Teach Your Child Meditation

Teach Your Child Meditation, by Lisa Roberts. Book review.

• Paperback: 176 Pages
• Author: Lisa Roberts
• ISBN 9781454929185
• Publisher: Sterling
• Pub Date: Oct 2018
• Price: £15.24 on Amazon

The Blurb

Even Children need to learn ways to calm and centre themselves. With its hands-on exercises, Teach Your Child Meditation gives kids ages 5-12 important tools to relieve anxiety, cultivate mindfulness, and gain confidence. More than 70 illustrated exercises, which all have fun names like ‘Funny Bunny Breath’ and Elephant Shower’, are organised to highlight their special benefits: Choose from such categories as ‘Hocus Pocus, I Can Focus,’ ‘The Chill Zone,’ Stress Busters’ or a sections with group exercises that teachers and parents alike can use.

Whether the goal is for a child to sleep better, concentrate before a big test of game, or enjoy some much-needed relaxation, this guide helps anyone who loves an plays with children to introduce them to the many benefits of meditation.

About the Author

Lisa Roberts is a registered yoga teacher and a registered children’s yoga teacher, and holds a certificate in children’s yoga therapy. She has worked in the paediatric wellness field since 2006 and currently runs the inpatient yoga program at the St. Louis Children’s Hospital. Lisa offers professional training teaching kids Adaptive and Accessible yoga for paediatric professionals, parents and yoga teachers. In addition to Teach Your Child meditation, she has developed a line of teaching tools for paediatric yoga teachers, parents, and kids.

Why We Love This Book

I started teaching my older kids meditation when they were young to help them sleep and release their stresses. It was natural for me to continue this with my younger kids  years later.

I truly believe that all children should learn at least a few mediation techniques as it is a really useful tool to have at all times in life.

What I loved about this book is it’s simplicity. Each Section gives you the focus of the meditations and why they should be done. For example, breathing, focus, chilling, energy equalising, connecting and stress busting meditations. Then the exercises are set out in a real simple format spread over only two pages. It makes it so easy to just get stuck in.

Balloon Breath

What is Balloon Breath?

Balloon Breath is a breathing technique that slows down the breath while encouraging full and deep inhales and exhales to cam the mind and body.

How Does it Help?

Balloon Breath is great to use as a quick exercise to centre and calm oneself during activities or to refocus before or during class. Linking physical movement to the breath encourages mind-body concentration and self -regulation. The physical movement of raising the arms up overhead in this exercise allows more space in the torso to accommodate fuller and deeper breaths

Simple Steps for Kids

• Begin sitting comfortably, either on a chair or on the floor with the hands resting on the thighs. Relax the shoulders, arms and face.
• Or, begin standing, feet hip-width distance apart, arms resting by the torso, shoulders and face relaxed.
• Begin to breathe in and out through the nose
• Inhale, sweeping your arms up overhead. imagine you are filling up a giant balloon.
• Exhale, slowly lowering your arms to resting your lap or by your side.
• Repeat for several rounds.
• Get creative: Imagine the colour of your balloon as you inflate it.Does thinking of a certain colour make you feel more relaxed? Visualise releasing your balloon into the sky as you exhale. Where does your balloon go?

Meditation and mindfulness is very popular these days and if you are thinking that it’s something that your child would never do then this book will teach you otherwise. In just five minutes you can make your child more relaxed or less stressed with these simple exercises that any child would find easy to acheive.

The book contains 70 of these fun and so simple ways to help teach your child the basics of meditation. They will learn how to control their breathing in stressful situations and how to relax when worked up, plus much more. 

Teach Your Child Meditation is dedicated to those who dare to teach beyond the mind and awaken the soul. 

Disclosure: I was very kindly sent a copy of this book to review, which I have done honestly. This post may also contain affiliate links.