The Gift of Insight through Meditation

I remember when someone suggested to me that I start meditating.  I was in a stressful corporate career and the thought of switching off my head was a little daunting.  How do you switch off your thoughts when you have to follow rules to meditate “correctly”.   My response "I can't meditate!!!!"

It's funny to hear those words come back at me when I suggest that meditation is a great thing to embrace into your life and to teach children, people just laugh and think I'm crazy.

I have tried a number of different styles of meditation and in the end I had to throw all the rules out the window and find my own style.  My style works for me.  I always feel relaxed and peaceful when I finish.  Sometimes my mind has wandered all over the place and other times it has been still and silent. I have just learnt to go with whatever happens and not get caught up in "doing it right".

I have seen amazing benefits from embracing meditation in my life, so I thought I would introduce it to my children at a young age.  My eldest was 5 and my youngest was 3 when I introduced a meditation CD into their bedtime routine.  The Indigo Dreaming - Meditations for Children CD was fantastic as it had very short guided meditations to teach the kids about breathing and relaxation etc.

As I grew more confident within myself I started to create my own guided meditations for the children.  What I loved about it was I could use guided meditation to teach my children about managing challenges in life.  They could visualise themselves facing fears and seeing a positive outcome.

My eldest is now 9 and he uses the techniques he has learnt in his everyday life.  He will use visualisations when he is playing sport such as seeing himself kicking the goal at footy, celebrating the goal and recognising how he feels.  It certainly has enhanced his self-belief.

My youngest is now 7 and he has a very low pain threshold, so when he is hurt  I remind him to breathe deeply and think about things that bring joy to his life.  So he stands there and says "Puppies, Kittens and Penguins"  taking a deep breaths and we find the screaming settles quickly.

Sensational Meditation for Children by Sarah Wood Vallely provides wonderful tips and tools for meditating with your children.  One of the meditations in the book is called The Happy Tree and my youngest son asks me for this meditation when he doesn't quite understand why he is feeling upset. In the meditation the child gets to ask his sad fruit what it needs to be like the happy fruit.  You will be amazed at what your child will share with you.  Not only does it provide you with insight into how your child is feeling, it empowers your child to understand how they feel and what they can do to bring themselves back into balance.

These are just some of the benefits that have been observed from the studies conducted on children who meditate:
Improved self-confidence

• Improved self-esteem
• Promoted positive thoughts, self-awareness and mindfulness
• Improved relationships and social skills
• Enhanced learning and increased attention span
• Enhanced concentration and focus leading to improved test and sports results
• Reduced anxiety, stress and negative emotions – anything that reduces stress enhances the immune system

Happy meditating!