Why Every HSP Highly Sensitive Person Should Learn How To Meditate. Why meditation helps the Highly Sensitive Person or Empath become more mentally and emotionally resilient in their life and business.
Daily Challenges Of The HSP Highly Sensitive Person
I believe everyone should learn how to meditate but if you are an empath or HSP I believe meditation is a must. Why? Because if you are an HSP you are more sensitive to the energy and stress of modern-day living. The HSP has a highly sensitive sensory system, basically a more finely tuned nervous system than most people. This gives the HSP a lot more awareness and receptivity to the world around them. But this also makes HSP’s less resilient in some ways more easily overstimulated.
Reasons Why The HSP Highly Sensitive People Should Meditate
The highly sensitive person is often more easily wounded. The HSP Empath is often more scattered in their energy. In many ways, they are often not fully in their energetic body. That is why many highly sensitive empaths are often ungrounded and uncentred. Why so many highly sensitive’s and empaths struggle mentally, physically, and or emotionally in their day-to-day life.
Highly Sensitive Empaths are like energy sponges. So they need to need to learn how to become more centered, grounded, and energetically aware. Meditation naturally helps increase awareness and presence. Meditation can also help us become more grounded and centered.
Why Every HSP Should Meditate Daily
Daily Meditation is so good for your mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing
Regular meditative practice is known to lower anxiety and stress levels.
It helps you access a deep space of stillness and peace, so meditation often increases clarity and confidence
We know meditation helps you access much clearer intuition and inner guidance.
Meditation allows you to heal mentally, physically, and emotionally
My Own Meditation Journey As A HSP And Empath
I began meditating over 28 years ago, I tried, tested, and studied various styles and teachings of meditation. As someone with very rare medical challenges that mainstream medicine couldn’t treat, I had to find skills that would make me more physically, mentally, and emotionally resilient. Oh, how I thank god that I found meditation. This was a skill that helped me become so mentally resilient. Meditation helped me deal with so many tremendous and long-term challenges with strength and peace.
One of my earliest teachings of meditation was to a class of rather troublesome young men. I knew teaching meditation to a class of rather rowdy you men might not be a walk in the park. So I went searching for a style of meditation that might accommodate their particular needs. I found a technique that I adapted in which became My 5 Minute Meditation. In-fact this became the most popular meditation tool I ever taught. Loved by not just teenagers, but stressed-out executives, carers, healers, highly sensitive people, and empaths.
Finding The Right Type Of Meditation To Start With
When you find the right type of meditation tool for you, you will build your meditation practice up much stronger. If you have a very busy, demanding lifestyle the 5 Minute Meditation is a great starter tool. But I would still encourage you to practice a more traditional style of meditation into your routine. This form of meditation will help you transcend into living more of your life from a place of meditation.
The problem today is there is a lot of myths and misunderstanding around meditation. Many people give up too quickly on their meditation practice because of a misunderstanding of what meditating actually is.
Beginners Meditation Technique For The Anxious HSP
If you are an HSP who struggles with chronic anxiety and stress I would encourage you to try out a very short style of meditation like my less than 5 Minute Meditation which is great for beginners. This particular technique is really useful for chronic anxiety and even trauma sufferers, so it’s much more gentle than other forms of meditation.
The Right Type Of Meditation Teacher If You Are Highly Sensitive
My advice would be to choose a meditation teacher wisely, find out more about them, years of experience, training, and styles of meditation they teach. If you’re an Empath or HSP you may want to book a one-to-one session with a meditation teacher before attending a class or start with some simple meditation at home. Also, check-in that the meditation teacher actually teaches you how to meditate they are not just practicing or guiding you through guided meditations more like guided visualisations, this is often something very different.
Why Meditation Supports The HSP
Anxiety and emotional wounding is a big problem for the HSP, Meditation helps loosen those challenges as it helps us detach from that wounding. When we meditate we connect with the self, an aspect of us that never changes. This helps nurture a healthy anchor, a stronger connection with where magic and stillness transcends everything else.
Sadly Exam Stress And Anxiety Is A Big Problem For Many Students And Teenagers. Especially with such increase in mental health challenges in young people, especially chronic anxiety and depression.
Exam stress for many is actually stress anxiety, for some it is more anxiety performance. Most students and teenagers are suffering from both exam stress and exam anxiety, so it is important to approach both.Most of us when we hear the word exam get a feeling of panic. But there is so many things your teenager can do to reduce exam stress and anxiety. With the right approach and the right tools you can help increase calm and confidence.
