Should Children be Taught to Meditate at a Very Early Age?
Kathy Mitro The answer is yes yes yes.
In fact the earlier they start the better, preferably right after they learn to speak.
By going into themselves they will find the peace strength and harmony to handle almost any situation they run into in life.
Meditation will bless them with an inner calm.
Meditation will enable them to sit and quietly contemplate problems instead of reacting out without really thinking.
If we want a society of peace we must start with the children, they are the future.
If we want peaceful children and adults they must look to within themselves to find it.
There is no better path to peace within than meditation, and at the present we are only thinking adults will benefit, when in fact a young mind is much easier taught than an older one.
By starting early we can hope to possibly eliminate harmful experiences that can lead to a damaged adult psyche
Kathy Mitro
Children’s Meditation
Children and adolescents encounter stress at home and at school—just as adults do in jobs and relationships. Many professionals believe we’re seeing an epidemic of adolescent depression, driven by stress, with the average onset of depression appearing as early as age 14.
Stress not only interferes with learning but also places young people at increased vulnerability to drugs or alcohol. Research shows that the Transcendental Meditation technique is a powerful stress buster—and it works for children as well adults.
Easy meditation for children
The Transcendental Meditation technique is easy for children to practice because it does not require controlled focus or concentration, and children can practice it without having to sit perfectly still. Even children with ADHD can practice this meditation successfully.
Because the TM program is validated by hundreds of scientific research studies, parents and educators can feel confident that the program is safe and reliable. It’s well established that the TM program can help children cope with stress and improve learning ability and behavior. Over 150,000 school children around the world have learned the TM technique in the past 3 years alone, and the program has been successfully used in the classroom for 40 years.
Meditation and the brain
Science has looked at what happens in the brain during the TM technique. Daily practice produces a healthy state of coherence and balance throughout the brain, with increased activation of the pre-frontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for discrimination and higher reasoning. This type of more orderly brain functioning is not found while a child is studying, playing, watching TV or listening to music; nor does this balanced, holistic brain functioning come about through other types of relaxation or meditation exercises, such as mindfulness, watching the breath, visualizing, or guided imagination—all such activities activate specific areas of the brain but have not been found to increase EEG coherence.
Everything good about your child’s brain depends on coherent and orderly brain functioning. Higher EEG coherence is associated with sharper focus and comprehension, improved learning ability, heightened intelligence and creativity and better moral reasoning.
Child anxiety
Practice of the TM technique for 10 minutes twice daily not only stimulates brain development and learning ability in children, but also provides natural relief from stress, anxiety, depression and fatigue. Reducing stress and increasing inner happiness improves a child’s flexibility, social abilities and self-esteem. Children, who naturally find self-approval from within, rather than seeking it mostly from the outside, are less influenced by peer pressure and make better decisions.
The Transcendental Meditation technique is a valuable tool for a child as she matures, preparing her to meet the stresses and challenges of adolescence and adulthood.
Meditate with your children
Children benefit most from meditation when their parents are also meditating. A family that meditates together typically finds that their home life grows more harmonious and blissful. There’s more time for nourishing interactions when stress is released during meditation, instead of through outbursts and arguments. What would be better for your children: zoning out in front of the TV, or a few minutes of daily meditation?
At what age can a child learn to meditate?
Parents may wonder: What age is it appropriate for my child to learn meditation? What type of meditation is most beneficial for children?
Because very young children are still integrating their inner world with the outer world around them, they need a meditation practice that does not require them to sit still or that inhibits their natural inclination to know and discover.
What is the best time in a child’s development to sit and practice eyes-closed meditation? According to the timeless tradition of meditation that gave us the Transcendental Meditation technique, no sooner than ten years of age. Starting with just a few minutes morning and afternoon, children ten and older find the sit-down, eyes-closed practice of the TM technique effortless and enjoyable, something they can do on their own or with meditating friends or family members.
Children under 10 receive a practice appropriate for the developmental stages of early childhood, the Maharishi Word of Wisdom Technique. Children starting at ages three to four can learn this eyes-open, “walking” meditation. This practice strengthens the mind and helps stabilize the emotions of the young child—nourishing her inner being in a gentle, holistic way. The technique is practiced a few minutes each day with eyes open, while the child is quietly engaged in easy, natural activities such as walking or coloring. The child grows in stability in relation to the outer world and does not become introverted or withdrawn—as may occur through use of an adult meditation practice that would be unnatural for them.
Gary Richardson
Palvinder Dhami
First
we need to create an interest for meditation in the minds of children.
