The Power of Meditation for Kids
“If every 8 year old in the world is taught meditation, we will eliminate violence from the world within one generation.” – Dalai Lama
Well the Dalai Lama just sums it up beautifully.
Through meditation we teach our children that they can observe and ultimately manage their thoughts. The happiness of your life depends on the quality of your thoughts. You can have all the money in the world and still not be happy if you don’t have an internal world that is peaceful.
I clearly remember the first time I glimpsed that my inner world was not reflecting what I could see in my outer world. It was during my university years, when I was studying to become a teacher, I took a semester off to travel through Thailand. Off I went backpacking through Thailand for 3 months, without a care in the world. I have a vivid memory of sitting on a beautiful beach in the South of Thailand and feeling as though something was not quite right. I knew I should be feeling content and happy at that moment. However I felt troubled. Looking back I now realise that I was not at peace in my internal world. The external world was amazing; beautiful beaches, delicious Thai food, no study, no work, not a care in the world. My internal world however was not at ease. I had taken a semester off to travel in Thailand because I was suffering from severe anxiety. I was 21 years old, putting myself through my university degree, working 30 hours a week to cover my rent and other living expenses, I was struggling to juggle work and study. My anxiety reached a peak and I decided to take time off to travel. Despite the picture perfect location I was in, I was not at peace internally.
How different would my life have been if I had been taught meditation as a child? What if I had the opportunity to learn meditation at school? What if I had known there was a distinction between oneself and one's thoughts? What if I had the tools to transform my inner world? I certainly would not have endured years of anxiety. I can only imagine in retrospect the positive impact that meditation would have had on my young life. How different my life would have been, had I been given the tools at a young age to manage my thoughts. This would have had a positive impact on my mental health. I can’t change the past (nor do I want to) but I can use my experience to share what I’ve learnt through my own life experience.
Through Yoga Stars programs I aim to help children to manage their inner thoughts by providing them with self care tools such as meditation, which will ultimately free society of mental health issues. My goal is to positively impact children all across Australia through yoga and wellbeing programs, one school at a time.
Meditation is a powerful tool to help calm one's mind and bring peace to one’s experience in life.
Imagine if every 8 year old in Australia is taught meditation…