For younger kids, I finish classes with what I call a relaxation moment, where I ask then to visualise parts of their body for instance... First step into meditation!
"Introducing children to yoga, meditation, and spirituality is one of the greatest gifts we can give them. It can set their future on a nourishing and creative course. As teachers, we need to know how to present this knowledge so that children of different ages will receive the most benefit from it.
When we teach meditation children, we need to choose
age-appropriate techniques that foster their total growth and development. The
word “meditation” is an English term for a wide range of practices and
techniques. Meditations for children cannot be the same as those taught to middle-aged
business people or spiritual aspirants seeking higher knowledge. Rather, in
this context, meditation is a process that supports the growth of the body-mind
of the child, fosters the development of each child’s own unique personality,
and supports creativity and expression.
Meditation techniques for children can help them relax and focus
better during school, so that they can concentrate and memorize more
effectively. From the spiritual perspective, good meditation techniques teach
children self-awareness, encourage them to be themselves, and help them face
life with greater belief in their potential.
There are three broad age groups that we need to consider when
teaching yoga to children: those below the age of eight years, children between
the age of eight and puberty, and post-pubertal teens.
Meditation for
Children Below Eight Years
From the point of view
of yogic physiology, children below age eight do not need much formal
meditation training. It is more important for these children that their parents
learn yoga and meditation and carry yogic principles into their homes. Children
absorb the energy of the environment. If their parents practice some form of
self-development, their children will grow up in a healthier, more relaxed and
aware environment.
Parents need to
practice meditation techniques that increase their own capacity for awareness
in the midst of their busy lives, so that they can be more present and
available to their children. The child needs to know that a parent is really
interested in them, is really listening to and attending to them. At the same
time, parents need to learn how to allow children to be themselves and to
foster each child’s own unique being and abilities.
One meditation
technique can be used with children in this age group, however. A modified
practice of yoga nidra is a deep relaxation practice in the
Corpse Pose (Savasana). In this practice we cannot ask the children to feel
individual parts of the body, but rather we work with awareness of larger
parts. For example, we may playfully instruct the child in body awareness by
saying, “Feel that you are a statute until I count to 10. Now bend your elbows
and now straighten your arms.” We give similar instructions with the legs and
may ask them to wiggle their toes, and so on. This takes their awareness
through the body.
Once children have
developed a little body awareness, we can teach them to listen to and follow
outside sounds, or to visualize imaginary realms, or we can read stories that
stimulate their imaginations.
Meditation for
Children From Eight to Puberty
By the age of eight, a
child’s fundamental personality has formed and his or her body begins a process
of preparing for puberty. Changes begin to occur in children’s brains around
the age of eight, and these changes reach a peak during puberty. When we teach
meditation to this age group, our main aim is to support balanced physical and
mental development. This helps the child be better mentally prepared for the
onslaught of feelings, desires, and urges that arise during puberty. It also
supports the child’s ability to take in knowledge at school, and to develop a
relaxed focus and good memory.
Eight-year-olds in
India learn three practices to foster total physical, mental, and spiritual
development. These are Sun Salutation for the body, alternate nostril breathing
for the brain and mind, and mantras for the deeper mind and spirit. These
practices can slow the onset of puberty and balance its effects by acting on
the subtle channels that flow in the spine. Mental development then has time to
catch up to physical changes.
Yogic physiology
explains how this occurs. A child’s physical changes during puberty are under
the control of pingala nadi, the spinal channel that carries prana, the life
force. Mental development occurs under the control of ida nadi, the spinal
channel that carries psychological force. Excessive stimulation of the physical
channel alone, as tends to occur in the normal social environment, causes
imbalanced development and can make puberty a rough process. The yogic
practices taught children at this time stimulate both channels equally, to
stimulate physical and mental growth at the same time.
The practice of Sun
Salutation balances the life force, prana, preventing it from becoming jammed
up in the sexual centers (swadhisthana chakra). One note of caution is to teach
children only asanas that are playful and that do not put too much pressure on
the endocrine system. Never hold the major poses for extended periods, as they
will overstimulate the physical systems and can cause imbalanced development.
Alternate nostril
breathing is a pre-meditative practice that balances the flow of energy in both
ida and pingala. This pranayama directly affects the physical and mental
systems by balancing both sides of the brain. Do not teach breath retention to
children. Simply get them to observe the flow of the breath in on one side and
out on the other, alternating sides. This will calm and balance them.
Mantras are the main
meditative practices taught to this age group, as they powerfully affect the
brain and its development. The main mantra taught is the Gayatri mantra. This
mantra has 24 syllables, each of which stimulates a different part of the
brain. Gayatri is the mantra to stimulate our intelligence.
All of the practices
listed above, including yoga nidra as detailed for younger children, will
support a child’s ability to learn, to take in and digest information at
school, and to develop individual interests.
Post-Puberty
Our students in the
post-pubertal stage of adolescence can engage in more classical forms of
meditation. We can teach them techniques that further support their mental
development, for example, so that they can stay relaxed and able to concentrate
during these most important learning years.
Again, one of the best
practices to teach is yoga nidra. This time we can use the adult form, rotating
the awareness through the body parts and then taking awareness deeper into the
breath and mind.
Visualization
techniques are wonderful for this age group, and techniques that develop memory
and mental power are particularly useful. For example, we can ask a child to
visualize an imaginary blackboard and ask them to see themselves writing the
letters of the alphabet on this board in colored chalk. Or in this day and age,
to visualize a computer screen and see themselves creating their own computer
game, following their hero through any story they want to create.
Breath meditations are
useful for helping students who are at home studying. It is important for
students to remain relaxed and receptive, and to take regular productive and
relaxing breaks from study. They can, if they wish, use that time to mentally
review their work."
Source: Dr. Swami Shankardev, http://www.yogajournal.com/article/teach/teaching-meditation-to-children/
www.soyoga.com.sg
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