Chi Kung in Childhood

Chi Kung in Childhood 

Margarida Sá Domingues

Being a child is to live in constant change! It’s to have a mind and a body that grow continually, exposed to many external stimuli such as adult stress, excessive electronic stimulation, and less time to play. All this leads to a lower connection of the child to his physical, emotional and mental body, which leads to greater difficulty in being aware of oneself and its emotions in relation to the outside world.

In recent years there has been an increase in children´s hyperactivity as well as in young people. Difficulties in concentration, low response of the immune system, less physical resistance, less flexibility increase in conflict or even violent behavior. Chi Kung actually helps to improve all these parameters.
In today’s world there is an increasing pressure, for school rankings, the need for ever higher ratings to achieve a better future, it determines a great competition in all areas of life. It is urgent to train children with knowledge related to stress management, so that they can maintain their inner peace and find solutions to the different challenges that arise in their lives. That’s why the practice of Chi Kung is so important.
During the nine years of Chi Kung practice with children between the ages of three and ten, at Carolina Michaëlis School (2007/2016) in Lisbon, it was observed that the group became calmer with more focus during the day, there was a decline in conflicts and absences due to illness. Teachers and parents reported that the children seemed happier and where participating in the class willingly without wanted to miss it.

Initially a weekly practice of 30 minutes was planned but soon after there was a need to extend to a 50 minutes practice. To motivate children, it is essential to create a supportive environment, to arouse curiosity and perform the exercises using the imagination. Humor and fantasy helps to foster a good environment. For full practice it is important for the child to visualize and interiorize. The visualization promotes creativity and in body expression the child evidences the emotions, ideas and feelings about the practice. There must always be freedom for the child to express their emotions, the basis of communication with others.
Learning through practice and let the child natural adjust their posture / movement, always respecting their stage of growth and development is fundamental. But it’s necessary to encourage new exercises or challenges, promote the determination not to give up. With practice children will feel satisfaction in overcoming the difficulties and challenges of Chi Kung exercises. Encouraging and not allowing children to feel afraid of making mistakes is fundamental as inhibitions can be an obstacle to the development of the child’s potential as a human being. Encouraging the children to overcome challenges is a preparation for adult life.

It is important to perform different exercises and add some more fun exercise for the dynamic of the practice. In the child’s development it’s essential for them to become aware of the different parts of his body, and here the practice of self-massage is an excellent resource. There are exercises that can be done individually, in pairs or in small groups. Make use of different materials and explore them freely or in a more structured way. For example, tennis balls can be used for self-massage and tree postures, balloons can be used for tree postures, soap balls or windmills for breathing exercises. In the movements with animal names, it is possible to speak about their attributes and in those related to images of the nature, like the lake, the rainbow, its reference helps to amplify the movement. It is necessary to adapt some exercises to their age and show pictures to catch their attention. For example, anatomy pictures helps children become more interested in exercises, make them more aware of movement, their body and their energy. In many it helped to improve the posture, especially the forward bent shoulders that almost all children already present, and to improve breathing.

In the practice with children it can be added breathing exercises, self-massage and hetero-massage, stretching, the 18 movements of Tai Chi Chi Kung, concentration, meditation and relaxation. In spring the system of Yi Jin Jing is much appreciated. The tree posture, in general, is the exercise that the children less like but, after overcoming the initial annoyance, they can perform the basic postures. For some children the Wuji posture is a challenge.

As a rule, children are not interested in long explanations, they want to go straight to the practice and are fast to perceive and execute the movement but they don’t like many repetitions, they soon want a new exercise. In the course of practice, the energy of the group becomes more harmonious and the children calmer and more concentrated. From there their ability to repeat the movement increases. On the other hand, they are not too interested in knowing the therapeutic benefits, they just want to know some stories and have fun. But very elaborate stories are not necessary, children build their own if needed. In the course of practice, questions begin to arise spontaneously, one after the other! Children are usually curious, natural, very expressive and outspoken in their observations.

The connection between body, emotion and mind is a constant that is promoted in the practice of Chi Kung. Each child is different they absorbs and processes information differently, whether through looking, listening, moving or touching. By using different stimuli we help the children to develop multiple aspect: emotional, mental, corporeal and spiritual. No children learn at the same rate and in the same way, each has its own timing, but continued practice allows a balance on the whole group.

In the years of Chikung practice with children, we got to the conclusion that Chi Kung promotes psycho-motor and bio-energetic development, balance and coordination, benefits the respiratory capacity and stimulates concentration and memory.
There was always an improvement in the management of emotions and it was a precious help for the child to integrate into different groups and to increase self-awareness and self-esteem.
It was very important to notice that, in other moments of their lives, children were able to use effectively the relaxation techniques they´ve learned.
The practice of Chi Kung promotes respect and self-esteem in the child, promotes the development of harmonious movements, the perception of the body and energy, and through the breathing exercises and meditation, the discovery of a inner place of peace and calm.