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interpaul
USA
524 Posts |
 Posted - Oct 02 2022 : 02:54:00 AM
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| I sense my 18 year old daughter may benefit from AYP practices but worry they may be too intense for her as she suffers from generalized anxiety. It seems many young people I run into now have heightened anxiety with all that has been going on in the world in the last few years. My personal experience with AYP has been great but I worry the energetic practices could cause some imbalance in a young person already struggling. Yogani does a great job of guiding the reader through the journey. I wonder if anyone has experience with sharing this practice with their kids and has any tips on how to guide them. I can imagine her reaction to reading about amaroli, tongue snipping with kechari or tantric practices. Teenagers can be pretty judgmental and I'm not sure how she would respond to my sharing these intense practices. |
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lightandlove
Germany
85 Posts |
Posted - Oct 02 2022 : 11:19:02 AM
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Hi interpaul,
it is good for her if it is of her own interest to do such practices. She will then find a way to a balanced practice and can take your help. Be careful if it is not of her own interest as this might cause a strong rejection.
If done slowly and steadily with care I see no issues with anxiety. Especially deep meditation on its own might be very beneficial. |
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Dogboy
USA
2193 Posts |
Posted - Oct 02 2022 : 3:16:24 PM
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I meditated once with my (then) twenty year old daughter, using SBP and AYAM mantra in DM. As you mentioned it has been an anxious couple of years, and I told her meditation is a place where one has the ability to “check out from the noise and discover silence available to you in times of need”. She humored me in the exercise but didn’t show any inclination of adopting the practices.
It is a big leap from learning to meditate and delving in energetic practices, so I suggest keeping it basic at first before linking her to the full AYP menu of practices. If you can teach her how to quiet the mind and return to the mantra without judgment, that alone should offer great benefits for her in handling her anxiety. |
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Blanche
USA
859 Posts |
Posted - Oct 04 2022 : 1:43:58 PM
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Hi Interpaul,
I agree that your daughter would benefit from practicing deep meditation. You may want to share this with her, and let her decide if she wants to learn it or not. Even our children have their own karma and their own path and forcing any spiritual practice does not work.
We have two daughters. One of them asked to learn to meditate when she was 16. She has practiced regularly deep meditation for almost 6 years, has added samyama recently, went to spiritual retreats, reads spiritual books, and so on. The other daughter is familiar with DM and she is more likely to go to a yoga class than practice at home by herself.
Both daughters tell me often about how anxious their friends are, especially with the pandemic. It is stunning how little emotional education our society provides. As a result, so many are struggling with anxiety and depression. You probably know that anxiety experienced over a longer period of time becomes depression. We have to do something about it. There is this unspoken judgement that some feelings are good and some are bad, and that we should fight difficult emotions. When we fight or ignore our emotions, they only grow and expand. The monster is always in the closet, because if we look at it, it will disappear. Because of futile fight with anxiety and depression, many end up just narrowing the emotional band: Their emotional experiences become more and more limited. By running away from anxiety, it becomes harder to experience joy and happiness.
You may want to assure your daughter that feeling anxious at times is normal. Instead of saying that "she is anxious," talk about anxiety as an experience - put some space between your daughter's identity and anxiety. Teach her to say things like "Anxiety is visiting today." "Depression is coming by." She may discover that joy, surprise, pleasure, etc. are also showing up at times. It is helpful to increase the range of emotional experience. When we are an ocean, a wave of anxiety is just a little part of us. Thoughts are like clouds in the mind. Anxiety is like a cloud for the emotions. It comes and goes. Befriending these feelings will make them acceptable and less powerful. This is a first step. This would be helpful also if she decides to start to meditate, when emotions might rise up.
On another practical side, regular exercise works as well as medication to deal with anxiety and depression. I tell my daughters that we all have a certain amount of energy, and if we do not use it, it can make a mess for us. It is important to use some of this energy for physical exercise. An hour a day of moderate to intense exercise is necessary to function. A dog needs at least that amount of exercise. We would walk our dog an hour a day, wouldn't we? We should do at least that much for ourselves. I also tell my daughters that regular exercise is not a choice. We cannot afford to get anxious and depressed.
You may have to figure out what type of exercise your daughter enjoys, and then help her practice it regularly for the first two weeks to give it a chance to become a habit. Long walks and hikes with your daughter would offer a great opportunity to talk about her life, feeling, and yoga.
Assure your daughter that she is fundamentally fine, that her higher Self is rooted in stillness and bliss. And it is her right to live from that place. And it is her work to get there.
Children are great teachers.
The guru is in you.  
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Edited by - Blanche on Oct 04 2022 3:07:16 PM |
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interpaul
USA
524 Posts |
Posted - Oct 04 2022 : 10:31:57 PM
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Lightandlove and Dogboy, Thank you for your responses. I appreciate your insights.
Blanche, Thank you for taking a deeper dive into my query. You cover a lot of useful territory for me. Thank you for sharing your wisdom. |
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Blanche
USA
859 Posts |
Posted - Oct 05 2022 : 1:37:23 PM
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Interpaul,
I am learning from your posts, for example I am learning about your kundalini rising which is different than the experience here. If you could find something useful in my experience raising children, that is great. Best wishes |
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Sharing AYP with teenage daughter
