MINDFUL
RAISING COMPASSIONATE KIDS Holistic Life Foundation offers strategies and practices for parents to help empower and enlighten their children. BY AMELY GREEVEN
their kids get about what’s going on. Even 6-year-olds are getting pieces. They know about George [Floyd]. They understand Black Lives Matter. They see their lives being disrupted by COVID-19. What they don’t know is: What happens next? Kids are dealing with trauma, confusion, anger, disappointment and a lot of sadness. The traumatic experience of schools being shut down and them not being able to see their friends because of a deadly virus, the traumatic experience of seeing black men murdered on TV by cops—people many kids have been taught to trust. A lot of children are traumatized just from being at home in
Almost 20 years ago, three Baltimore men—brothers Ali Smith, Atman Smith and their friend Andres Gonzalez— created the Holistic Life Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering underserved children to develop their inner lives through practices of yoga, mindfulness and self-care. Purist ’s wellness editor, Amely Greeven, asked executive director Ali Smith how parents can best support their children to be wakeful, resilient and compassionate in a time of turbulent change. PURIST: What might adults be missing about how kids are feeling right now? ALI SMITH: A lot of parents don’t understand just how much 32
Daiga Ellaby
We must equip the next generation with respect, empathy, and resilience.
