Children Want to Meditate .. the Sahaj Way! OUTDOORS and @Home

– Feedback from Samantha, volunteer instructor with Sahaja Yoga Meditation -Halton (Youth group)

A couple of the groups had autistic (I believe) children that were participating in the meditation, I found their attention to be quite good during the meditation exercise and they felt the energy flow VERY easily!

 

There were two girls who also had very profound questions, such as

“Do you feel the energy and feelings of another person?” which lead to a very open and deep conversation, that allowed me to explain how with the meditation we can feel the feelings of others, but it helps us to stay at a higher level, so instead of becoming sad because someone else is sad, it allows us to be happy and to make them happy. To bring them to our level, instead of us going to theirs. It was a beautiful session.

 

The kids really loved it, many seemed very excited for a chance to relax and enjoy the nature and sit down for a time. Many of them experienced feeling the energy and moments of Thoughtlessness (silent mind) as well.

 

Many of the kids seemed to recognize me and would wave to me as they passed our area and seemed quite excited to see me. 🙂

 

Almost all students said they felt calmer and more peaceful; they acknowledged the effect of the energy balancing techniques: Yes after I put my hand towards the ground I can feel the left hand getting cooler.

 

Teacher: “This (sahaja yoga meditation outdoors workshop) is so very valuable for the students.” 

 

In one class almost everyone felt the right hand warmer, and I explained it’s about imbalanced mental and physical activity they told me they’ve been running a race, thus explaining that their right energy channel was a bit ‘hot’/excited 🙂 ; we took care of it by balancing with the Sky element..

Feedback from Paula Erskine, volunteer instructor with Sahaja Yoga Meditation -Halton:

“Today the response was a glow from the kids faces and they were so intrigued. The kids asked How can I meditate at home? How can I try this again? This is so cool.

My “grown up” view is that I witnessed the immediate change on their faces, the peace, the smiles the quiet joy which garnered genuine interest afterwards and questions on how to try it again on their own? They were so happy and saw how they can simply meditate in the chairs and we had some cozy blankets for some of them too on the beautiful, sunny fall day. They enjoyed getting empowered to help themselves and their friends.

It was a wonderful event at Rattlesnake Point Conservation Area in Milton, border with Burlington.

I wish we had had these events when I was young! I felt that this was such a grand gesture with over 21 stations to enlighten the kids attention to the nature that nurtures all of us. So much care for the welfare of the children was taken in to account. Life skills were gained for which the kids can fortify their self esteem and confirm their personal connection with mother earth.

They reported that they felt the energy more in one hand sometimes than the other.. so they learnt how to balance it using the Sky and using the Earth .. , they were very attentive, truly interested to balance themselves.

They loved listening to and experiencing the Forest, they felt a part of it, right there at Rattlesnake Point – such a great choice by Bronte Creek Project in collaboration with Halton Conservation team.

Hundreds of Children, accompanied by their teachers and sometimes by their parents – had tried the ‘Experience Being in the Forest” activity offered by sahaja yoga meditation – Halton team.

They couldn’t stop smiling. They felt the peace. The silence of the forest offered up it’s swishing of leaves clapping gently, like a standing ovation. The trees swayed dancing gently with each other. The sky above us was crystal blue and clear. The earth beneath our feet was thanked for all it’s gifts to humanity.

Shulin, Samantha and the energy they shared ignited the hearts of this youth to youth teaching moments that made the students feel part of nature, part of the whole world.

Young people matter!

Therefore it is important to give them the tools to calm themselves, to have a sense of gravity, to be their own master, to simply manage stress with a few extra seconds of thoughtless.

They were very keen on balancing themselves,

helping their friends to balance themselves, and understood easily the value of their surroundings and their connection to the Forest and ultimately, Mother Earth.

It really reminded me of the Nobel laureate poet Rabindranath Tagore’s inspirational songs, poems that revered nature as a gift and prompted a movement of learning in outdoor classrooms and incorporating nature and the arts into non- conventional curriculum.

Learning outside is very easily absorbed as moments of discovery and joy. It is a great gift to invest in the future of mankind through the hearts of young people. Their compassion towards themselves and others stems from their connection to their natural surroundings and feeling part of all of it.”

We from Halton -Sahaja Yoga Meditation are looking forward to our next collaborations with Bronte Creek project and Halton Conservation amazing team/locations – Kudos especially to Robert Leone for finding such an amazing spot for meditating outdoors, so hundreds of kids can Experiment Being in the Forest! 🙂

 Note: All photos were taken by our team members: Ioana, Paula, Sam and Shulin. Drop a comment, let us know if you had enjoyed this article; feel free to share it further, soo much beauty In & Out there is in Halton, a heavenly share from this wonderful country that we love – Oh, Canada!

• (click) DAY1 of Experience Being in the Forest @ Halton Forest Festival 
• (click): What Students and Teachers Say about Tim Bruce’s Music with Meditation Workshops
• (click) Destiny MUSIC & YOGI’s Tip: Chakras are Impacted by Thoughts
• (click) Tim Bruce brings Poetry, Music and Meditation @ Aldershot High-school