Category Archives: sensory schools

Meditations and mindful tips for you and the family – COVID-19

amygdala, anger, anxiety, behaviour kids, Blog, calm kids, challenges, free meditation, gratitude, heart-centre, mental health, mindfulness, mindfulness in schools, negativity bias, parenting, schools, sensory schools, special needs, technology, , , ,

Welcome and hope you find this blog useful in this strange and challenging time.

I don’t know about you, but life feels like we’ve been put on a roller coaster (without our permission) and we are on for a ride of ups and downs.

I’ve been practising meditation for over 30 years and even I feel tested to my limit by world events.  However I have strong resillience, mentally and emotionally, because of my meditation practice.  But I realise that many people (and children) are reeling from everything and don’t have lifeskills to help them through.

So our team of Connected Kids Tutors, Trainers and Students have decided to offer some meditation practices and mindful tips on this blogpost – to be used by you, your family or both.

These are free for you to use and share.  

We know how much having this skill helps us (it’s why we teach people worldwide!) and we just want to share and help everyone have a little bit more peace of mind (and resillience) through this challenging journey.

We hope it helps and please let us know via our Facebook group, or Twitter or Facebook page (or ask us a question).  We’ll be adding more on as they come through so remember to visit this page or join our social media to be kept informed.

Namaste

 

 

 

Lorraine E Murray – Founder and the Connected Kids Team

Listen to the meditation recordings (more to come).  Watch the recordings and decide (or let your family choose) what feels best for you and your kids.

(Please note the quality of sound will vary as each person used whatever device they had to record from home!)

 

Tree of Protection Meditation for kids – by Connected Kids founder Lorraine Murray

 

Golden Spacesuit meditation for kids on the Autism spectrum – by Connected Kids founder Lorraine Murray

 

Mindful tip to engage kids in meditation – Lorraine Murray

 

Pranyama Breathing for Anxiety – by Judy Lam

 

Mindful rainbows, drawing/colouring tips by – Jackie McBeath

 

Mindful Colouring tips – by Lorraine Forsyth

 

Mindful Tips for parents – by Pippa Elwood

 

Coping mindfully with anxiety – by Tara Russo

 

Straw breath-painting – breath work (create a rainbow) – by Sue Hurst

 

Mindful Breath ideas for young kids (under 10) to reduce anxiety – by Lorraine Murray

 

Sound Meditation to help boost immune system – by Gary Posner

A note from Gary... “Before you listen to the Immune Enhancing Tuning Fork Meditation. Close your eyes and start breathing. Feel each breath you take moving through your whole body. Feel your breath waking up in every cell in your body. ”

We would also suggest asking your kids to notice where they feel the sound in their body as they listen and breathe.

 

3 Breaths Meditation to calm – by Alice Chinn

 

The Lighthouse meditation – by Sara Graham

 

The magical forest meditation for 7 to 11 year old kids  – by Tara Russo

 

 

Rainbow breathing for kids  – by Chris Maxwell

Can children with Autism or ADHD learn meditation?

ADHD, Autism, sensory issues, sensory learning, sensory schools, special needs

In my experience of teaching meditation (sometimes called mindfulness) autism - mindfulness for kids with SENI’ve noticed over the years how it’s become a popular way to help adults and children reduce the symptoms of stress and support a healthier lifestyle.

From teaching, I already knew how effective meditation was for kids, but I asked myself “could children, with additional support needs, learn meditation?  Can young people with autism or ADHD benefit from mindful activities?”

Well let me assure you – yes they can.  Most important of all, you are more than capable of teaching them this life skill.

Since 2003, I have been guiding adults in how to teach children and teens meditation.  From this experience I have witnessed many of the benefits associated with meditation (improved focus/concentration, self regulation, improved sleep patterns and emotional intelligence) are available to children with special needs.

I developed The Connected Kids programme – that takes adults on the journey of learning how to teach this.

In the foundation level we learn how to develop bespoke meditations and mindful activities that suit the needs of the child.

Some of my top tips from this course (if you are working with a child with special educational needs are):

Continue reading →

Should meditation be compulsory for the school curriculum?

ADHD, anxiety, change the world, compassion, creativity, educating, mental health, mindfulness in schools, planting the seeds, schools, sensory schools, special needs

Today I was browsing social media and read the headline ‘should meditation be compulsory in our schools?’ mum and child meditating

Now as someone who has taught and campaigned for children and young people to learn meditation and mindfulness for the past 17 years, you think my automatic answer would be a resounding ‘YES’!

But actually it isn’t…and I’ll tell you why.

Continue reading →

Toolkit for teaching mindful activities – kids on the autistic spectrum

anxiety, Autism, Blog, breath, calm kids, challenges, educating, getting started, grounding, meditation, mindfulness, mindfulness in schools, resources, sensory issues, sensory learning, sensory schools, sensory space, special needs, yoga, , , ,

Creating a space to teach mindfulness to kids with autism 

We were asked a question about the types of tools people could use if they wanted to teach their kids (who are on the autistic spectrum) how to feel calmer and less stressed using mindful activities.  

” I will be moving into a purpose built unit for children with autism shortly and I have to kit out the sensory room. I’m wondering if you can suggest anything in particular that would be beneficial.”

Expert advice

We write about this subject all the time…particularly in the 2nd book – “Connected Kids‘.

However we have taught thousands of people how to teach kids meditation, and  thought that many of our Connected Kids Tutors would have great, practical advice.  

We were right!

Here are some wonderful ideas that may help your kids on the spectrum bring their energy back into balance with meditation and mindfulness.

Continue reading →