Children from nuclear families in the rapidly urbanized environment lose opportunities to hang out with a group of children of the same age in the naturally formed living space. They have no choice but adapt themselves to the artificial environment cr...
Children from nuclear families in the rapidly urbanized environment lose opportunities to hang out with a group of children of the same age in the naturally formed living space. They have no choice but adapt themselves to the artificial environment created by adults tolerating unnecessary interference and control. Children in the cities are deprived of access to natural lives and lose warm sentiments and senses by living in the artificial structure.
In the residential area of apartments, children do not have enough space to enjoy themselves to the full and friends to play with. When children have spare time, they are forced out to private institutes or indulge in watching TV and playing computer games limiting a chance to communicate with others. Therefore, the tendency to reside in the imaginary environment rather than reality increases and social interaction with other people decreases.
Increasingly, children get into physical fights to be a leader. Most children of working parents in nuclear families tend to grow to become more and more selfish and uncompromising. Our society rather incites the competitive climate neglecting these children’s tendency than correcting it. Our children look normal in ordinary times. However, when they have problems, they don’tunderstand or compromise and just get into numerous fights every day.
Meditation is a method to train oneself. While study in yoga and meditation is increasing, researches on effects on children as a subject of study in yoga and meditation are insufficient. Children are considered hard to study due to the preconceived idea that small children are full of ups and downs. Considering children’s characteristics, the researcher in person started the study feeling uneasiness. This study is aiming to find out what emotional changes children experience through steady yoga and meditation.
Through easily accessible yoga and meditation activities for small children, changes of their internal senses are observed. As the researcher experienced emotional changes through yoga and meditation, if children feel the same, yoga and meditation will be able to influence children’s emotional changes greatly.
The research aims at studying how children’s emotion changes if adequate yoga and meditation activities are conducted on a daily basis.
This research established annual plans to study the yoga and meditation activity program of Buddhist ecology programs and what changes are made on children’s natures. To achieve the research results, thirteen subjects of four year old children from nursery and eleven subjects of five year old children participated in the process. Yoga and meditation programs for the research groups are conducted for 15 ~ 20 minutes daily over the 10 month period as planned.
Results are as follows.
First, children from the research group who conducted yoga and meditation showed meaningful differences between before and after the activities. The degree of anxiety and depression decreased.
Especially for children who experience emotional ups and downs and display sensitive responses to environment, the results demonstrate that emotional anxiety and depression symptomsare solved at some degree by yoga and meditation programs.
Second, children of the research group of yoga and meditation showed differences in social relationships and meaningful reduction of overactionboth before and after activities.