Use This Easy Loving Kindness Meditation for Happy Students
Have you tried guided meditation for students in your classroom? If not, your kids are missing out!
Imagine taking some time away from the chaos and noise of the school day when students are struggling to focus. A guided meditation leads them on a magical journey to relax and de-stress. These calming moments are amazing for grounding both you and your students. Even just a few minutes can help everyone calm down so they can regain focus.
Experiencing those peaceful moments isn't difficult. A calming voice gently guiding the way with a loving kindness meditation is like a mini-vacation for the mind and body. It's a wonderful way to create calm, focused, and happy students.
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What is a Loving Kindness Meditation?
The loving kindness meditation, often known as "Metta" meditation is a popular and powerful tool for self-care. It cultivates feelings of love, compassion, and goodwill through phrases or positive affirmations.
It starts by directing positive emotions and good intentions toward yourself, then extending them to others. The goal is to create a beautiful ripple effect of kindness through positive thoughts. They spread like gentle waves to create an atmosphere of love and understanding throughout the world.
Loving kindness is a powerful tool that reminds us all that in this big wide world, a little extra love and compassion can go a long, long way.
The aim of meditation is to reduce unnecessary thoughts by focusing on the present moment instead of dwelling on the unchangeable past or undetermined future.
Why Use Loving Kindness Meditation in Your Classroom?
Loving kindness meditation for students can have profound positive effects on overall wellbeing and the classroom environment. This practice encourages empathy, compassion, and emotional regulation among students.
A Clinical Psychology student at Swinburne University in Australia (Tania Maree Slaviero - Dip T, BEd, BA (Hons)) wrote her thesis on meditation. She examined a multitude of studies on the impact of guided meditation on children’s behavior, mental health, and wellbeing.
She shared that after using meditation in the classroom, positive effects were reported by the parents, students, and teachers.
There was an increase in student calmness and relaxation, improved concentration, better interaction with others, and better stress management and emotional/behavioral control following the meditation. Specifically, there was an increase in student calmness and relaxation, improved concentration, better interaction with others, and better stress management and emotional/behavioral control following the meditation.
Her research concludes the benefits are:
Qualitative data suggested that guided meditation was beneficial and therapeutic. The teachers reported that the children were focused, calm, quiet, settled, rested, and listened after guided meditation, and the practice provided them with time for reflection, and an opportunity to learn the skills of relaxation, stillness, and switching off.
How to do Loving Kindness Meditation.
The following is a loving kindness meditation script for kids. You can read it yourself or play the recording included in this post.
Let’s get started.
We’re now going to take a few minutes to practice a special kind of meditation called loving kindness. It's all about sending good thoughts and wishes to ourselves and others.
Sit in your chair and wiggle around until you’re comfortable. Now sit straight with your feet flat on the floor and your hands resting in your lap. Close your eyes.
Step 1: Focus on Your Breath (do not say)
Start by taking a deep breath in through your nose, and then breathe out slowly through your mouth. Feel the air filling your lungs as you breathe in, and feel your body relax a little more each time you breathe out. Keep breathing slowly. In and out, in and out, in and out.
Step 2: Sending Kindness to Yourself (do not say)
Now, place one hand over your heart and picture yourself in your mind. Imagine a beautiful warm glowing green light around your heart. With each breath in, say to yourself in your mind:
May I be happy.
May I be healthy.
May I be loved.
Picture these words as if they are written in bright, sparkling letters right inside your glowing heart. Feel the love for yourself and peace spreading through your body.
Step 3: Sending Kindness to Others (do not say)
Next, think about your family and friends. Picture their faces in your mind. Imagine that warm glowing light spreading from your heart to theirs. With each breath out, say in your mind:
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be loved.
Imagine them smiling and feeling happy, loved, and at peace because of your kind wishes.
Step 4: Sending Kindness to Everyone (do not say)
Now, think about people you don’t know – people in your school, in your town, and all around the world. Picture a collection of faces in your mind. Imagine that warm glow of light from your heart expanding to cover them all. With each breath out, say in your mind:
May everyone be happy.
May everyone be healthy.
May everyone be loved.
Imagine the whole world filled with happiness, peace, and love because of your kind thoughts.
Step 5: Coming Back (do not say)
Slowly, bring your awareness back to the room. Feel your body in the chair, your feet on the floor, and place your hand back in your lap. Wiggle your fingers and toes gently. When you're ready, open your eyes.
Remember, you can practice this meditation anytime you want to feel calm, happy, and kind. The more you practice sending kindness, the more kindness will come back to you.
NOTE: Most people associate the colors red or pink with the heart. So, don’t be surprised if your students question why they are being asked to imagine their heart glowing green.
If you’re into yoga or believe in “new age” wisdom, you may have heard of chakras. They're an ancient energy system that runs down your spine with each of the 7 main points emitting a color. The color associated with the heart is green. This is the area for love, compassion, and kindness.
Download a FREE Loving Kindness Meditation Audio File
To make it easier for teachers, I have recorded the meditation so all you have to do is hit play. I will warn you that I am an Australian, so your students might comment on my Aussie accent!
Incorporating loving kindness meditation in the classroom isn't difficult and doesn't need to take a lot of time but it can make a huge difference to wellbeing. A mindfulness meditation like this one not only benefits individual children but also contributes to a more positive and harmonious learning environment.
Equip your students with valuable life skills that go beyond academics by giving them tools to nurture emotional and social intelligence.
If you want a classroom full of calm, happy students, I urge you to try meditation. You can start it any time, but it could also be a fun activity for Random Acts of Kindness or World Kindness Day, World Mental Health Day, or World Wellbeing Week in the last week of June.
Have you tried mindfulness meditation in your classroom? Let me know if you’ve had success.
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AUTHOR: Lisa Currie - Ripple Kindness Project
Lisa is passionate about contributing to a happier world by building emotional intelligence in kids through fun and engaging social-emotional learning resources. Her core value is kindness as she believes it to be the “mother” of all character traits. She started Ripple Kindness Project to spread kindness in schools and communities. She also founded an outreach program to support disadvantaged families.
