Mindfulness is a habit that promotes self awareness. As adults, most of us are navigating our way through our own self-awareness journey shifting a lifetime of not-so-positive habits and thought patterns.
Can you imagine how things would be different if you had known as a kid the stuff you know now? We can’t turn back the clock, but we certainly can share our newfound wisdom with our kids! The way I see it mindful children will grow to be mindful teenagers, and eventually mindful, intuitive and self-aware adults.
Here are a few Simple Ways to Incorporate Self-Awareness and Mindfulness into your Parenting:
Meditation – invite them into your meditation practice. Even if they sit for 30 seconds with their eyes semi-closed giggling and squirming (which is most likely the case!), it is planting a seed of stillness.
Breathing – Something even kids know how to do! Breathing connects us to our life force and is a great way to engage kids in becoming aware and able to control how their bodies react during times of upset or stress. Alternate nostril breathing, for example, is believed to balance the right and left hemispheres of the brain, improving cognitive development.
Yoga – twist and bend together! A short, fun daily yoga practice will not only help kiddos to stay physically active, but will give them an introduction to focus, expression and honoring themselves. Most yoga programs are holistic, familiarizing children to their mental, physical, spiritual and emotional selves in a way that’s entertaining and full of chuckles through songs, play and imagination! Try Cosmic Kids for yoga with some of their favorite characters!
The Clairs – When my son was in preschool, I remember him coming home one day so proud to tell me all about the 5 senses. I congratulated him and then shared with him a little secret that not everyone knows…. there are more than 6!
We closed our eyes and imagined what an apple looked like. We turned it around in our minds, seeing any holes or insect bites. Did it have leaves? A stem? Was it red or green? Yep, you guessed it. Clairvoyance, inner seeing. We did the same with the rest of the clairs.
Play games! One of my son’s favorite is “What color am I thinking of”? We practice being good telepathic senders and receivers. Be creative and incorporate their favorite characters or foods. Get them engaged in using their intuition and psychic skills early.
Talk to your spirit team – and let your kids hear you doing it. Encourage them to do the same. Try fun things like calling on your “parking angels” for a prime spot the next time you go to the grocery store.
Do healing work – try doing it on them while they’re awake! I know many practitioners do healing work on their children but only while they’re asleep because they feel they’ll be more open to it. That certainly can be the case sometimes. But counter that with doing it while they’re awake as well, for their own awareness.
Help them to understand what energy is and why the work is important. When they’re sick, take them to the doctor AND do Reiki. Teach them holistic thinking. If you’re not a practitioner but you go to one, tell them about your experience. Many practitioners take children as clients, so if it feels right to you, let them experience it themselves.
One of my favorite moments is remembering a time when my friend’s then 4-year old daughter, Harper (our soul family and the girl my 8-year old swears he’ll marry), move over to my son after he fell down and got a “boo-boo” on his knee. She kissed his knee then began moving her hands over top of it. My friend and I realized she was doing what she’d seen me do so many times — Reiki! And my son watched her and stopped crying and moments later they won’t on playing.
Let’s work early to give them a head start towards their inner peace. Let’s use what for some of us is new-found-knowledge to help them on their way early!
xoxo,
Susan
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