School Stress Meditation for Children and Young People

Stress is often thought of as an adult phenomenon but children can also experience the effects of long-term stress through their diet, environment and coping with change - like a new term of school or moving to secondary school. The news is often full of horror stories about the effects of bullying and exam stress but a change in the family circumstances can also take its toll on a young person.

Teaching children methods how to balance their stress takes a slightly different approach to that of adults. Often, using simple visualisation techniques can be an effective way to package worries and let them go. Training the mind to focus using meditation can help to aid concentration and dispel distracting thoughts. Even for the young child of 5 or 6, using techniques, which combine colour and breath, can help reduce anxiety and balance a child’s stress.

For young people, they can use simple breathing techniques - observing the breath, to help calm anxiety - counting the breath slowly as you breath in and out can help to slow down the breath, reduce anxiety and bring back some focus.

Diet

The tv has many programmes about the effects of diet on our wellbeing and a diet overloaded with stimulants through our food and drink can effect the way we feel/think and behave. It's never a good idea to simply change from one routine to another - integration is best allowing your body to accomodate more fruit, water and less food containing stimulants

Colour Breathing

One simple way of reducing stress (and this can be used for almost any age) is to do some colour breathing. Get the young person/child/adult to imagine a colour - whatever pops into their head and then start to imagine (feel/see/sense/think) that this colour starts to form a mist around them - until their whole body is surrounded. Then ask them to imagine that their body is made of glass and that when they breath in the colour mist around them they can see/feel it moving inside and as it does it feels relaxing, soothing ....Within a few minutes a person can become very relaxed using this method.

What to do Next...

Feel Good Therapies also runs meditation and relaxation classes/workshops which includes information about these techniques and the opportunity to practise, learn and ask questions. If you want to know more about the workshops please visit the 'workshops' section on the website.

To book online please use the Ready to book? button on the right of this screen.

CD for home practise for young people - We also offer a CD for home practise of these techniques specifically designed for young people (early to late teens) to help with stress, exams and bullying etc. For more information, please click here . We also have a CD for younger children - please see 'meditaton CD's for more information.