Satya Method Resource Center Newsletter
August 2005

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Co-creating Healing Meditations with Children
Selective mutism is an anxiety issue affecting an estimated one percent of the population. Jennifer Jazwierska, School Psychologist for Denver Public schools has a 9-year-old selectively mute third grader named Jackie. Jackie speaks at home but not at school. During their first five sessions together, Jackie never uttered a word. After a summer break, they resumed their sessions in the fall. For the next several months Jackie occasionally whispered “yes” and “no” responses to Jennifer. Her communication was inconsistent and never happened without prompting. Six months later, however, Jackie had a significant breakthrough.

To help Jackie overcome her anxiety about speaking, Jennifer used a child meditation technique that features a child’s favorite TV character, movie or sports activity in a guided journey. Using their limited communication, Jennifer and Jackie created a story about “SpongeBob,” a Nickelodeon cartoon. In Jackie’s story, SpongeBob takes a spaceship to school with his starfish friend Patrick. Patrick helps his friend feel relaxed and comfortable in the classroom and helps him talk to his teacher and classmates. They even included details such as the colors in SpongeBob’s classroom

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Jackie left the session, only to return a few minutes later to speak her first spontaneous sentence to Jennifer. Jennifer says, “Jackie whispered to me that her class was not in their classroom and was probably at gym. This was a monumental shift in our therapeutic relationship.”

Jennifer continued to co-create meditation with Jackie and incorporate the Satya Method principles into her practice. Weeks later, Jackie’s teacher reports improvement also. Jackie reads books one-on-one with her teacher in an audible whisper.

A variety of holistic approaches are becoming available to school professionals. “With a little creativity, patience and an open mind, we can pioneer the use of holistic practices in the education community, enhancing learning experiences for both students and teachers,” Jennifer says. She believes the guided imagery coupled with the partnership the Satya Method teaches jump-started their progress.

Connect with Jennifer jenjaz@comcast.net

Teacher and Student Heal Together
Steffanie Bjorgan teaches Junior/Senior Kindergarten in Ontario, Canada. One of her students, Amy, five years old, used to be unusually quiet in class – often not speaking when spoken to. Sometimes Amy would hold her hand up to speak, only to keep her silence when called on. Although Steffanie was aware of Amy’s challenges, her behavior frustrated Steffanie at times.

With the help of a meditation that encourages parents and professionals to grow spiritually with children, Steffanie now better understands her relationship with Amy. In meditation, Steffanie remembered how difficult it was for her to express herself during her childhood. “In my relationship with my mother, I had no voice. I stopped talking to her unless it was necessary,” Steffanie confides.

During her meditation experience, Steffanie instantly viewed the world through her student’s watchful eyes and guarded heart. “I saw myself in that little girl and I didn't want her to shut down like I did,” Steffanie shares. She also realized her attempts to get Amy to talk were actually attempts to control Amy’s voice. (Please note, the dynamic between Amy and Steffanie is unique to them – not all attempts to encourage a child to speak are controlling.) After her meditation, Steffanie committed to listen fully to Amy, supporting her power and voice.

Remarkably, the next day everything changed. The way this teacher and student looked at each other was nothing like before. In meditation, Steffanie had also envisioned sitting with Amy eye-to-eye and toe-to-toe on the floor, supporting her to speak when she was ready. Steffanie did exactly this and Amy eventually began to talk more freely. Amy continues to respond and participate in discussions months later.

Steffanie says she believes her feelings of sadness and hopelessness concerning her own voice as a child got in the way of her progress with her student. Steffanie adds, “This experience transformed me, and reminded me that to be a great teacher I don't have to do all the talking. Creating a safe environment for expression and being a good listener is just as important.”

Download the meditation Steffanie used.

Connect with Steffanie bjorgan@mergetel.com

A Daughter’s Imagination and Her Mother’s Serenity
Karen Prior has taught yoga to children and adults for over 10 years and is the creator of Let's Play Yoga, a yoga program for children that uses storytelling, games, music, art and puppets to engage students both physically and mentally.

Karen’s 5-year-old daughter Katie is a fabulous little meditator with a fantastic imagination. Karen guides Katie through meditation experiences to help Katie find grounding when she needs focus and to find strength when she is challenged with life’s transitions.

Katie finds the guided journeys most valuable when her mother encourages her to make up the latter part of the meditation herself. For example, when Karen asks her to feel a grounding cord connected to her root chakra at the bottom of her tail bone, Katie imagines that she has a tail like a monkey that hooks her to the earth.

Karen trusts the flow of her daughter’s process and gives limited direction. “I let go of my need to control the outcome of my daughter’s experience and allow the transformation to happen,” Karen says. When Karen helped Katie wean from the family bed, Karen asked her to visualize a soft cuddly cloud above her head, then Katie’s brilliant imagination guided her from there. She put her favorite dolls and toys on her cloud so they could all get comfortable for a good night’s rest.

Katie enjoys the meditations her mother facilitates for her and often talks about them days afterwards. Karen also includes meditation activities in her yoga classes for children and uses many of the Satya Method principles. She says, “The principles have helped me step outside my usual ‘teacher’ or ‘parent’ role and just ‘be’ in the experience.”

To find out more about Let’s Play Yoga, go to www.letsplayyoga.com

Connect with Karen info@letsplayyoga.com