New South Wales – HUNTER schools and preschools have employed specialist mindfulness experts to teach school kids the importance of staying in the present. The step has been taken in order to improve the mental health and wellbeing of children. Many trainers such as early childhood teachers and yoga teachers have been employed in more than 30 preschools and primary schools in New South Wales in Australia.
The mindfulness sessions teach the young children, spanning from two to six years of age, the management of feelings such as stress and anxiety. One of the mindfulness experts, Kylie Humphreys said that mindfulness has a great role to play in keeping mental health in a stable state. And hence, it brings positive results in all the other areas of life. She said that unlike the earlier times, the various researches in the field of neuroscience have stressed upon the importance of including mindfulness in the medical as well as educational systems. She explained that focusing on the present moment in a non-judgemental way brings a lot of benefits to our mental health.
Today, many people meditate while working and also spend some part of their day in a state of mindfulness. Humphreys revealed that as WHO has said that most of the mental health problems begin by 14 years of age, so teaching school going children the techniques of meditation as well as mindfulness would help them manage their emotions well. Further, she added that by learning to keep their mental health in a stable form, students will be able to develop themselves much satisfactorily.
