Sensational Meditation for Children: Mindfulness, Guided Imagery, and Other Child-Friendly Meditation Techniques - Softcover

So how does meditation bring about positive changes? Is it conscious breathing or focused attention on a single object? Is it connecting to an extraordinary dimension of being? Is it discipline, or is it letting go so children can face their biggest fears and their most fantastic dreams?
      I offer two types of meditations in this book: mindfulness and journeying. Mindfulness meditation involves bringing our awareness into the present moment by noticing what we experience through our senses. Journeying allows us to navigate through our consciousness to bring forth healing (often referred to as guided imagery). This type of meditation introduces symbolism, which children do not necessarily need to interpret to experience its benefits.
      Both of these techniques (mindfulness and journeying) offer children two important benefits. The first is a forum for practice. Children can practice any activity, such as concentrating on their breath, which helps them develop overall concentration. However, this is only one example of what children can practice during meditation. Other skills include math, anger management, social skills, and athletics. 
      The other important benefit children gain from both mindfulness and journeying meditation is self-awareness. Meditation helps children become more deeply aware of who they are. With meditation, children better understand their feelings, learn their needs, and realize their own potential.
Many of the exercises I offer are journey meditations. They are semi-guided: children are led through a story that they help create. These meditations are designed to bring children to a certain point, after which they use their imagination to form the rest of their experience. These journey meditations are not visualizations, but instead are experiences powered by what children hear, feel, and even taste and smell, in addition to what they see. I refer to this experience as sensational meditation. Sensational meditation is also achieved during mindfulness meditations. Children rely on their senses to help them become fully present.
      I also highlight the imaginative properties of meditation and show how meditation can heal and bring clarity. The techniques shared in this book are borrowed from many different traditions, including ancient yogic, Polynesian, and Buddhist practices as well as from modern clinical therapy. Although this book delves into different traditional meditation practices, it constantly brings to light the important role the senses play in meditation. When we or our children meditate, our senses light up and explode in a sensory awakening that activates our inner channels, which leads to clarity and confidence. This, of course, helps children thrive socially, academically, and physically.
      When I began offering meditation classes to children, many adults showed up to see how I could possibly persuade, influence, or inspire children to meditate. Parents observed; visitors without children watched and learned. But only some of the elements of my success can be understood by witnessing alone. I use a well-developed approach and philosophy that supports each move. I will share its secrets with you. I will show you how to facilitate learning through fun and through games. You will learn how each child is unique and that there is not one sure-fire approach that works for all.
      The biggest secret I will share with you is the transformation that we adults experience when we become partners in learning with our children. Developing a meditation practice is a journey in growth, whether it is spiritual, emotional, or mental. When we partner with our children, we grow and excel with them. For me, this is the most exhilarating aspect of my work.
      No matter how old your children are, you can become their partner in learning. If your child is at least five years old, he will benefit from most of the techniques in this book. (A few meditations are better suited for children eight years and older.) If your child is younger than five, I suggest you learn the techniques provided and model them. You can sit quietly with your eyes closed for a few minutes once or twice a week in front of your child. Your curious toddlers and preschoolers will ask what you are doing, and occasionally they might even join you. This is a perfect way to introduce meditation to this age group. Nevertheless, some children as young as three years old successfully use the meditations in this book. So if your child is younger than five, use your best judgment as to when the best time is to begin.
      I welcome you as you embark on an extraordinary, exciting and fulfilling voyage with your child. Move through these pages as if you were reading a mystery. Discover my secrets for working with children--what sensational truly means--and discover all the ways meditation enhances your life and your children's lives.

Sarah Wood Vallely is a parent-to-parent educator. She began working with children when she was ten years old in a classroom she set up in her home. Using a chalk board her father installed, she taught the neighborhood children everything from math to vocabulary. Sarah began working professionally with children in 1991. A former art teacher, Sarah now teaches meditation to children, helping children cope with depression, anxiety, stress and symptoms associated with ADHD.

When Sarah began teaching meditation to children in Los Angeles, her classes became a phenomenon. People without children came to see how someone could possibly persuade and inspire children to meditate. To help others learn what she does so effectively, Sarah also trains adults how to teach meditation to children in classrooms, at home, and in therapeutic settings. Sarah's program attracts students from across the U.S., Canada, Australia and Europe.

Sarah is first and foremost an artist. Using words and paint as her medium. The painting on the cover is a Picasso-inspired piece by Sarah depicting herself with her daughter.

Sarah has a bachelor's degree in Fine Art and her cross-cultural meditation training includes American Board of Hypnotherapy Certification, Vipassana (Buddhist), a four-year internship with a regression therapy master (Western Shamanism), Huna practitioner training (Hawaiian), Reiki, Level II (Japanese) and ongoing Yoga instruction (Hindu).

Become a certified meditation teacher for children... To find out more about Sarah's globally recognized Child Meditation Facilitators Training, please go to: sarahwood.com Additional articles, videos, books and other resources are also found at sarahwood.com