Concentration Meditations

To be efficient and effective learners we must be able to concentrate. Concentration ensures that the mind is fully aware of what it is doing. Of all the various methods of mind training nothing surpasses meditation in helping the mind to remain attentive to what is actually being done. Great sportsmen and women have remarkable powers of concentration. To increase the child’s interest in developing concentration you can read him/her some interesting short stories regarding the same. You can also help them to see that concentration not only helps them to become more effective in what they do but also allows them to do it more quickly and more efficiently. In addition concentration helps children avoid letting their minds become preoccupied with negative feelings. These meditations are designed to help children develop concentration abilities. These meditations are suitable for adults as well.

1. Focusing and Memory (age 5 upwards)
   (5 minutes)

Most of the time children (and adults) fail to remember things because they are not focused upon what they are doing. It is important for children to become aware of this. Increased attentiveness means an effective increase in learning.

For this game each child will need a paper and a pencil. Put a number of objects in a tray like a scissor, spoon, cup, apple, eraser, paper clip, button, photograph, flower, stone, key, coin etc. Make sure there is enough space between objects so that they can be individually seen. Then leave the tray out of sight and explain the rules of the game to the children. The children will be allowed to look at the tray for a given length of time (You can assess this yourself. Give them more time than less). Then you will remove the tray and they will be asked to write down all the objects that they can remember from the tray they have seen. They must not touch or move the objects whilst they look at them or talk to each other whilst playing the game. You must stress that there will be no losers or winners at the end. The object of the game is just to enjoy the experience and to do one’s best.

You will notice that after a few attempts at this game children’s recall will improve rapidly. As the children improve you can add to the objects thereby making the game more difficult. When they get bored of repeatedly playing the game you can assume that the game has served its purpose and it is time to move on.

2. Breathing (age 5 upwards)
   (3 - 5 minutes initially)

Tell the child to sit in a comfortable position with his/her back straight (not tight though), head upright and shoulders pulled back (without strain) and close their eyes. Tell them to focus on their breath and to count it. Counting breath keeps the mind from straying. Concentration on breathing also helps calm the mind and can be used when a child is feeling anxious. Tell the child that this meditation can be done at any time of the day, when they are in a car or walking somewhere or when they are in bed about to sleep.

Modified and Excerpted from Teaching Meditation to Children by David Fontana and Ingrid Slack.