There are not too many studies which look at the effect of mindfulness on young children in a school setting. Therefore it is interesting to read about a Boston School which designed a clinical project that used Tai Chi and mindfulness-based stress reduction as an educational program.
The 5-week successfully showed that sustained interest in this material in young boys and girls is possible, even though it may have been presumed beforehand that children would find the requisite capacity for sustained concentration, precision, mechanical exactness, and the essential slow execution of movements in Tai Chi find less interesting once the novelty wore off. However, statements made by the boys and girls in the process suggested that they experienced well-being, calmness, relaxation, improved sleep, less reactivity, increased self-care, self-awareness, and a sense of interconnection or interdependence with nature.
As a result of their work, the reserarchers state that Tai Chi and mindfulness-based stress reduction may be transformational tools that can be used in educational programs appropriate for school–aged children.
Wall, Robert, "Tai Chi and Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction in a Boston Public Middle School" Journal of Pediatric Health Care Volume 19, Number 4, July/August 2005
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