Top Tips To Reduce Teenage Exam Stress And Anxiety
Create A Suitable Study Space: Make sure your child has a suitable comfortable space to study where they wont be disturbed or distracted. A space which is ideal to encourage more calm and focus. For teenagers who lack focus or suffer from ADHD, the NYR Study Remedies roller ball is great, ideal to fit in a pocket, purse or bag
Encourage A Balanced Study Routine: Help or encourage your teenager to create a healthy and balanced study timetable. It is so important your teenagers prioritise their time effectively. It can be so easy for them to want to avoid subjects they struggle with or are concerned over.
Reduce External Stressors: Help take the pressure off your teenager by reducing external stressors as much as you can. If they normally have a lot of home chores try reducing them temporarily during study term. So they are not over stressed and over exhausted.
Encourage Time Out: Make sure your teenager takes plenty of breaks between study time and exams. It is important they take time to switch off. Meditation and relaxation techniques can be really helpful at helping anxious teenagers switch off. Teenagers love my 5 Minute Meditation (included in the Exam Stress Kit) is the most popular tool I have taught for 16 years
Reduce Technology Overload: We use technology for so much in our lives that we forget how over-stimulating and energy depleting it can be. Also most computers and mobile devices such as iPads emit blu ray technology which can play havoc with our nervous system and sleep patterns. So ensure they spend time off computers, phones, facebook…
Encourage Plenty Of Deep Quality Sleep:Good quality sleep can make a huge difference to our concentration, focus and memory recall. Guided meditations designed to support sleep can be really helpful so can muscle relaxation techniques. Lavender oil is a great essential oil that can encourage a deep restful sleep. One product many of clients and friends love is the NYR Organics Night Time aroma ball
Want to support your child or teenager the right way?
My Exam Stress Toolkit
is perfect for teenagers, student and parents who want to get it right.
How To Create A Calm Bedtime Routine For Your Child
Simple effective ways to create a calm bedtime routine for your kids and teenagers.
For so many parents a calm bedtime routine seems impossible. So many families are so stressed out and exhausted that bedtime can feel like a nightmare or the last straw. But the reality is children’s bedtime don’t have to be as stressful as you think. Some simple changes can make a huge difference to a family’s bedtime routine.
As a stress therapist for 18 years, I know how effective a healthy calm bedtime routine can reduce family stress.
A calm bedtime routine is important not just for the kids but the whole family. Believe me a calm bedtime routine into your evening routine. Can make every family member feels far more happier, healthier and resilient to all sorts of stress.
5 Ways to Create A Calm Bedtime Routine For Children And Teenagers
Create healthy boundaries and a regular routine. It is important to have set times when your kids must be in bed, must have the lights out. Even times when kids should stop eating, drinking and watching tv. So set specific times when they have to switch off their phone.
Make sure stimulants are cut out or seriously reduced from early afternoon as stimulants stay in the body for many hours. For example let your child have their favourite treat or sweet early in the day. Encourage teenagers to stay away from caffeine stimulants. As sadly energy drinks are highly addictive and bad for your child’s health. In-fact the withdrawal and side effects can be quite serious.
Encourage relaxing hobbies like drawing, painting, colouring in, listening to relaxing music. As most children and teenagers today struggle to switch off, relax and fall off to sleep. Kids are so mentally busy and overwhelmed. They have forgotten how to really relax. If you look at most new born babies they naturally know how to just be, how to switch off, be calm and content.
Switch off and unplug. It is important children and teenagers have rest and quality sleep away from electric devices and technology. Because the electro magnetic frequencies and blu ray from ipads, iphones can play havoc with your child’s nervous system. Examples of healthier night time activities are a relaxing bath, a foot massage or baby massage for toddler or hobbies as mentioned above.
Teach your child how to meditate, meditation helps your child feel more relaxed, more calm. Guided meditations which are actually guided relaxations can help your child drift off into a deep sleep. So they can be particularly useful for sensory challenged children, more easily stimulated. Your Guardian Angel mp3 is one of my oldest and most popular relaxation tracks for children it is aimed at about 3- 8 years old. but even a little older children have enjoyed it.
Encourage A Calm Bedtime Routine today
If your child likes learning and reading I have published the Bedtime Tips With Astral- cartoon video into a little cartoon ebook. So it will encourage your child to get off to bed when they are supposed to. And will remind them how important it is to get a good healthy sleep.
There are many ways to help empower your child. We are so often told about all the things we shouldn’t do but what about the things we should do.
We all know how much a lack of self-esteem and self-confidence can seriously impact the way we approach and live our life. So how do we give our child who may be sensitive, sensory challenged, shy, disabled or ill their power? Here is a five simple but powerful ways you can begin to empower your child today!
5 Simple, Powerful Ways That Can Empower Your Child For Life
They Are Enough:We live in a society and culture that in many ways has everyone believing they are lacking, they need to have or be more to be loved, accepted, valued, respected, successful. When this is so not true. This is such a huge distortion. We can help a child open up and live their greatest potential. But helping them recognise they are enough right now, at this moment is the most powerful thing you can.
