Guidelines for meditating with children
♡ A cozy atmosphere makes the experience more enjoyable
When meditating, creating a warm atmosphere can be really supportive and help a child feel relaxed and secure. Here are a few ideas of something you could play with. It is not essential but can make a meditation experience even more enjoyable.
- Dim the lights in the room and light a candle or a lamp.
- If possible select a place that is free from clutter.
- You can add to the atmosphere by creating fragrance with essential oils or fragrant candles.
- It´s important that the child feels physically warm, so it´s a good idea to have blankets. Children also love cushions to relax on.
♡ What if a child doesn´t want to meditate?
Never force a child to meditate. Each one is always free to think whatever he/she would like to and it´s important for children not to feel that anyone is pushing them. But what we can do, is to introduce meditation to the child in such a way that it becomes attractive for them. Here are a few ideas to make the meditation time interesting and fun.
- Invite a child to spin the Fortune Wheel every morning. If a child doesn´t want to listen to the meditation connected with the quality it gets, he/she can at least get the positive message as an inspiration for the day.
- If a child doesn´t want to meditate, invite him/her to create their own meditation story and guide you! Many children love creating their own meditations and guiding their parents, teachers or friends into the meditation experience. Their imagination can really be fascinating!
- Keep a box with little things that can support the experience and that children can hold on to while meditating. This could be stones in different colours, feathers, or some little objects that represent the theme of the meditation.
♡ Sharing with each other after the meditation
It´s recommended to keep the guideline that no one speaks during the meditation. Then afterwards it´s good to give a child some space to share his/her experience. Most children really enjoy being listened to and often their experiences will surprise you. Some questions that you could ask:
- What did you visualize in the meditation?
- How did you feel during the meditation?
- Did anything you saw or experienced surprise you?
- There are also questions for each of the positive qualities that you can use (see them underneath each meditation).
