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Meditation for Kids : A Guide to Help Children Relax and Become less StressedAuthor: Helen MaffiniMeditation can help children to overcome feelings of
stress
or despair. Many students find that school-related stressors such as low grades, overly challenging classroom settings, athletic requirements, peer relationships,
conflicts with others,
exams, and clashes with teachers cause undue stress. Although occasional or moderate stress is for the most part healthy, children exposed to high stress levels over time can damage or impair cognition.
Learning cannot take place when the mind is stressed. 
Some children may feel emotionally hijacked when they have an argument with a friend, receive disappointing marks or don’t understand lessons. Daniel Goleman explores the idea of “emotional hijacking”. He explains it happens in a split second timeframe. It then triggers a specific reaction prior to the thinking brain (neocortex) having assessed what is happening. this often results in actions that may not have been a good idea, had the neocortex come first! The amygdala also plays an important role here. Meditation for kids provides parents with a way to cool down and bring into more focus to their child. Meditation provides parents with a way to help kids cool down, clear their minds, and have better concentration. 1. These activities can be done at desks or students may prefer to lie down on the floor or get into a more comfortable position. 2. Ask students to close their eyes. Explain you are going to ask them to imagine they are in another place where they feel calm and happy. 3. Ask the students to
breathe in deeply.
Breathe in. Breathe out. Continue deep breathing for one minute. It is a good idea to play soft classical music or nature sounds in the background. 4. Begin to read the meditation exercises in a slow, even voice taking time between the words or phrases. 5. At the end of the meditation you may wish to continue with the deep breathing. 6. Ask children to open their eyes. Stand up slowly and stretch their arms and feel how relaxed their body feels.
There are many good resources for children available to practice meditation for kids. Scripts for MeditatingListen to this great video clip with your child today!Try these scripts to help children relax and reflect. Sit quietly or lay down on the floor. Play soft instrumental music in the background. Meditation for Kids 1 Close your eyes…..breath in deeply…..relax your body…..imagine a warm, rainy day…listen to the raindrops dripping slowly and magically from the sky…. Breath in and look at the clouds above…see the sunshine peeking out from behind…feel the calmness of the day…imagine a rainbow in the sky……see the colours of the rainbow…see how it sparkles and shines…imagine yourself climbing the rainbow reaching for your dreams……reaching and reaching to the clear blue sky until you can grab your dreams in your arms. Meditation for Kids 2 Relax…close your eyes…imagine you are a star shining brightly in the night sky…breath in deeply…breath out all your negative energy…for you are a free star shining in the dark sky…imagine your self flying around visiting all the other stars or floating higher and higher....... in the sky peacefully…breath out again…and breath in deeply full of hopes and dreams from the night sky…… Meditation for Kids 3 Relax your arms....relax your legs....let your neck and your face release all the tension inside.......breath out all the stress that has built up in your body......let your feet hang peacefully....loosen your shoulders......feel all the tension being released as you breathe deeply out of your stomach....imagine your body is calm and relaxed.....imagine you are floating....all the weight has been removed from your body...you are weightless and are free.....feel your calm, relaxed body swaying in the wind and feeling happy and light-hearted.....breathe in and breathe out....allow your mind to imagine a state of calm and happiness.......slowly open your eyes.....
Yoga ResourcesEternity-Yoga.com Learn about Yoga Poses for Kids, meditation techniques, yoga DVDs, newsletters, resources and e-books. Discover the ancient secrets of yoga that can be applied towards your child's development.
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