By Laura K. Cowan
Kids who have been isolated this year might benefit a great deal from a meditation practice in the fall. Meditation is not just a way to relax—it gives kids a toolkit for handling stressful situations that life brings. It can be tricky to figure out which programs are going back to in person and what options are out there, so we did the digging for you to help families find some popular and newer meditation classes around town. Many of the meditation teachers featured graciously explained what a class with them is like, so you can get a sense of whether this is a fit for your little one. Namaste, fellow parents. It’s been a long year, and you’ve done an amazing job holding it all together for your family.
Transcendental Meditation One-on-One
Ann Arbor Transcendental Meditation teacher Tom Masuga has moved the practice from its longstanding location on Stadium Boulevard on Ann Arbor’s west side to the east side on Hogback Road. If you live closer to the new location, you might find this more convenient for getting your little ones into a meditation practice. The best part about this option is that Masuga teaches kids individually. It’s in person, but for those concerned, not crowded.
Masuga teaches children as young as three years old. “Transcendental meditation is always taught one on one,” he said. “For kids aged three to 10, they don’t close their eyes or sit down to meditate.” Instead, Masuga teaches younger children a five-minute morning and evening routine they can complete while “walking around outside or getting dressed.” He explained the progression for different age groups as, “At 10 years old they learn to sit down for 10 minutes, ages 11-20 they sit for 11 to up to 20 minutes.”
How does it work? According to VeryWellMind.com, transcendental meditation is unlike mindful meditation or similar practices that involve clearing the mind, instead focusing on repeating a simple mantra silently. “The practice is simple to do,” Masuga said. “They learn in one day in a brief meeting with the teacher.” But there’s one catch. At least one parent needs to also be doing TM with their child so they know how it works. However, it’s not supposed to be another item on the to-do list to wear you out. “It’s a form of rest,” Masuga told me. “You’re allowing the mind to become more settled, and quiet, [to help] dissolve stress.”
Even young children have stress, Masuga explained. “TM is a simple, effortless technique, which allows the mind to become more calm, and we act from that space.” Important to note for parents, Masuga said, “You never demand they meditate. It’s a time we don’t do tasks and we are easy with the self.” But don’t worry if your kid forgets how it works. “It’s not like piano lessons,” Masuga laughed. “If your kid doesn’t remember the technique, they can come back to see the teacher for free.”
To learn more about Transcendental Meditation, you can visit the national TM website at tm.org or call Masuga about local classes offered at (734)330-3282.
Read related article: Why I Teach Meditation
Ann Arbor Yoga & Meditation
Ann Arbor Yoga & Meditation is one of the only locations in Ann Arbor that caters specifically to kids’ meditation classes. Founder Ema Stefanova is an internationally certified yoga therapist and trains teachers as well as teaches classes. She has taught yoga and meditation for over 30 years, following the popular Satyananda Yoga tradition, which is the yoga tradition that has been used in Western European schools for the last 60 years. Satyananda yoga focuses on yoga for the whole body—poses for the physical body, breathing exercises for the energy body, and meditation to still the mind. As such, it’s a great holistic yoga practice to help kids who are looking for a relaxation or self-care technique that involves body and mind together.
Classes at Ann Arbor Yoga & Meditation include in-person private or small group yoga focused on general or specialty yoga therapy, yoga nidra (the yoga of sleep-like relaxation for the mind), and workshops or half-day retreats by appointment. Workshops are sometimes located at Ann Arbor Yoga & Meditation’s building in west Ann Arbor on Federal between Stadium and Maple, but classes can be scheduled offsite at a business or a school.
The Ann Arbor Yoga & Meditation studio opens to the outdoors for good ventilation, which Stefanova told us they use even in cold weather. They also follow all official guidelines for pandemic mitigation measures. It strikes me that while this is great practice for germ mitigation, it is worth knowing what type of ventilation your studio has going forward if your kid is sensitive to the cold or heat.
Stefanova’s classes focus on supporting individuals through struggles such as anxiety, depression, or self-harm. It might be worth checking ahead of time what issues will be addressed and make sure the class is age-appropriate and a good fit for your child. The focus on special support might be just right if your kid is going through grief or a special challenge.
Stefanova told me:
Programs are tailored for clients’ specific needs. Children’s bodies and minds are different than those of adults. Therefore yoga, yoga therapy, yoga nidra, and meditation for children and teens (when it comes to technique and methodology, and the whole process of educating children in the subject of classical yoga and meditation) is totally different than what adults are taught. Children in my experience are naturals at yoga and meditation. Nine out of ten times the results are much better compared with adults.
“When working with families, just kids themselves, or groups in schools, we [teach] parents and educators how to further the practice by providing home practice materials and recommending quality texts, audio, and more,” Stefanova explained. She said that she has seen classes help kids with better sleep, addressing fears and phobias, stress, and school performance anxiety. Even self-esteem, eating disorders, and more can improve with support from a mindful yoga class and instruction in meditation. These classes can’t replace medical care or psychological counseling for urgent issues, but it’s great to hear about a yoga and meditation class for kids that doesn’t shy away from supporting children through life’s bumps in the road.
