Kids Releasing Into Awareness

This meditation encourages kids to become super meditators by keeping still while exploring their world with awareness. It begins with a practice of releasing tension and energetic knots, then developing a sense of what awareness is, and getting to know the body and emotions a little. It is meant to be fairly fun and engaging, while also opening into very deep practices suitable for children's health and happiness.

Transcript

Hello,

Friends.

So here we are today,

And we are going to do a meditation that is totally suitable for anyone but is really aimed at children.

And so I'm going to say hello to the children who are joining us here today,

And welcome.

And I hope that you can very much enjoy this meditation that we do together.

So today we're going to be trying to be a super meditator,

And a super meditator is able to sit still without moving around,

Wiggling,

Or stretching for the whole meditation,

Which is going to be 12 minutes.

So let's see if we can manage to be super meditators,

And maybe if not this time,

Then maybe next time.

Let's give it a try.

Now we're going to either sit or lay down with our backs straight,

Our hands in our laps or on our legs.

We can sit cross-legged or we can sit in a chair,

But the only thing that's really important is that we have a nice straight back,

And we can sit with our eyes open or eyes closed.

I prefer eyes open,

At least a little bit open,

But you're really free to do as you please.

We're going to begin by taking three deep breaths into our belly,

As deep as we can get without straining too much.

And as we deepen,

We're going to experience the tension and tightness that we have in our body,

And we'll experience it.

I would even recommend we can clench our hands as we breathe in,

Clench our hands tight just like the knots and tension that we experience in our body.

And then as we breathe out,

We open our hands,

Release that tension in our hands,

And the same way we release the tension that's in our body.

And when I say the tension in our body,

I mean the tension in your mind,

The tension in your neck,

In your face,

In your belly,

In your heart,

Wherever you're experiencing tension or tightness,

Any of those places,

We're going to experience it and release it.

So on the count of three,

We'll breathe in very deep,

Clenching our fist into the belly,

And then when we finish,

We'll breathe out and just release everything,

Release all the tension.

One,

Two,

Three,

Breathing in.

Feeling that tension and release.

One more time.

One,

Two,

Three,

Breathing in.

Tightening the hands,

Feel the tension and release.

And one last time.

And after this one,

We're going to just sit in the released state for just for a minute and just experience release,

Experience the relaxation.

So again,

On three,

One,

Two,

Three,

Breathing in.

Tension,

Feeling the tension and release.

And now just rest.

Okay,

Very nice.

Now,

We get to practice being super meditators.

We're going to try to stay very still throughout the rest of this practice.

And I'm going to make it a little bit challenging at the end,

And that's for the five-star super meditators.

But let's see if we can just be super meditators throughout this and keep our bodies still and experience that stillness.

There's a beauty to the stillness.

And the practice we're going to do today is a sort of just sitting practice.

We're just going to sit there and do nothing.

And this is a practice which is so very simple.

I think it's perfect for kids.

And at the same time,

It's very,

Very tricky.

And so even adults have a lot of trouble doing this practice a lot of the time.

All that's really necessary for this is to be able to relax,

To really relax.

And at the same time,

Remain a little bit curious and wonder what is it that's happening in your mind and your body?

What is it that you're doing?

Who are you?

And what is it that your thoughts and your emotions and your feelings are doing?

So if we can just keep that curiosity,

Keep our bodies still,

But keep our minds curious,

I think we're going to be able to go very far in this practice.

So beginning,

We just sit still.

Our eyes are perhaps a little bit open.

We don't move the body.

And now I want to attend to the whole of the body.

That's what you do,

Experience the top of the head.

And wherever you're experiencing things,

If you notice them,

You just notice it for a second and then release it and relax,

Okay?

And go back to experiencing everything.

So you notice the top of your head,

And you release it and you relax.

You notice the forehead,

And you release it and relax.

The little sides beside your eyes,

Between your eyes,

Beside your mouth,

The back of your neck,

Your shoulders,

Your arms,

Your belly,

Your back.

Everywhere,

You just notice and release and relax.

Your bottom,

Where it touches the cushion or the seat.

Your legs.

Your feet.

Everywhere.

Just release and relax.

And now we've gone through,

And I want you to sit for 30 seconds,

Just experiencing the whole of the body.

One big feeling for the body.

So you're not grabbing a hold of anything.

You're just experiencing the whole body.

And you're also experiencing all the sounds and whatever's coming in through the eyes and all the stuff that's happening.

Just let it all come,

But you don't react to it.

So we're going to be super meditators here,

And we're going to see if we can just experience all this stuff without reacting,

Without it making us do things.

Bring that curiosity to this practice.

And look around.

See what it is that's making you want to do things.

What is it that's making you,

Pushing you and pulling you around?

And just experience that too.

So let's rest for about a minute in this open spaciousness.

Let's see if we can be super meditators through this very simple practice.

Okay.

I think you've been doing really well.

I'm very impressed.

It's difficult to stay still,

Even for adults.

And now we're going to take it to the next step,

Super meditators.

And we're going to go,

And I'm going to be a little bit playful with you,

And I'm going to tempt you and tease you a little bit and try to get you to move and to break your stillness.

But if you're a real five-star world-class super meditator,

You're not going to do it.

You're just going to stay curious,

And you're going to watch what's happening.

So follow along with me for the last three minutes of this meditation,

And let's see if you can get that five-star world-class super meditator certificate sent in the mail.

I'm not going to send it in the mail.

Okay,

So let's go.

Ready?

And now we just rest again in openness.

We experience our breathing.

We experience our body.

The warmth and coolness of the breath at the nose and in the throat.

Experience the things in vision.

Experience my voice and the other sounds in your room.

Experience smells and tastes.

And we experience all these things,

But we don't react to them.

We just let them be what they are.

We experience feelings in our heart,

In our belly,

In our throat.

And we just let them be.

But now here's the real test.

I want you to look around your body and find a place that's itchy.

I bet you've got an itchy spot somewhere.

And this is where it gets really difficult.

Let's see if you can do this.

So I want you to focus on that itchy spot first.

Experience the itch,

But don't stretch it.

Okay,

So you feel the itch.

Now we're going to go so deep into that itch that we're going to surround it and almost give it a big hug.

So let's give a big hug to that itch with our awareness.

But no moving.

We're not really hugging it,

Of course.

And finally,

In the last moments,

I want you to look at what is it?

What's the pull?

When you feel the itch,

Where is the feeling of wanting to itch?

Where is that happening at?

Is it in the body or is it somewhere else?

Is it in the belly?

Is it in the heart?

Is it in the head?

Is it in the itch itself?

Where is it at?

Be curious.

Okay,

Thank you so much for joining me today.

I think we have a bunch of super meditators and probably even some five-star world-class super meditators here.

I'm very impressed with how you all did.

And I encourage you to keep practicing and keep experiencing with curiosity what it is to be alive in this world.

So thank you for joining me again,

And I hope you can dedicate this little practice to your very highest goals,

The highest and most meaningful things that you can imagine for your life.

Thank you.

Reviews

I’m a 5 Starr Nederlandtador

I like meditations that are short. I am really proud that I completed this meditation. Even though, I am a very, very, very, I am a kid at heart. Thank you! I have learned how to hug the itch.😁