While meditation is regularly practiced by only a fraction of Americans, its popularity is growing, especially for children.
A survey by the National Institutes of Health reported a nearly 28 percent increase from 2007 to 2012 in children’s use of meditation. The data showed 927,000 or 1.6 percent of U.S. children meditated. The same survey reported 18 million or 8 percent of adults practiced meditation.
And though the numbers are small, more social service providers, educators, and parents are bringing the benefits of meditation to children.
A Charlotte mother of three and longtime meditation practitioner, Angela Gala, saw each of her children benefit from meditation.
“About two years ago I invited my oldest to meditate with me as he faced some challenges sleeping,” said Gala. “It wasn’t long before he would use the techniques we practiced when he unexpectedly awoke in the middle of the night to comfortably fall back asleep, something that was difficult before.”
She said each of her younger twins eventually meditated, gaining more self-control and focus.
Together with Ranjit Deora, founder of Charlotte Meditation, Gala established Youth Meditation, a nonprofit organization providing programming to children, parents and teachers on mindfulness practices and meditation instruction.
“Meditation is not a religion, philosophy or a lifestyle,” said Deora. “It is simply a relaxation technique combining breathing and mental focus exercises that connect you to the present.”
In 12 years of practice in Charlotte he’s worked with corporations such as Bank of America, AT&T and The Shaw Group.
Deora noted children often adapt to meditation techniques more easily than adults. “They have a greater innocence and fewer activities of life,” said Deora. “They take to it naturally.”
Gala and Deora worked pro bono with 120 children last summer in summer camp classes offered at A Child’s Place, a local organization that works to ease the impact of homelessness on children.
“Our kids face a number of difficult situations that impact their behavior and self-esteem,” said Katrina Griggs, 31, program manager at A Child’s Place. “Meditation gave the children a healthier way to express their feelings and provide techniques and positive outlets to relieve their stress.”
Gala explained the program began with laughter yoga, in which participants force themselves to laugh until it becomes genuine. “Through breathing exercises we teach them to relax, focus and calm anger or frustration they may be experiencing,” she said.
Gala knew she was reaching the children when one child reflected on a situation at home. The child’s mother was upset and raising her voice in anger. “She told me she showed her mother the breathing techniques she learned in our class and performed them together with her mom, completely defusing the situation. They both ended up laughing about it.”
At Charlotte Country Day School, mindfulness meditation classes are part of the overall approach to wellness that the school is committed to for teachers and staff. The school began offering Charlotte Meditation-led classes as part of its wellness programming beginning in the fall of 2014.
“When our teachers and staff are at their best, they can provide our children their best,” said Natalie Pruette, director of communications. “Happy and healthy employees translate to happy and healthy children.”
Episode 3 – Obstacles to Happiness- with Guest Mark Molony, Co-Founder of the Mindful Life Program
Episode 2 – Myths of Happiness
Episode 1 – What is Happiness?
Meditation to help kids
Article from the Charlotte Observer
By Michael J. Slender
While meditation is regularly practiced by only a fraction of Americans, its popularity is growing, especially for children.
A survey by the National Institutes of Health reported a nearly 28 percent increase from 2007 to 2012 in children’s use of meditation. The data showed 927,000 or 1.6 percent of U.S. children meditated. The same survey reported 18 million or 8 percent of adults practiced meditation.
And though the numbers are small, more social service providers, educators, and parents are bringing the benefits of meditation to children.
A Charlotte mother of three and longtime meditation practitioner, Angela Gala, saw each of her children benefit from meditation.
“About two years ago I invited my oldest to meditate with me as he faced some challenges sleeping,” said Gala. “It wasn’t long before he would use the techniques we practiced when he unexpectedly awoke in the middle of the night to comfortably fall back asleep, something that was difficult before.”
She said each of her younger twins eventually meditated, gaining more self-control and focus.