Ema Stefanova teaches on the west side of Ann Arbor. To learn more about Ann Arbor Yoga & Meditation, visit yogaandmeditation.com.
Zen Buddhist Temple Meetings
Kusun Ztaise (“Stacy”) Bradley is the Family Program Coordinator at Ann Arbor’s Zen Buddhist Temple, which hopes to open in the fall to in-person events. “We hold a family service the second Sunday of every month at 10 a.m. at our regular building,” Bradley told me. “The first half hour is chanting, talking, meditation, and instruction for kids. The last hour, kids break into age groups for activities around mindfulness and similar topics.” If you would like some family togetherness in the fall around learning to meditate or joining a mindful community, the Zen Buddhist Temple is a popular choice for parents who like meditating with their kids and giving them the community experience.
The temple has a free weekly newsletter you can sign up for with practices for parents and kids. Bradley told me this has given some kids a sense of continuity with their friends from the temple during the past year, because often “people they would see in temple would follow along with practice at home” via the newsletter in between meetings.
For older kids there is a youth group once a month, or every other month teens go kayaking or on a nature hike. Bradley said that if you’re interested in these activities, the best way to reach out is by email (info. below).
Bradley said that the primary benefit of meditation for kids is the “ability to calm down from all the things that are happening and find peace.” Learning that skill at a meeting, she explained, when things are not stressful, allows kids to calm down when they are stressed because they already have the skill in place. “Kids who grew up in temple often find they come back to practice,” she said. “It’s a toolkit of skills to know when they need to sit down or how to listen to the sounds around them.”
The kids’ programs at the Zen Buddhist Temple of Ann Arbor focus on mindfulness in daily life—while doing dishes or playing soccer. “Youth classes often include stretches and yoga to get kids in their body,” Bradley explained. “Practice often involves mindfulness of your awareness of the body and what you’re doing right now.”
You can learn more about the Ann Arbor Zen Buddhist Temple meetings and kids’ activities by emailing zenfamilyprogram@gmail.com. For general inquiries, visit zenbuddhisttemple.org/annarbor for up-to-date meeting and program information.
Grove Emotional Health Cooperative
Anique Pegeron is a local favorite for coaching kids through emotional stress and teaching meditation to young ones. Since the pandemic, she said she has been offering one-on-one sessions and family classes, and now has returned to in-person classes. “At Grove, we have a good system for sanitizing doors, HEPA filters in each room, and masks,” she reassured me. “We felt safe enough to offer in-person sessions.”
Pegeron tailors classes to children’s interests and hobbies, drawing on everything from an interest in the arts to fun games she can use to teach self-soothing meditation techniques that speak to their specific style of interacting with the world. “Some children need in-person tactile instruction,” she said. “We have yoga blocks and cushions we can incorporate.”
Pegeron said that in a group it can be harder to tailor instruction to individual concerns, so she has enjoyed working with children one at a time this last year. She paused group classes during the pandemic and hasn’t restarted them yet, saying the time doesn’t yet feel right.
“For a typical session, I’ll find out ahead of time from parents what the child’s hobbies, interests, and challenges are, and what they could benefit from.” Pegeron said that when she is introduced to a child, she can use this knowledge of their interests to come up with relevant metaphors and examples. Sessions can incorporate everything from yoga to mindful games, art, and body scans she likens to a paintbrush painting over the body to check in with the senses. Mindfulness can also involve sitting or movement activities.
“I bring up different options and see how they respond,” Pegeron explained. “If they like the creative activities, we do more of those. I try to help children find their own connection point.”
Anique Pegeron’s classes are found at groveemotionalhealth.com. She teaches out of a South Main Street office in downtown Ann Arbor.
Other Options For Kids’ Meditation
Other options for meditation classes this year could include martial arts, as they sometimes incorporate a style of meditation for centering into an active practice. Just ask before you schedule a session to find out what’s incorporated into a particular program.
Many therapists now teach mindfulness and stress-reduction relaxation techniques, which can be helpful if you have a specific concern that makes meditation more difficult for your child, such as a learning challenge or trauma that responds better to individual instruction or treatment. For example, PTSD can make it difficult for a child to be present for mindfulness meditation. They might respond better to talk therapy in conjunction with EMDR or havening therapy first to calm the nervous system and create a sense of safety which will then allow your child to feel safe to be present in the body.
If that doesn’t seem to fit your situation, you might even find your kid just likes peaceful trips to the library or wants to go out for ice cream like you used to, to get back to a sense of normality. I hope you find something just right for your kids this fall. I’m impressed at how many children have adapted to a year of change and upheaval, and hope you find the right tools for supporting your family through a peaceful fall season. To all the kids out there who already know a thing or two about centering, grounding, mindful breathing, and self-soothing, I am so proud of you and wish you the best with back to school. Blessings. We’ve got this, families.
Laura K. Cowan is the Kids in The Community columnist for The Crazy Wisdom Community Journal, and also writes the Healers of Ann Arbor column. She is a tech and wellness journalist from Ann Arbor, and also runs Ann Arbor tech blog and a content marketing consultancy for tech startups and small businesses at Cronicle Press, www.cronicle.press. You can reach her at laurakcowan@gmail.com.
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