Celebrate Your Child’s Uniqueness:Helping your child celebrate those quirky, unique and challenging traits they may have is about helping them recognise they are so much more than enough. And that they are here with their own unique traits, for a particular purpose. There are somethings a child grows out of but it is so important to love and accept them just as they are.
Open Up Your Child’s Potential: Help your child see out of the box, look past limitations even your own. Open them up to the rich tapestry of life, other ideas, other skills, let them try things. Often parents unawaringly or well meaningly limit their child’s dreams, they can squash down their ” Joie de vivre” Joy of Living. Or they do the opposite and fill in all sorts of activities into their child’s schedule without enough downtime. Sadly over 18 years as a Stress Therapist I have seen many children with depression and anxiety. And some children who developed suicidal tendencies exacberated by this sort of pressure from parents.
Empower Yourself: When you empower yourself, you empower your child, children are energetic sponges, so they can easily take on other’s anxiety, stress and depression. Especially children who are extremely sensitive who find it difficult to identify what is their energy and emotions and others.
Teach Your Child How To Meditate: When you teach your child the right type of meditation, your child can access calm and peace whenever they want. Now I am not talking about guided meditations, they can help your child to relax and help build self-worth, confidence … I am talking about meditation skills that with daily practise will eventually let them access instant stillness. So whatever life challenges or stress come along, your child will have the tools to deal with them more effectively. The right meditation and mindful skills can also help your child become more accepting, compassionate about themself and those around them. Their less likley to have chronic anxiety, depression or chronic stress because they are not as lost in negative thinking.
So What Are The Healthy Benefits Of Meditation And Mindfulness For Children?
Well sadly more and more children are suffering from anxiety, stress, depression and over-stimulation that is why mindfulness for children is now so popular. Society places a lot of pressure not just on adults but children and teenagers. More and more children are becoming addicted to technology, sugar and other unhealthy habits from a very young age. Unhealthy patterns that could seriously impact on the quality and potential of their adult life. Meditation and mindfulness can support a child in many ways, in-fact in many ways meditation can be your child’s best friend.
Here is some of the reasons meditation and mindfulness for children is extremely powerful
Meditation And Mindfulness Can Reduce Anxiety, Stress And Depression– Sadly more and more children are over-stimulated, over-anxious and depressed. Meditation and mindful activities encourage the body off the stress response into the calm response. A reason why mindfulness for children has became the latest skill in many schools.
Meditation and Mindfulness Calms The Monkey Mind– Children have an amazing ability to think quickly and grasp new tasks and activities, look at the way even young toddlers quickly grasp how to use your mobile phone or their own mini ipad. But the biggest challenge with children today, is focus. Like adults there minds quickly dart to different things, which often leads to poor concentration, a low attention span and the need to be aways busy. This is not healthy, this is what causes anxiety, stress and over-stimulation. Mindful activites and meditation techniques loosen the attachment to the monkey mind. And in many ways reteaches the child’s mind and body to calm down when it needs to. That is why it is such a popular self help tool for kids with autism, aspergers and adhd.
Mindful Activities And Meditation Creates Confidence– Lack of self-esteem, self-worth and confidence are all triggered and caused by our mental beliefs, by over-thinking. When a child learns to let go of these self-destructive tendencies they become more calm and confident. Your child recognises they are enough, they are not their thoughts. When we access a place of deep peace regularly we are more at peace with ourselves. I have witnessed many children with various disabilities and challenges completely change in attitude, confidence and ability through learning meditation. You would be surpised how powerful these skills can be when encouraged in a child’s daily life and way of being.
Mindfulness And Meditation For Emotional Wellbeing–We all have to go through different life challenges and emotional pain, but how we approach and go through is what makes us struggle or suffer. The powerful aspect of the right mindful and meditation tools is that they can teach your child to accept their pain, accept their emotions without judgement. When we allow our pain to arise and flow in acceptance, we reduce reaction, fear, destruction and denial. All of the things that create the biggest unhappiness in life. An emotionally healthy child is a happy child, a child who creates happier and healthier communication skills and positive relationships.
Daily Meditation And Mindfulness Encourages Healthier Sleep Routines–When a child is more calm and peaceful throughout the day, it is much easier for their mental, emotional and physical body to switch off.Many people are so focused on tiring their children out, they fail to recognise their is a huge difference between physical tiredness and mental tiredness. Mental tiredness is often mental stimulation and one of the biggest reasons children and teenagers don’t want to go to bed. With so much information and technology overload, many kid’s natural circardian rythm is out of sync. Programs that include meditation and mindfulness for children can encourage the mental and physical body back into its natural circardian state.
