The theory and practice of mindfulness as a way for children to calm their busy minds, self regulate, become more hopeful and happy has been an area of increasing interest. The potential impact on our culture is great as it affects future generations.
It’s my pleasure to bring you this interview with Amy Saltzman, MD a holistic physician in Northern California who has been integrating mindfulness with children and teens for many years. Her current research has found significant impacts on children in the areas of attention, anxiety and compassion. I’ll be watching Amy speak at Bridging the Hearts and Minds of Youth Conference in San Diego on February 4 -5.
Today Amy talks to us about what the still quiet place is for children and teenagers, the impact of her research with children, and a little practice and advice to help us parents, caregivers and teachers along the way.
Elisha: What is the “Still Quiet Place” within for children and teenagers?
Amy: The Still Quiet Place is a way for children and teens to experience pure awareness. Awareness is a concept that may not make sense to young children. However, with guidance most children can discover that stillness and quietness (aka awareness) is alive inside of them. When I introduce mindfulness to children I begin by inviting them to attend to the breath– the feeling of the expansion of the in-breath, the stillness between the in-breath and the out-breath, the release of the out-breath, and the stillness between the out-breath and the in-breath.
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Very nice article and information. Thank you for providing this interview. Mindfulness and parenting is a wonderful topic.
This is a very interesting technique to be used with children.
I am using the technique of “Guided Imagination” instead of “Guided Imagery” in my therapeutic practice during the last 35 years, and I have been very sucessful witht older people.
canterbuy uglies
1:31 pm on
January 28th, 2012Hi Amy
I have been trying Mindfulness for years and getting a lot of benefit from it, what I have noticed from my children is they are naturally mindful from birth so it’s just a matter of people being mindful around them and they will keep it.
Regards canterbury uglies
Manmohan Nath
10:16 am on
January 31st, 2012About 10 yrs back,there was a TV programme in National geographic channel, a family with two children, 7/8 yrs daughter and around 3 yrs son, that child was suffering from loud inarticulate utterance of grief and fear. Not even 5 minutes leaving free his mother for some other work. Both husband and wife were in tension all the time, two Doctor could not diagnosis the problem, that one hour programme ended without result. I would like to tell yes, cosmic therapeutic remedies are there in medicinal world. Epilepsy, Infantile convulsion and many other similar dosing disease, straight way give ” Ultraviolet cosmic ray”
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