A Still Quiet Place

I am really excited! I got the call from my neighborhood library last night that my inter-library loan arrived. Amy Saltzman, MD is a holistic physician who began using mindfulness with children when her three year old asked to meditate with her.  There are quite a few videos uploaded on YouTube, and several of them, including Finding Stillness and Still Quiet Place at Mind & Its Potential 2012, especially resonated with me. In the first video, Dr. Saltzman sits in a circle with elementary school students and after a group guided meditation they share out. I loved listening to the students sincere descriptions of how mindfulness affects their actions.  Not surprisingly, struggle with siblings is a common topic and the children report that mindfulness helps them change their actions. It was after watching these videos that I first got that feeling of, "Wow- I need to do this." What a privilege to be able to give more kids the opportunity to feel in control of their emotions.

The book is called, A Still Quiet Place: A Mindfulness Program for Teaching Children and Adolescents to Ease Stress and Difficult Emotions. Dr. Amy, as she is referred to in the videos, simplifies the definition of mindfulness: "paying attention to the present moment with kindness and curiosity."  The book contains an eight-week program for parents and professionals to teach mindfulness practice to young children through those in their teenage years. I've read that she includes many great ideas for adapting her activities for children in each developmental stage.

I'm anxious (I mean calm and peaceful!) to jump into reading and will report back soon. If you're intrigued, check out her guided meditation CDs available to listen to instantly with Prime in the Amazon Music App. On the CD, Still Quiet Place: Mindfulness for Young Children, track 13 is an adult intro that I highly recommend. She gives a great overview of mindfulness, it's benefits and practical application, and how to get started yourself.  Listen and share with someone else!