As someone who has meditate for 25 years and taught meditation to all ages including children for over 15 years I have been very fortunate to witness the many benefits and blessings.
Would You And Your Child Love To Learn Simple And Effective Meditation And Mindful Activities?
Do you have a Highly Sensitive Child? Thankfully medical research is starting to recognise the highly sensitive child or highly sensitive person. Especially with increased awareness and education on those with sensory process or those labelled on the Autism or Asperger’s spectrum, who are more visible as the highly sensitive child.
So what are some of the most common signs of a highly sensitive child or HSP.
HSP’s are usually very intuitive and are good judge of character. But because of deep compassion and empathy will often let their heart rule their head. It is important they learn to trust and be guided by their inner guidance.
The easily over stimulated child is often a HSP. Thus they are more easily stimulated; noise, visuals, smells, touch, movement and taste. For some the sensitivity can be so extreme, it can seriously impact their life. For example they may not be able to tolerate touch or find specific or loud sounds extremely painful, certain clothes too itchy or uncomfortable.
Dislike Violence, Horror Movies, many highly sensitive children will find even the slightest violence quite disturbing. They can appear very cautious or fearful in doing certain activities which may appear to have a risk such as climbing.
Irrational or irrelevant guilt is a common trait of the over sensitive child, due to their highly empathic nature and difficulty identifying their own emotions with others.
They tend to be people pleasers, often to their own detriment. Many HSP’s will go out of their way to be kind, please others as they don’t want to hurt others or cause conflict.
They will usually need more time out and alone. Highly sensitive kids and teenagers need more time to unplug from technology and other’s, Even if they appear sociable and talkative. They burn out and get over stimulated very easily. This can appear as high energy or fun to be around, but can often be over stimulation or over excitement.
The highly emotional child is often a highly sensitive child, many HSP’s are also highly empathic though not all. The Highly Sensitive Empath is often more likely put other’s emotional needs before them-self. In-fact they will often over identify or take on other’s emotional pain, especially as they find it difficult to set healthy boundaries. Which can seriously affect their physical, mental and emotional well-being.
Powerful Yet Simple Life Tools You Can Teach A Highly Sensitive Child
Highly sensitive children need calm and respite from the over stimulation and information over load of modern life. As a healer, therapist and stress expert I have witnessed for many years, the huge benefits highly sensitive children achieve from learning meditation. Especially the right meditation skills and the right relaxation techniques. The right type of meditation helps one access inner calm and peace no matter what is happening around them.
Highly sensitive children who struggle and don’t learn how to harness their gifts and traits tend to really struggle in adulthood. The more we can learn how to love, accept and honour ourselves as children, the more happier and healthier we become. But if we are misunderstood, not given the support we need, not taught the skills we need we end up carrying those wounds into adulthood. That is why Inner Child Therapy has became so popular, why so many highly sensitive and highly empathic adults are attracted to Inner Child work.
Inner Child Work For The Highly Sensitive Adult
Inner Child work when approached the safe and effective way can be extremely helpful. But in many ways most inner child healing is about healing trauma so there is certain approaches that must be used. It is not something that can be approached lightly. As someone who has studied a variety of therapeutic approaches for 30 years. Not just different healing and therapy modalities but counselling, psychology, psychotherapy, archetypes and inner child work. I use a variety of safe and effective tools and approaches in my work to ensure my sessions and courses are safe and soothing.
Tools For The Highly Sensitive Child
The highly sensitive child needs to learn they are enough, the need to learn and develop self-love and self-worth.
The HSP Child should learn how to become more resilient to anxiety, stress and any form of over-stimulation.
Traditional meditation techniques can help the sensitive child or sensitive teenager find their own inner calm, own inner peace.
Guided meditations for sensitive children are extremely common as they can help encourage not just deep relaxation, but help them nurture a safe space within them self.
Eileen has worked with many highly empathic and highly sensitive adults, HS children, highly sensitive teens, kids with Autism, Aspergers and also many of their Empathic or Highly Sensitive Parents. It is just as important that the highly sensitive child’s family learn to relax and manage their stress as the highly sensitive teenager or highly sensitive kid.
Are You A Highly Sensitive Adult? Who needs to heal your Inner Child?
Eileen is a highly experienced coach, healer and meditation teacher who has studied healing and holistic well-being for over 28 years .
Owner of Stress Coach Training , Eileen is an anxiety and stress management expert who offers online training courses for coaches and therapists. Online Certificated Relaxation Therapist & Teacher Training, Stress Management 101, Meditation Courses, Empaths Tools Kit and Spiritual Marketing Courses For Coaches & Healers
