One of the best ways to teach children to meditate is through example, since children are curious beings and will try to imitate any behavior that we instill in them.
Meditation is a practice that offers benefits such as self-control and concentration. It also helps them to discover their body a little more through breathing techniques.
Likewise, children manage to learn to train the mind in order to relax, connect with their environment and calming their anxieties; breathing exercises play a fundamental role for the knowledge and management of the body.
Guided meditations can be done, lying in bed, before going to sleep at night, on a mat in the park in the open air, where they like best; but it is very important that children see it as a proposal to have fun, it should not be a mandatory activity.
Today's children have a completely different lifestyle than other generations. They spend very little time outdoors and fewer hours of interaction with other children. For these reasons, meditation becomes a useful alternative that can provide multiple benefits such as:
-Attention and self-control
- A pauses in the lifestyle of the minor.
-Relieves stress and tension.
-Promotes more kind and tolerant behaviors.
-Improves concentration and learning.
- Promotes empathy.
-Improves breathing and control of their bodies.
-Produces a decrease in disruptive behaviors.
-Helps them sleep better.
-Improves self-esteem.
It is recommended from 3 years of age to select activities, exercises and games that lead children to practice meditation.
As children grow (between 8 and 9 years old) they will better understand some attitudes and purposes of meditation, thus promoting their own practice.
Follow the following techniques to get a good meditation practice with the little ones:
1. The breath is the anchor.
Using a pleasant tone of voice m, ask the children to relax, sit or lie down, breathe deeply and try to keep up with you.
2. Music
Add soft music or nature sounds; ask them to close their eyes and focus on the music and their breathing.
3. Use your imagination
Invite them to recreate a beautiful and safe place; This practice invites the little ones to create their own space.
4. Be patient
In some cases children lose interest quickly, so it is advisable to start with short periods of meditation that last between three to five minutes.
5. Mantras
Teach them a mantra or create a phrase together that the kids understands, while they sits calmly with their eyes closed.
Finally I share a link where you will find a YouTube channel that provides different types and sounds of music to meditate with children:
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