Bella the Butterfly

· Emotions

We examine a range of emotions and get the child to name the emotions and make them real. We state from the outset that all emotions are very real and relevant but they do pass. The child brings an awareness to each emotion by describing them and what they mean to the child and then learns that emotions can be managed and balanced over time with tools.

· Gratitude

By bringing a sense of gratitude to everyday living the child experiences life at a deeper level with more of a sense of appreciation for what they have in their lives rather than focusing on what they don’t have especially materialistically. This topic is very positively focused with an expansion to the wider community depending once again on the age of the child.

· Empathy

Having empathy for others and other peoples’ emotions creates a sensitivity and understanding in the child that other people matter and others’ reactions, while different to theirs, are equally valid. This encourages the child to embrace relationships with others who may appear different on the outside. The concept of sameness and uniqueness is dealt with here.

· Self-Awareness

Bringing confidence to a child takes many stages and one is through self- awareness. Being aware of our own feelings and thoughts helps us understand better how we interact with the world and interact with others. Self-love is crucial to self-awareness and embracing the positive aspects of our own personality and others.

· Mindful listening, breathing and playing

When children slow down to examine and really feel the present moment, a calm descends. Helping the child to listen, breath and play mindfully helps create life skills in all interactions. Guiding a child to live in the present moment is explored through different exercises as various levels of awareness are present in each child.

· Relaxation and Calm

Bella the Butterfly has created a children’s mediation available on iTunes and this meditation helps the child to rest into a state of calm through imagery. Allowing the child to explore their other senses in a relaxed state can create many innovative conversations and art work. Assisting a child to access their subconscious to enable their artistic juices flow.

Trainer

This programme is run, created and designed by Belinda Murphy.

Belinda is a mom to three children; boys age 11, 9 and girl age 1. She is a Reiki Master Teacher and uses energy methodologies to assist mindfulness in the classroom. She also has qualifications in Anatomy, Physiology, Life Coaching & Mentoring, Holistic Massage, Masters in Business Studies.

The benefits of this programme can be extended to incorporate mindfulness sessions for teachers and Belinda is a very experienced Corporate Wellbeing provider running talks, guided mindfulness sessions and therapies for VHI corporate clients. There is an extra charge to including mindfulness for teachers as an additional part of the programme.

Bella the Butterfly - Mindfulness for Children ###