Yoga Nidrā for Kids

by Guest Blogger, Taryn Diamond from taryndiamond.com

I wouldn’t say that stillness was something I came by easily as a young adult. I remember the feelings of guilt that bubbled up when I worked towards a seated meditation practice. 

What was that voice saying that stillness was ‘indulgent’ or worse, ‘lazy’?

I’m in a creative writing course where the teacher describes rules around writing and grammar as being inherited. At some point along the way, we’ve forgotten that these rules aren’t of our own making.

Months earlier, I was co-hosting a webinar on kids and yoga nidrā with Appleseed Yoga. (If you are looking for kids yoga classes and trainings, this is the only place I recommend.) As I was answering questions about the kids and nidrā module, the purpose behind my offering pushed through with a jolt…

The question:
What is your relationship to stillness and when was it cultivated and how?
If I dig back to my childhood, earlier than being a baby meditator in my twenties, I would answer the question this way: Stillness often showed up as a punishment. Or as a way to demonstrate ‘good behaviour.’ There were rules around stillness that were not of my making, that I inherited and claimed as my own. No wonder I had trouble trying to sit still in my early days of meditation practice!

So then the follow up question emerged:
What if we cultivated a relationship to stillness in our kids that was positive?
Stillness that was not about control but about rest… about daydreaming… about acknowledging that even kids need to pause?

I left that webinar and immediately set to writing a nidrā practice for my seven year old. Something short, something that could help her with settling, something that empowered her to get excited about resting, sleeping and dreaming.

‘I can go to bed with a clear mind and an open canvas. And then I paint my dreams for the night.’ (Garnet, age 7)

On nights when she is stirring and struggling to fall asleep, we use my recording. I really don’t want to make grand claims about how yoga nidrā can help your kiddo, but I’ll excitedly share that her nidrā recording has about a 90% success rate with helping her fall asleep. It felt promising enough, that I went ahead and made recordings for my two nephews.

‘I usually listen to it before bed and it makes me feel calm and tired.’ (Elliott, age 9)

My yoga nidrā recordings for kids are prepared with great care to assist your kiddo with resting, daydreaming and working through their thoughts. (And a bonus - maybe they’ll sleep better too.)

-Taryn

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You can get your hands (ears?) on Taryn’s Nidra for Kids recordings from her website here, or Appleseed’s Virtual Studio.