IF the tweens and teens in your life are looking for a gentle alternative to after school sport, some calming classes are coming to the Meredith Community Centre in term three.<\/p>\n
Jade Hansen of Moonfairy Healing Energy is running movement, mindfulness, and meditation sessions each Tuesday at 5pm for young people between grade 5 and year 9.<\/p>\n
The classes will cover the four principles of mindfulness and how they can help people stay centred in their day-to-day lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe do mini meditations, which are like resets people can do step-by-step if they\u2019re in a stressful situation, and learn about the seven main chakras and ways to balance them back out,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI encourage them to do day and night journaling, teach breathing exercises, and do a mindfulness activity each session, which is either visual art or craft based.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese include mindful jars, dream catchers, designing their own meditations and affirmations cards, rock paintings, letters to their future self, and vision boards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Hansen said the sessions end with tension releasing stretches to calm bodies, and then a final meditation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThese are some of the most important skills that you can have, and these young people are getting first-hand early knowledge, and the right tools, to deal with the stress and struggles we all experience in life,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Ms Hansen has a background in reiki healing, but decided to complete further training in mindfulness, and art and colour healing in recent years.<\/p>\n
She also runs classes for younger children and said parents and teachers have noticed these kids have come to approach life at home and in the classroom in a much \u201ccalmer, relaxed\u201d way.<\/p>\n