We are thrilled and honored to be working with your child(ren)!
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This video is a conversation between the instructors of Sacred Playground on how this kid's meditation course came about, and how we approach it. From left to right: Savitree, Anna and Jodh.
Meditation is a doorway into the world of innocence (non jaded-ness), play, inquiry, pure presence and connection. It offers other benefits: calm, focus, equanimity, groundedness, critical optimism (vs door-mat optimism) and a sense of okay-ness.
The shift into coming to one's own command center happens on each child's own time, and sooner than you think. It may be subtle, nearly unrecognizable, until one day, it's just there, plain as day.
The factors involved in seeing the results of this program is nuanced. In fact, we as Sacred Playground instructors find the need to remind ourselves that, for instance, even those that don't seem like they are paying attention are, in fact, taking in everything we throw at them.
How do we know? Parents report back, unprompted. And the children themselves shock us when we least expect it, with interactions that basically make us cry. As if they decided to let their guard down and show us, for a glorious moment, what they have internalized.
The shift into coming to one's own command center happens on each child's own time, and sooner than you think. It may be subtle, nearly unrecognizable, until one day, it's just there, plain as day.
The factors involved in seeing the results of this program is nuanced. In fact, we as Sacred Playground instructors find the need to remind ourselves that, for instance, even those that don't seem like they are paying attention are, in fact, taking in everything we throw at them.
How do we know? Parents report back, unprompted. And the children themselves shock us when we least expect it, with interactions that basically make us cry. As if they decided to let their guard down and show us, for a glorious moment, what they have internalized.
You've asked us some questions, so we'd like to answer them.
What happens in class? |
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It depends on the age group. While they are all meditation classes, meditation is introduced to the children in the form(s) appropriate to their age.
The Parent-Child class (for ages 2 to 6) takes into consideration both the parent and the child attending the class. It involves story-telling & movement, allowing both parent and child to experience the journey according to their levels of awareness. This is not a class for children with their parents next to them. This is a class for both the child and the parent.
The Yoga for Kids class (for ages 4-7) involves more movement than its older counterpart, and it also journeys into stories combined with movement, but without the parent integrated into their experience. They now get to experience meditation with themselves being the whole of who they are rather than as an extension of the parent.
The Meditation for Kids class (for ages 8-11) is ready to sit, connect with one another, as well as with themselves, and to use these tools to make better sense of the world both inside and out. While we have a weekly plan for them, they take the lead in that we open the space for some dialogue and self-expression as they come up, and we create safe space for them voice their thoughts and their will while at the same time creating healthy boundaries for the benefit of both the group and of themselves. Boundaries, along with space for expression, are safe containers for children.
Meditation is a practice that is done in a contained setting to cultivate tools that will help the child tap into their inner sense of self. It is not a practice, during which the meditator becomes oblivious to what is going on around them because they are "deep in meditation."
In fact, they become more fully aware of, and present to, what is going on in their environment while they stay tapped into their own center of gravity and focused on the task at hand, whether it be meditation, homework, play, or interacting with another person. For this reason, meditation can happen while walking, playing, eating, cooking...
And for parents: being fully present with child sans obligatory attitude is considered one of the highest form of meditation!
This is a long explanation for saying that, in class, we practice different forms of meditation, including but not limited to: sound meditation, breath meditation, movement meditation, play meditation, chocolate meditation, walking meditation, and interactive meditation. The 45 minutes of class goes really fast, so it becomes challenging to get a lot in. But it is enough time for them to get exactly what they need from the class each week.
In fact, they become more fully aware of, and present to, what is going on in their environment while they stay tapped into their own center of gravity and focused on the task at hand, whether it be meditation, homework, play, or interacting with another person. For this reason, meditation can happen while walking, playing, eating, cooking...
And for parents: being fully present with child sans obligatory attitude is considered one of the highest form of meditation!
This is a long explanation for saying that, in class, we practice different forms of meditation, including but not limited to: sound meditation, breath meditation, movement meditation, play meditation, chocolate meditation, walking meditation, and interactive meditation. The 45 minutes of class goes really fast, so it becomes challenging to get a lot in. But it is enough time for them to get exactly what they need from the class each week.
Is there homework? |
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Nope. The best way to integrate what they learn is to let it happen naturally, on its own time, and in its own effortless space. It's a form of savasana. For those that aren't familiar with that term, savasana is the final part of a physical yoga practice when you lie on your back with your eyes closed and rest... to let the yoga practice integrate into, and recalibrate, the body and mind.
What can I do to help? |
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Consider asking us - instead of your child- what we did in class. children are naturally very present. Abeit with good intentions, it is we, the adults, who draw them out of the present moment and into the past by asking the most popular, "so what did you do (in class) today?" That can be jarring for a child. You might have noticed the discombobulated look, or how they ignore the question, or dismiss it with a one-word reply: nothing.
Then at other times, out of the blue, they will tell you all about something that happened nearly a year ago as if it just happened yesterday, and it takes you minutes to figure out the timeline. Consider letting them tell you in their own time. They appreciate this more than you know. So will their sense of presence and stability.
Be the example - consider meditating! What Sacred Playground offers kids is a space where they feel safe to be who they are, where they experience tools that are fun, unique and emotionally soothing, and where they get a taste of what it feels like when they slip into a meditative space. This class gives them easy access to meditation techniques when they are ready to use it on their own, in the future, when they most need them. And if they feel that they need them now, in the present, and they are given the space to practice them on their own terms, they will use them. Another thing that gives them easier access to these techniques is seeing it happen around them... and by their parent(s). You may not see the fruits of your examples immediately, but it does come. And the best part is, YOU get to reap the benefits of meditation right away. Be careful, though, about falling into the trap of making your child join you in meditation. If they join you on their own, that's awesome. Otherwise, don't worry. They are benefiting through both you and the class.
Be the example #2 - set boundaries if you decide to practice meditation, don't be afraid to tell your child that while you are on the cushion, you are not available, and be ready to follow through on it. Boundaries around self-care are excellent ways to exemplify how to self-love. Remember: Children do not grow up treating themselves the way we treat them. They grow up treating themselves the way we treat ourselves.
Does it make sense to take the same series over and over again? |
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It does! Because repetition is habit forming. Please find more on this here.
What happens after age 11? |
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This age cap is case-by-case. The minimum age of 8 for this older group is more critical than the age cap of 11, because there is a huge difference in readiness (to edge up to the next form of meditation) between ages 7 and 8, but not so much between 11 and 12+. It depends on the child's individual maturity level and willingness to continue on with this course. Having a wider range of ages from 8 and up benefit all the ages as the more mature children can anchor the younger ones and the younger ones offer opportunity for the older children to lead by example. Having said that, we do not discuss the age of each child in class (unless they reveal it on their own), and they carry on throughout the series as if they are essentially all equals.
Still, we are open to adding on classes specific to ages 11 and up-- junior high and/ or high school levels. Each age-level course that exists today was formed thanks to parents who wanted this for their child(ren) and got a group of kids in the same age group together to make it happen. As soon as we have a minimum number of kids that are available at the same time and are interested in moving forward, we are ready to start. So let us know!
We hope this is helpful. If you have any questions that aren't answered here, please ask!
Peace to all, Love to all, Light to all
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