Video: Meditation for Kids

Today’s children live in a scheduled, fast-paced world. Instead of running around wild and free in the neighborhood, many kids are enrolled in organized sports or clubs. In school, they are taught to be competitive and to sit still and listen for long periods of time. And when there is downtime, it is often spent playing video games, engaging in social media, or watching television. Their minds are always going, going, going.

What if we could help children learn how to calm their own minds? To lower their own anxiety levels? Recent research at Johns Hopkins found that mindfulness meditation can lower anxiety and depression levels as well as antidepressant medications. Further studies have linked mindfulness to better focus, concentration, and memory skills.

Mindfulness can be defined as being aware of your thoughts and feelings, rather than running around on autopilot, mindlessly reacting to everything in your path. So, how do we arm our kids with the power to stay in the present? You're never too young to start a meditation practice like the video in this post.