Retrospective testimonials about Anapana children’s courses (S. N. Goenka tradition). Each person attended Anapana children’s courses and later a ten-day adult course.
Ariane
The five precepts have always stayed with me, both in my life as a child and in my adult life. They are a foundation, a solid base I have always relied on in everyday life. As a child, I practised Anapana, though not regularly. I mostly used it as a tool to help reduce stress, or when I was sad, or when I had exams coming up.
Doing the adult course was an obvious step for me, because as a child I did six or seven three-day children’s courses, and we always heard about Vipassana, the method that follows Anapana.
The children’s courses helped me with my ten-day courses, because the first time I did the ten days of Vipassana, I already knew a little of what to expect, the place was familiar to me, and the method, Anapana at least, was known to me.
Arthus
I did my first children’s course at around 13 or 14, and contrary to what you might think, I really didn’t want to go. It was my father who made me go, because he practised meditation a lot, and had for quite a long time.
Taking the plunge, being pushed into that first course, really helped me, it gave me the push I needed. I think it’s good for parents to guide their children and motivate them to get started, because it truly did me good. That’s why, afterwards, I decided on my own to come back for more courses, from age 13-14 to 17. So I did roughly six or seven courses during that period. I really felt the difference compared with when I started meditating. Especially as I tried to practise at home.
Keeping up a real practice at home lets you keep continuity, and I really felt the benefits. In the sense that I could manage my stress much better, whether at school or during sports competitions.
It also helps a lot with social anxiety, with being calmer. I really felt that clearly in my life: I had changed as a person, and truly for the better. That’s why, before leaving for higher education, I wanted to go on to an adult course: at 17, I did my first ten-day course. Of course, an adult course is completely different from a children’s course: it’s much more intense, and much longer too. But it is a very formative experience, because you truly find yourself alone with yourself, you refocus on yourself for ten days. You really try to live as fully as possible in the present.
It’s a very, very profound experience. It teaches you a lot, many values, many benefits, and I truly felt it this year. Because I’m now in higher education, in a scientific preparatory class, and I went through many difficult moments, especially when the coursework piled up, or coming out of hard exams that had gone badly. What really saved me, what helped me hold on this year, was going to the Jardin des Plantes in Nantes. I would sit on a bench, take 20 or 30 minutes, close my eyes. I would start to breathe, then to meditate, quietly practising Anapana, just feeling the air coming in and out, centring myself again, putting all the problems I was going through into perspective. And that truly helped me feel good, feel better, be at my best.
Everyone should try meditation. It brings so much. For me, it truly helped a great deal.
Eric
I took part in Anapana courses from about age 8 until I was 18. I understood the goal was to learn to concentrate my mind, but at the time I didn’t really see how concentrating my mind was going to help me in my life. Nor had I fully grasped the importance of all the precepts; I mostly realised it later, as a young adult. That’s when I understood how important they are. At home, I tried to practise a little after each course, but I struggled to keep up a truly regular practice. After the children’s courses, I took part in a ten-day course to see what Vipassana meditation was about. I think the experience of the children’s courses helped me to settle into that course more easily, with less apprehension.
Still, it was mostly later that I realised how important Vipassana, Anapana and Sīla are to me. If I had to explain why children’s courses are worth doing, I would say first that they are a pause from everyday life, a time when you step away from all the technology and you are more with yourself. It’s also a time when you discover moral principles that matter in life, and on top of that, a great time spent with other young people. For parents, I think it’s a chance to try to share these moral principles and this technique with their children, to plant a seed, without expecting them to keep practising or to go on to Vipassana. But at least they carry that little seed of Sīla and Anapana within them.
Victoria
I have very fond memories of my children’s meditation courses. I remember it was always something I looked forward to during the school holidays. It’s true that meditation was the part I liked least. I loved the crafts and playing outside.
I remember that during meditation times, we had to settle down. It created a break from the activity periods, which were more physical and interactive. I understood well what meditation meant, and above all the benefits it brings. And I understood that as a child, actually. The course helpers explained it very well. So it made me want to practise every day. It was really as an adult, facing the harm stress does, wanting to regulate my emotions, to regulate my stress, that I felt truly motivated to take my meditation practice further. And that’s why I wanted to go on to a ten-day course. I would really recommend that parents bring their child to a children’s meditation course, because it isn’t long, it’s fun, but also meditation, with a more serious, calmer moment. So I find there’s a very good balance for a child between times of play and quieter times. It’s a gentle, kind-hearted introduction to meditation for children.
So really, when you start as a child, once you become an adult, it feels more natural to put in place. It’s much less difficult, so I warmly recommend starting it in childhood.
Youni
My name is Youni. I started the children’s courses at 9; I’m now 36. Both my parents are meditators. My mother made a point of taking my brother and me to children’s courses. Anapana meditation was a beautiful discovery for me. It helped me a lot at school, especially with concentration and memorisation. It also shaped me; it gave me mental strength, courage to face life’s ups and downs. Sīla gave me a guiding line in my life as a child and as an adult, knowing what was right and wrong. I keep very fond memories of my courses: meeting the other children, the creative activities, the outdoor games and the evening stories. As the years went by, I grew more and more curious to discover what lay behind the adults’ meditation, Vipassana. At 17, I was able to take part in my first course. I think Anapana meditation prepared me well for that first course, in the sense that meditation was not new to me: it was the natural continuation of my children’s courses.
Danine
I came to meditation thanks to my mother, who took me to an Anapana children’s course when I was 12, and she herself had discovered it thanks to my grandfather. At that age, I was deeply affected by my grandfather’s death. I had been very sad for four years. And the first time I practised Anapana, when it was taught to me and I began practising, I remember very well how deeply happy I was, because I felt that, for the first time, I had discovered there was a way out of suffering. And that hope brought me great peace. This practice soothed me; it soothed that sadness, but also my fears, my anger.
Being with other meditators, other meditating children, surrounded by such kind volunteers, in such a calm, peaceful and joyful environment, did me a great deal of good. I was always very happy during my courses. I keep very fond memories of them.
When I did the ten-day adult courses, I realised that having done the children’s courses meant I already had a foundation, which helped me greatly, especially the theoretical grounding: understanding Sīla, the practice of Anapana, Mettā, the Pāramī. But it also made my practice easier, because I felt that, thanks to my daily practice of Anapana with my parents at home, a big pre-wash had been done, which made the experience, I think, perhaps less brutal than if I hadn’t done it.
It also allowed me, thanks to that discipline and those foundations, to go deeper in my practice. So it has helped me enormously, from the age of 12 until now, and I know it will keep helping me. Today, I am very happy to be able to serve on courses, adult courses, but children’s courses too. In doing so, I feel I can thank those who gave me the Dhamma. By serving children’s courses, I feel I can finally thank them in the best way there is.