It's no secret that meditation is more needed and more useful than ever. With so many kids feeling anxious about the quarantine and the uncertainty in the world, meditation can be an effective tool to bring emotional relief and teach self-regulation. Here are 6 easy steps to introduce meditation to your kids.
Kids are more connected to their inner nature and can tap into positive emotions more easily than many adults. Our job is to provide a set of tools they can utilize daily to keep, and grow, this behavior.
1. Start with movement
For most young kids, attempting to sit in meditation without any exercise first will be a frustrating experience. Kids understand energy. And, energy can be used as a vehicle to meditation. Start with 5-10 minutes of energetic exercises such as jumping jacks, scissor jumps or running in-place.
2. Use positive language
While exercising, maintain a positive attitude that will get kids thinking about their ability to monitor their emotions and tune into positive feelings. Affirmations such as "I am positive!" work great for this.
3. Use breathing to channel the energy
The next step is to start slowing down the intensity of the exercises and to start replacing them with breathing. Breathe diaphragmatically (with your belly) holding the breath longer and making the inhales and exhales deeper each time.
4. Sit down, breathe and focus on the heart
The other thing that kids understand well is positive emotions. In a sitting position do a few more rounds of breathing, but this time, with the hands on the heart, imagine this energy you've built up turning into rays of green light that are shooting from the heart.
5. Become a hero
What good is love if you don't share it? Kids love being heroes. Use the light shooting from your heart to send love to someone or something that might need it. It can be a group of people (frontline healthcare workers), a person you love, a pet or a plant. Become a hero using your heart to uplift others.
6. Sit in stillness
Finally, sit in silence and stillness for 30 seconds or longer if you can. It helps to play soothing music at this point. Each child is different, so start small and build your way up.
At LoveHero we are experts at teaching children meditation. Our livestream meditation classes have effectively taught self-regulation to many children and many of our kids ages 4-11 have daily meditation routines. Kids are more connected to their inner nature and can tap into positive emotions more easily than many adults. Our job is to provide a set of tools they can utilize daily to keep, and grow, this behavior. The only way to transform the world is to give children the tools to transform themselves.
Love and strength.
Andrés Restrepo
Founder of LoveHero
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