Together with Ranjit Deora, founder of Charlotte Meditation, Gala established Youth Meditation, a nonprofit organization providing programming to children, parents and teachers on mindfulness practices and meditation instruction.
“Meditation is not a religion, philosophy or a lifestyle,” said Deora. “It is simply a relaxation technique combining breathing and mental focus exercises that connect you to the present.”
In 12 years of practice in Charlotte he’s worked with corporations such as Bank of America, AT&T and The Shaw Group.
Deora noted children often adapt to meditation techniques more easily than adults. “They have a greater innocence and fewer activities of life,” said Deora. “They take to it naturally.”
Gala and Deora worked pro bono with 120 children last summer in summer camp classes offered at A Child’s Place, a local organization that works to ease the impact of homelessness on children.
“Our kids face a number of difficult situations that impact their behavior and self-esteem,” said Katrina Griggs, 31, program manager at A Child’s Place. “Meditation gave the children a healthier way to express their feelings and provide techniques and positive outlets to relieve their stress.”
Gala explained the program began with laughter yoga, in which participants force themselves to laugh until it becomes genuine. “Through breathing exercises we teach them to relax, focus and calm anger or frustration they may be experiencing,” she said.
Gala knew she was reaching the children when one child reflected on a situation at home. The child’s mother was upset and raising her voice in anger. “She told me she showed her mother the breathing techniques she learned in our class and performed them together with her mom, completely defusing the situation. They both ended up laughing about it.”
At Charlotte Country Day School, mindfulness meditation classes are part of the overall approach to wellness that the school is committed to for teachers and staff. The school began offering Charlotte Meditation-led classes as part of its wellness programming beginning in the fall of 2014.
“When our teachers and staff are at their best, they can provide our children their best,” said Natalie Pruette, director of communications. “Happy and healthy employees translate to happy and healthy children.”
Workplace Mindfulness Can Cut On-The-Job Stress
By Janice Wood
Reposted from www.psychcentral.com
The eight-week mindfulness-based interventions included mindfulness, gentle stretching, yoga, meditation, and music in the workplace.
Psychological and biological markers of stress were measured one week before and one week after the intervention to see if these coping strategies would help reduce stress and burnout among employees, researchers said.
Results of the study, published in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, showed that levels of salivary [alpha]-amylase, an index of sympathetic activation of the nervous system — also known as the fight or flight response — were significantly decreased in the intervention group.
The control group showed no changes. Psychological components of stress and burnout were measured using well-established self-report questionnaires.
“Our study shows that this type of mindfulness-based intervention in the workplace could decrease stress levels and the risk of burnout,” said Maryanna Klatt, Ph.D., an associate clinical professor in the department of family medicine.
“What’s stressful about the work environment is never going to change. But what we were interested in changing was the nursing personnel’s reaction to those stresses.
“We measured salivary alpha amylase, which is a biomarker of the sympathetic nervous system activation, and that was reduced by 40 percent in the intervention group.”
Klatt, who is a trained mindfulness and certified yoga instructor, developed and led the mindfulness-based intervention for 32 employees. At baseline, the employees scored the level of stress of their work at 7.15 on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the most stressful.
The levels of work stress did not change between the first and second set of assessments, but their reaction to the work stress did change, the researchers noted.
When stress is part of the work environment, it is often difficult to control and can negatively affect employees’ health and ability to function, said lead author Anne-Marie Duchemin, M.D., an associate professor adjunct in the department of psychiatry and behavioral health.
She noted that people who are subjected to chronic stress will often exhibit symptoms of irritability, nervousness, and feeling overwhelmed, as well as have difficulty concentrating or remembering. They also often have changes in appetite, sleep, heart rate, and blood pressure, she said.
“Although work-related stress often cannot be eliminated, effective coping strategies may help decrease its harmful effects,” she said. “The changes in the levels of salivary alpha-amylase suggest that the reactivity to stress was decreased after the eight-week group intervention.”
Source: Ohio State University