The Magic of Meditation: Stories and Practices to Develop Gratitude and Empathy with Your Child

Book Preface

Being a parent in the twenty-first century certainly can be a challenge! The world around us is changing so fast that sometimes we feel it is leaving us behind, and the subject of education can be a confusing one. We want education to bring our children happiness and success, and we also want education to prepare them for society’s lightning-speed changes and the stress that these changes can bring on. Dealing with the speed of change is one of the great challenges of our time.
New research has shown that the introduction of meditation, starting at the preschool level, has a profound effect on the education of our children. Our book about Yupsi the Little Dragon is inspired by this research and presents a method for practicing meditation with your young child starting as early as the age of three.
You don’t have to be somebody who frequents a yoga studio, martial arts dojo, or meditation hall to give this adventure a try. The practices selected for this book are all entirely secular in nature and can be used independently of any philosophical or religious belief.
In part 1, you will find a brief, simple introduction to meditation that will give you an understanding of the basics and benefits of the practice. In part 2, we will talk about the benefits of meditation for your child in terms of health, managing emotions, and success in school. In part 3, we will introduce you and your child to Yupsi the Little Dragon. The stories will compassionately guide your child through the dragon’s magic breath to help find calm and work through difficult emotions. Yupsi will help your child find an inner sense of security that will accompany her, like Yupsi, all through her life.
Introducing your child to meditation is like planting a seed for the future. What sprouts up will of course depend on her personality but also on how you share these special moments with her. We believe that with consistency and perseverance every child is capable of “getting it.” It will then fall to you to observe the results and to decide whether the experiment is worth continuing with or not.
This book comes with an audio component that includes the “Yupsi Song” as well as recordings of the meditations and stories. The audio is available for download at www.shambhala.com/​magicofmeditation.
Giving your child the opportunity to meditate from a very early age and to practice with him is one of the most wonderful gifts you can give him. We wish you wonderful adventures with your child in the company of Yupsi the Little Dragon and his magic breath.