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The Benefit of Meditation The aim of mindfulness isn’t to calm to body or the mind and yet it is that’s the effect and the benefit of meditation for students with special needs such as autism and attention-deficit disorders.

Mindfulness is a concept that means “paying attention on purpose in the present moment without judgment,” said Gallagher, who has trained at the Mindfulness Institute at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital.

Meditative exercises such as deep breathing help practitioners pay attention to the reactions of the body and mind in stressful moments, said Don McCown, a faculty member at the Mindfulness Institute. Once those reactions are recognized, the person can work toward controlling them.

Meditation also can help youngsters control their anxiety enough to reduce any medications they are taking, said Christina DiNicola, a pediatrician with the Myrna Brind Center of Integrative Medicine at Jefferson.

Early studies show promising results in youngsters with attention-deficit disorders who use yoga and biofeedback to relax, DiNicola said.

This year, Allison invited Gallagher, a therapist at the Delaware County Intermediate Unit, to lead a 30-minute session on meditation.

At the school, Gallagher talked with students in three classes – first and second graders, third and fourth, and fifth to eighth.

Students ran quickly throughout the room, and then in slow motion in exercises designed to get them to notice differences in their body when moving quickly and moving slowly. Gallagher clinked a meditation bell to signal when to stop and go.

He taught them about breathing deeply while standing up and while sitting down with their hands on their belly. He taught them to focus on sounds in their surroundings.

“How do you feel?” Gallagher asked the class of older students.

“My body feels more calm,” said Zachary Ford, 10. “My face feels like it loosened up.”

In the class of third and fourth graders, Christine Smeltzer, 8, said her body felt like she wanted to take a nap.

Christine said she might use the techniques outside the classroom during times when she’s frustrated.

That means when “kids are telling me what to do or bullying my friends,” she said. The breathing would help her feel “calm.”

Mindfulness meditation can reduce stress and that benefit alone is a very powerful tool for children that often feel out of control. Helping the children feel more in control happens as they start to become aware and pay attention to their bodies and mind in moments of stress, the great thing is that the awareness grows as a natural ‘side–effect,’ it’s the benefit of meditation.