It seems like there's always a new health and wellness craze around every corner, and recently we're hearing a lot about the value of meditation. Athletes are doing it, pro speakers swear by it, actors and actresses can't believe everyone isn't doing it yet.But is it too good to be true? Or worse, is it woo woo???Turns out brain research demonstrates a ton of benefits to meditation, so I asked my fellow stress mastery educator, Lisa Dorval, a therapist and trained Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction Instructor, to join us today to sort it all out.We talk briefly about the importance of mindfulness and meditation for children, why meditation ISN'T woo woo and CAN be part of a Christian's prayer life (but can also be done without any faith/religion involved), and Lisa will share a few quick children's meditations that you can use at home with your kids.I have more than one child who gets very anxious and doesn't know how to deal with their stress (it's possible they learned that from their mother, someone who knows very well the meaning of "hot mess" as Lisa explains it in this video). We knew we needed to incorporate some meditative, breathing practices into our lives, and I'm so happy to have been using Lisa's since we filmed this interview! Mindfulness and finding your calm space really is a muscle that takes practice.To use the meditations with your kids, you can find the audio files in downloadable form (put them on your phone!) right here: www.kidscookrealfood.com/meditation-for-kidsFind Lisa and her Massachusetts-based center online: https://www.do-east.com/Visit the Kids Cook Real Food eCourse and see how we teach children confidence in the kitchen: https://kidscookrealfood.comFind all the Kids Cook Real Food Healthy Parenting Connector videos at https://youtu.be/GVRq0m-Ehe4
