Feel the love

18th March 2016

I feel like a giant, everything is small…the chairs, tables, even the coat pegs.  A stampede of miniature humans flood in at 12 pm and scurry around our ankles to take their place on the crayon stained carpet. All sit cross-legged and are silently attentive.  They are patiently still until their name is called , replying in a heart meltingly high pitched squeak.

Mike sits like a Buddha and strikes a tiny set of monkey cymbals. The class close their eyes and place their 3-year-old hands on the tiny bellies. . “Feel the love” After a relaxing 10 minutes, eyes are rubbed and yawns are contagiously passed. I am in love. These little creatures have totally reduced me to mush.

This assignment arrived in my inbox and made me smile instantly. Meditation in a primary school. Yes, sounds perfect. One by one I decided to photograph the children before and after their class. Even a sceptic to the growing trend of mindfulness and meditation cannot deny the statistics produced from introducing a short class into this school. For the older students fights and bullying has dropped by 95% and pupils report greater concentration and lower levels of anxiety. For the youngsters a feeling of warmth and calmness seems to exude and peer relationships when we visit seem insanely gentle and respectful. It’s almost like these kids have never eaten sugar. I knew this assignment would be a treat but the levels of cuteness still caught me off guard.

My friend Kuba kindly agreed to make a film of the shoot and all shall be revealed in tomorrows print edition of NIDO magazine. You can watch the film here…so remember..Feel the love, be still, and CONNECT..OAO x