Mindfulness for trauma

The story of Zara

For the last 20 years, running Connected Kids has been a profound experience. Yet, amidst the challenges and triumphs, some moments truly touch my heart. One of our certified Connected Kids Meditation teachers in the Middle East shared an experience that gave me a deep sense of gratitude.

Working within an orphanage, with a struggling 13-year-old girl, the meditation tutor shared mindful skills that gave this young person more hope and resillience.

Our tutors are trained to teach meditation to children of all ages, abilities and needs, including children living with trauma. I wanted to share this meditation teacher’s journey to demonstrate how transformative a Connected Kids session can be for children.

I have permission to share what happened…

Our tutor taught 13-year-old ‘Zara’ (name changed to protect her identity) in 3 sessions.

In the first Connected Kids meditation session, Zara was a little resistant. The tutor helped her connect to her breath and her body and Zara started to relax “I feel comfortable, nice feeling, maybe I will like it”. After the session Zara felt sleepy.

In the 2nd meditation session, they practiced mindful movement while connecting Zara to her breath. The tutor focussed on helping her gently move her body to release energy that connected to trauma. Zara felt sleepy again, wanted to cry at some moments but was quiet. She didn’t go to play afterwards (as normal) but took herself to her room and spent the time drawing. The tutor used her skills to support her through this.

In the 3rd meditation session, she guided Zara to work with the energy system of the chakras to balance and release using meditation – using mindful movement and guided meditation. After this Zara told the tutor “I love it, I feel happy, my body is light, my heart feels nice.” She hugged the tutor and thanked her.

The tutor noticed the progression for Zara and gave her some home practice to help her stay connected.

In this photo are the bracelets and necklaces she started to create after experiencing the Connected Kids meditation sessions.

Our tutor share’s her observations of Zara’s mindful journey.

Transformative Experiences

“Zara came later to the orphanage. She experienced many difficult things and feelings: sadness, frustration, fear in trying to understand and cope with the new situation. She talks about her sadness. I feel she feels lost. She is a nice, kind girl and paints and colours in a beautiful way.

After sitting talking with Zara, and doing my (Connected Kids) heart meditation to connect to her energy, I felt my intention was to help her feel safe with her feelings and to help ground her energy and connect to the new situation and life (the orphanage); she needed to find and build internal self strength. So with her, I built a little program of daily practice. I was with her, step by step at first, until she could do it herself.

After 3 to 4 sessions, I can see how Zara could touch her own feelings and deal with them in a better way. She feels more safe and grounded than before and sleeps better.

Zara now shares simple mindful movement exercises with children younger than her. I knew she likes to make bracelets by beads so an idea came to me to help her use this to heal. I encouraged her and to sell them to friends, staff etc) in the orphanage. She is creative and doing that helps her in many ways (like feeling she can do something valuable) and I felt it grounded her and helped her heal emotions even indirectly. It seems that Zara has some strength now. There are still many things that need deep healing, but she is on her own life journey, and she now has some key life skills.”

When I hear about moments like this, it makes my busy worklife truly meaningful. I hope it demonstrates how teaching meditation can bring positive transformation to young people’s lives – with or without trauma.

At Connected Kids we create meditation teachers in the middle east, the USA and beyond through our online programme.

Become a Certified Meditation Teacher

If you are interested in finding out more the Connected Kids Professional Course offers a comprehensive and accredited learning experience. This certificated course provides professional tools and strategies to train you as a meditation teacher for children and teens.

Connected Kids Professional

Already work with children?

If you currently work with children experiencing trauma, we offer a Masterclass in Mindful Trauma-sensitive Energy Awareness. This course combines trauma knowledge from the West with energy and meditation practices of the East.