Meditation, yoga, and other mind-strengthening exercises are popping up all over the world, and for good reason. Studies show that these exercises help children to be more attentive, form good friendships, induce self-control, teach respect and empathy towards their peers while reducing stress, hyperactive behavior, reduce ADHD symptoms and increase their grades significantly. Providing children of today’s generation, where cyberbullying is on the rise, with the tools to defend against negative thoughts and behaviors, improve self-confidence, focus and treat others and themselves with respect is an offering that they will have for the rest of their lives. .
We live in a world where social media rules behavior and disconnection is a real and growing problem, our next generation needs a conscience muscle that schools can’t quite encapsulate.
So try these few exercises that can make meditation for kids a fun and enjoyable learning curve.
1. Guided meditation: the globe
To add a visual component to a very simple breathing exercise, this guided meditation technique can help. You can do this exercise standing or sitting.
1. Relax your body by inhaling and exhaling deep breaths through your nose.
2. Inhale slowly to fill your belly with air, while visualizing a balloon expanding.
3. Breathe out slowly through your nose as you release the air from your belly as if you were deflating the balloon. You can even let out a whistle.
4. Continue for several minutes.
2. Guided meditation: Follow the leader
This meditation technique is for children over 5 years old. Ask your children to visualize their best friend, with whom they share all their exploits and secrets. Ask them who leads and who follows. That is, the one who generally makes the decisions in the group and who they generally admire, since their older brother will be the leader and they will be the followers. Ask them to associate the leader as the breath and the follower as the mind. Then follow the steps below.
1. Sit down and close your eyes. Make sure you are comfortable.
2. Take deep inhalations and exhalations. Pay attention only to your breathing.
3. Then have the mind follow the breath no matter what. Imagine yourself following your brother, your breath. Make the mind focus only on the breath and follow the breath.
4. Count your breaths on each exhalation. Do not rush. The mind will want to hurry up and count before you exhale, but make sure you don’t skip.
5. Slowly count to ten at the end of each exhalation and continue to follow the breath.