️Talk to them briefly about how sometimes our bodies feel a little “crazy?” and it can be hard to find our calm bodies when we need to. (I like to talk about “monkey mind” vs “calm mind”.) Tell them how sometimes taking a few deep breaths or imagining a special place for a minute or two can sometimes help calm our minds and bodies and help us feel better. .
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??‍♀️Have them lie down on their backs, close eyes, take deep breaths (I have mine place their hands on their bellies to feel the rise of the belly on the inhale, the fall of the belly on the exhale). Then talk about a place (I let them choose…beach, mountains, the fair, the zoo, the farm, etc). Now begin taking them on this journey…talk about the smells of _____, the sounds of _____, the taste of ________, the feel of ________. Really be in that place with them, let them engage their senses and imagine they really can sense these things, like they really are there. Depending on their age, development, and ability to remain still, you can go into further details and get as elaborate as you like. .
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??‍♀️After about 5 minutes or so, depending on the child, bring them slowly out of it, and talk with them about how that felt, what they pictured, if it was challenging to be still, how their body feels, what calm feels like…It’s amazing to hear their experience and perspective!❤️

Let us know how it goes!

-Suzanne Brubaker, E-RYT and Kids Yoga Instructor
Owner, Water and Rock Studio
waterandrockstudio.com

Contact Water and Rock Studio here for Information on Kids and Families Yoga Sessions and Classes!