Mindfulness for children in Amsterdam - Sophrosan, Amsterdam (2025)

15/06/2025

« Thoughts are like a piece of paper in your head, and your brain draws something…"

That's the lovely thing a 10-year-old girl explained to me in a session. She sees me because she has trouble sleeping. During that mindfulness session, we talked about what the word "thought" means. I had asked her: what is a thought for you?

During another session dedicated to emotions, I asked that same little girl to think of a situation where she had felt something profoundly and to describe where she had felt that emotion.

She picked a moment of sadness because her mom was leaving for several days. And she answered: "I felt a lump of sadness in my brain because Mom was leaving."

Isn't that beautiful?

Some kids' vocabulary has such rich imagery that they instill poetry in our sessions. I then feel privileged to do what I do because those moments fill me with sheer happiness—it's like time is stopping!

And you, can you share a similar poetic moment? It could be something from your daily life, at work, or with your kids. A little gem that could be either funny or sad?

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Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

08/05/2025

I love how spontaneous kids can be!

I often get to witness it during the mindfulness sessions I lead with them.

For instance, during a session about emotions in which we talked about joy, a 10-year-old girl got up to her feet and started dancing while telling me, with a smile:

"Now, I can see myself playing, dancing, and hugging my handicapped doll! Joy is running through my body!"

Then she added very seriously: "It's a good thing to play with a handicapped doll. At school, there was a boy with a handicap, and no one wanted to play with him!"

If more parents had the idea of offering such presents to their children and if kids had that little girl's wisdom, there would undoubtedly be more tolerance and empathy all around. The world would be a better place.

Yet another beautiful lesson I experienced during one of my sessions…

What about you? What was a moment—recent or not—when a child surprised you by being spontaneous or wise?

Photo by Zhang Kaiyv on Unsplash

17/04/2025

No matter how small they are, mobile phones take up a lot of space in our lives, don't they?

At the beginning of a mindfulness session with a 12-year-old girl, I asked her whether she wanted to share something about the past week. She then told me she had decided not to use her mobile phone for 3 days because she felt too much pressure.

Another motive was that she could feel a distance growing between her and her family and the things that were important to her.

It had been two days since the start of that experiment, and it was "magical: I read more, we play games, I feel great!"

She realized that her family was the most important thing to her. "It's a shame and a problem that some kids lose sight of that," she said.

That experience made her realize how much time she spent on her phone, even though that wasn't necessary.

I think it would be great for kids her age to try that same experience. While mobile phones are now banned in primary and secondary schools in the Netherlands, they certainly still take up too much time in the evenings and at weekends!

And, once more, I am amazed at how mature this teenager is!

What about you? Have you already done a digital detox? If so, what did you take from it?

Picture by Johnny Mc Clung on Unsplash

08/04/2025

When I started the mindfulness training called “Éduquer en pleine conscience” (Mindful Parenting and Teaching) in Paris back in 2019 with the AMT (Académie Mindful Teaching), I had no idea of the adventure that was awaiting me!

This training is based on the Eline Snel Method and teaches you how to train parents, educators and teachers in the field of mindfulness.
This was the next logical step for me because, aside from sophrology, I’ve been enjoying teaching mindfulness to children and teenagers according to the same method for years now.

So I started this training with enthusiasm! And 5 years later, I’ve graduated (at last). Why did that take me 5 years? Because the pandemic put a stop to the pilot project that I needed to complete to get all my credits.

I have to admit that I’m very proud that I didn’t quit. My close relatives know that I dealt with many challenges! But my determination was real.
I say “admit” because pride is something I have a hard time letting myself feel as I—quite wrongly—associate it with unbridled narcissism.
But in this case, I’m proud that I held on, including when I had to write 22 pages in Dutch for my thesis!

I want to thank the IFS (International French School) in Amsterdam for welcoming me for this pilot project. I indeed wanted to lead this experience in French and that made it all the more challenging to find an organization. I also want to thank all the training participants for their trust and these great moments we spent together.

This pilot project taught me a lot. Despite all the prep work needed and my apprehension—a feeling that was amplified by the considerable lapse of time between the training and the project—leading these sessions filled me with joy. Seeing in real time the transformations happening for my participants and listening to their feedback was a true source of happiness!

One person told me:“ Thanks to these sessions, I feel like I’ve turned on a switch and I don’t want to turn it off.” How could I not love hearing this?
Another participant explained: “Practicing this method has allowed me to become a better teacher. It’s not that I was doing a bad job before, but I don’t want to lose myself anymore.”

The parents of my mindfulness students used to ask me questions such as: “How can I go further in the method with my child?” or “How can I best support my child now they‘ve followed this program with you?”
I can now support these parents, as well as teachers and educators who want their kids or pupils to benefit from mindfulness.

Don’t hesitate to DM me if you’re interested in this topic.

May this post and my trajectory help you with your own path!

Adres

Amsterdam

Telefoon

+31646320065

Website

http://sophrosan.com/la-pleine-conscience-pour-les-enfants/?lang=en

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