Once a child understands a bit of meditation and shows keen interest in
spirituality, then they make the progress very quickly. A child's mind
has much less of accumulated debris of thoughts, emotions, addictions,
habits etc. etc., therefore, is much easier and faster to empty the
mind resulting into quick progress on the path. The longer we wait to
start taking the interest in meditation practice, the more difficult
will it become to progress in meditation. We the grown up are over
burdened with worldly knowledge, experience, education, desires,
miseries, sorrows, and harder it becomes to format our hard drive. A
child's mind is already more like a clean slate, therefore, much easier
to progress in meditation.
Palvinder Dhami
In fact the earlier they start the better, preferably right after they learn to speak.
By going into themselves they will find the peace strength and harmony to handle almost any situation they run into in life.
Meditation will bless them with an inner calm.
Meditation will enable them to sit and quietly contemplate problems instead of reacting out without really thinking.
If we want a society of peace we must start with the children, they are the future.
If we want peaceful children and adults they must look to within themselves to find it.
There is no better path to peace within than meditation, and at the present we are only thinking adults will benefit, when in fact a young mind is much easier taught than an older one.
By starting early we can hope to possibly eliminate harmful experiences that can lead to a damaged adult psyche
Kathy Mitro
Children and adolescents encounter stress at home and at school—just as adults do in jobs and relationships. Many professionals believe we’re seeing an epidemic of adolescent depression, driven by stress, with the average onset of depression appearing as early as age 14.
Stress not only interferes with learning but also places young people at increased vulnerability to drugs or alcohol. Research shows that the Transcendental Meditation technique is a powerful stress buster—and it works for children as well adults.
Easy meditation for children
The Transcendental Meditation technique is easy for children to practice because it does not require controlled focus or concentration, and children can practice it without having to sit perfectly still. Even children with ADHD can practice this meditation successfully.
Because the TM program is validated by hundreds of scientific research studies, parents and educators can feel confident that the program is safe and reliable. It’s well established that the TM program can help children cope with stress and improve learning ability and behavior. Over 150,000 school children around the world have learned the TM technique in the past 3 years alone, and the program has been successfully used in the classroom for 40 years.
Meditation and the brain
Science has looked at what happens in the brain during the TM technique. Daily practice produces a healthy state of coherence and balance throughout the brain, with increased activation of the pre-frontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for discrimination and higher reasoning. This type of more orderly brain functioning is not found while a child is studying, playing, watching TV or listening to music; nor does this balanced, holistic brain functioning come about through other types of relaxation or meditation exercises, such as mindfulness, watching the breath, visualizing, or guided imagination—all such activities activate specific areas of the brain but have not been found to increase EEG coherence.
Everything good about your child’s brain depends on coherent and orderly brain functioning. Higher EEG coherence is associated with sharper focus and comprehension, improved learning ability, heightened intelligence and creativity and better moral reasoning.
Child anxiety
Practice of the TM technique for 10 minutes twice daily not only stimulates brain development and learning ability in children, but also provides natural relief from stress, anxiety, depression and fatigue. Reducing stress and increasing inner happiness improves a child’s flexibility, social abilities and self-esteem. Children, who naturally find self-approval from within, rather than seeking it mostly from the outside, are less influenced by peer pressure and make better decisions.
The Transcendental Meditation technique is a valuable tool for a child as she matures, preparing her to meet the stresses and challenges of adolescence and adulthood.
Meditate with your children
Children benefit most from meditation when their parents are also meditating. A family that meditates together typically finds that their home life grows more harmonious and blissful. There’s more time for nourishing interactions when stress is released during meditation, instead of through outbursts and arguments. What would be better for your children: zoning out in front of the TV, or a few minutes of daily meditation?
At what age can a child learn to meditate?
Parents may wonder: What age is it appropriate for my child to learn meditation? What type of meditation is most beneficial for children?
Because very young children are still integrating their inner world with the outer world around them, they need a meditation practice that does not require them to sit still or that inhibits their natural inclination to know and discover.
What is the best time in a child’s development to sit and practice eyes-closed meditation? According to the timeless tradition of meditation that gave us the Transcendental Meditation technique, no sooner than ten years of age. Starting with just a few minutes morning and afternoon, children ten and older find the sit-down, eyes-closed practice of the TM technique effortless and enjoyable, something they can do on their own or with meditating friends or family members.
Children under 10 receive a practice appropriate for the developmental stages of early childhood, the Maharishi Word of Wisdom Technique. Children starting at ages three to four can learn this eyes-open, “walking” meditation. This practice strengthens the mind and helps stabilize the emotions of the young child—nourishing her inner being in a gentle, holistic way. The technique is practiced a few minutes each day with eyes open, while the child is quietly engaged in easy, natural activities such as walking or coloring. The child grows in stability in relation to the outer world and does not become introverted or withdrawn—as may occur through use of an adult meditation practice that would be unnatural for them.
Gary Richardson
Palvinder Dhami
Palvinder Dhami
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