“Let’s Keep Calm and Breathe”:

Meditation’s Effects on Children’s Behavior

Last week, we celebrated the release of the new documentary SOURCE – It’s Within You. Today we’re excited to share more proof of what’s possible.

The paper, “‘Let's keep calm and breathe’ – A mindfulness meditation program in school and its effects on children's behavior and emotional awareness: An Australian pilot study,” was recently accepted for publication in Psychology in the Schools.

Dr Joe partnered with Dr Peta Stapleton at Australia’s Bond University to study meditation’s effects on children over a 10-week period. This is the first study on children and meditation ever conducted at this scale – following 900 primary school students across two age groups. The remarkable findings include:

• Daily meditations of just five minutes for 4-8-year-olds predicted an increase in happiness, school performance, and a decrease in emotional and behavioral difficulties.
• Daily meditation of just five minutes in 9-11-year-olds predicted an increase in emotional awareness, and a decrease in emotional and behavioral difficulties.
• Daily meditation of just five minutes over 10 weeks enhanced self-regulation in all primary school children.

The published research shows clear evidence for the potential benefits of school-based meditation programs and will be followed by a similar study in Acapulco later this year.

We hope you’ll review this important work and share it. Let’s envision a future where we inspire and nurture our youth from a greater level of consciousness.

Sincerely,

The Encephalon Team