Meditating with kids
I have a wonderful memory I’d love to share. I was about 7 years laying in bed getting ready for sleep and my mum was kneeling next to me. She asked me to close my eyes and spoke softly as she encouraged me to take deep breaths and ran her hand lightly over my arms, back, legs, head and face gently encouraging me to relax.
I don’t remember the words but I still remember the feelings. I felt completely relaxed, embraced in love, calm and very special.
Mum had introduced me to the art of mindfulness and guided meditation with children. I’m not sure she even meant too, it was all intuitive.
I lost my Mum when I was 11 so this is one of those memories I love to hold. It would be many years before I understood this special moment was about relaxation and meditation.
I was introduced to a wonderful kids meditation book called Indigo Dreaming during my Art Therapy studies and well before I had my own children. It is filled with lovely short guided meditation for kids. I began using the book in my art therapy sessions with at risk teenagers (making up some of my own examples) with positive results such as a calm and happy space during group work!
I introduced my son as a baby using my own intuition as a guide. Gently stroking his body and softly lulling him to sleep with made up stories. He is now 7 and often asks for meditations and usually prefers the ones I make up than the ones I find it books. We start the same way each time. Eyes closed, hands on tummy, feel tummy go up and down with breath before making up a magical journey.
Is this called meditation, a mother’s love/soothing…
Does it matter?
Perhaps we don’t need a label, perhaps it is about leaving our children feeling a wave of love, relaxation, calm and connection.
I love that even though time on earth with my own Mum was so short, she still gave me lots of little gifts like this.
Here is a short guided meditation I’ve written for you to try at home with your children.
The rainbow hug by Kylie Cook
Close your eyes
Put your hands in your belly
(Let your giggles out and try again)
Take a big deep breath in through your nose and feel your hands on belly move
And breath out through your mouth
Take a few more big deep breaths
Imagine now that you can see your favourite colour in your mind
Maybe it’s blue or pink, or whatever you like
This beautiful colour is like a sparkly light
Imagine the light is covering your whole body, sparkling and dancing as it moves around you You feel so nice and relaxed and calm
All the way from the top of your head to your little toes
As you breathe in the colour fills your body and mind and now the colour changes into all the colours of the rainbow and as you look closer it is a rainbow.
You reach out and touch it and you realise you can climb all the way up! So you do and slide all the way down feeling so happy and loved.
You sit at the bottom of the rainbow feeling all the love that surrounds you feeling calm and happy in your heart.
I’d love to hear your own experiences with this or your own.