Amy Saltzman, MD, is a holistic physician, mindfulness coach, scientist, wife, mother, devoted student of transformation, longtime athlete, and occasional poet. Her passion is supporting people of all ages in enhancing their well-being and discovering the Still Quiet Place within. She is recognized by her peers as a visionary and pioneer in the fields of holistic medicine and mindfulness for youth. She is founder and director of the Association for Mindfulness in Education, an inaugural and longstanding member of the steering committee for the Mindfulness in Education Network, and a founding member of the Northern California Advisory Committee on Mindfulness. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and two teenage children. For more information, visit www.stillquietplace.com.
Foreword writer Saki Santorelli, EdD, MA, is executive director of the Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care, and Society at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and author of Heal Thyself.
In a time when its needed more than ever, Amy Saltzman delivers an effective program that not only offers to ease the stress and emotional struggles of our children, but also provides a recipe to begin healing our world.
Elisha Goldstein, PhD, author of The Now Effect and coauthor of A Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction Workbook
With wisdom, kindness, and inspiring clarity born from years of mindful living and teaching mindfulness, Amy Saltzman guides us through the research-proven, practical steps of how to help young people learn the fundamentals of resilience, focus, and compassion. Science-supported, clinically-sound, and educationally brilliant, this book will provide essential tools for all who wish to learn from a master about how children and adolescents can discover A Still Quiet Place, a source of emotional and social intelligence and a lifelong center of inner peace.
Daniel J. Siegel, MD, author of Brainstorm: The Power and Purpose of the Teenage Brain and Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation; clinical professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Medicine; and codirector of the UCLA Mindful Awareness Research Center
With great clarity and uncommon attention to detail, Amy Saltzman gives us much more than a first-rate mindfulness program. A Still Quiet Place is a portrait of a master teacher at work.
Richard Brady, MS, cofounder and president of the Mindfulness in Education Network and coauthor of Tuning In: Mindfulness in Teaching and Learning
Amy Saltzman has produced a highly illuminative and extremely practical mindfulness-based program for children and adolescents. A Still Quiet Place provides step-by-step instructions for facilitators to administer the program in whole or in part. It is a must-have for mental health professionals, educators, and parents wishing to teach children and adolescents mindfulness and social and emotional learning. Highly recommended!
Sam Himelstein, PhD, director of the Mind Body Awareness Project and author of A Mindfulness-Based Approach to Working with High-Risk Adolescents
Amy Saltzmans authoritative book provides the wisdom and building blocks youll need to share mindfulness with children and teens. Far more than a workbook, its a curriculum that you can pick up and use to teach a class, written by someone who has been instrumental in the movement to bring mindfulness to youth since its inception.
Susan Kaiser Greenland, JD, author of The Mindful Child
A Still Quiet Place is exactly the guide that parents and professionals have been waiting for to take the mystery out of the practice of mindfulness. We all know that our children are too stressed, and we want it to change. A Still Quiet Place is an essential antidote and accompaniment for the stressed lives that our children lead today. This crystal-clear program teaches children exactly how to bring thoughtful, calming awareness to their day-to-day experiences and struggles, not only reducing pressure and strain but enhancing their quality of life. Filled with child-friendly explanations and exercises, every child will benefit from finding their still quiet place within. Amy Saltzman is the perfect guide to lead them there.
Tamar Chansky, PhD, author of Freeing Your Child from Anxiety: Powerful, Practical Solutions to Overcome Your Childs Fears, Worries, and Phobias
In this clear and compassionate guide, Amy Saltzman offers a joyous path for leading children to peace and self-discovery through mindfulness.
Christopher Willard, PsyD, author of Childs Mind
Amy Saltzman makes teaching mindfulness widely accessible with this wonderful book. It is a brilliant distillation of years of experience teaching mindfulness to children kindergarten through twelfth grade. Saltzmans passion and experience flow through these pages. A Still Quiet Place is a must-read for anyone who desires teaching valuable life skills. It is one of the best and most complete books on teaching mindfulness that Ive read.
Brian Despard, author of You Are Not Your Thoughts: Mindfulness for Children of All Ages
What our busy modern world needs is for more adults to introduce more children to A Still Quiet Place. Finally, we have a step-by-step guide to building vital skills for children like kindness, resilience, attention, and stress management. Saltzman offers practical, everyday guidance to support children of any age and has created an irreplaceable resource in the field.
Mark Bertin, MD, developmental pediatrician and author of The Family ADHD Solution. Learn more at www.developmentaldoctor.com.
A Still Quiet Place is a smart, thoughtful, and encouraging guide to bringing mindfulness to children. Amys warmth and experience shine through her words, and her invitation to explore the world with kindness and curiosity is exactly what I would want for my own daughter. My teaching, and my parenting, will be better for having read this book.
Jennifer Cohen Harper, author of Little Flower Yoga for Kids
contents
foreword
Our children are our greatest treasure. Yet their treasures are hidden to them, desiring to be known. As parents, teachers, and human beings, our job is to lead them into the discovery of their innate, imperishable richness and radiance.
If you care about children reclaiming their deep inheritancedeveloping their inborn capacity for understanding directly their bodies, minds, and hearts; learning to make wiser choices; and cultivating the resources that will allow them to stand more fully in the worldthen plunge into this book and taste directly what Dr. Amy Saltzman is transmitting to all of us.
By all accounts, childhood stress is on the rise in the United States. Much of this stress is toxic, robbing our nation of its greatest wealth: vital, engaged young people. The data unambiguously reveals that American children are worse off in 2010 than they were in 1980. According to the 2010 Childrens Defense Fund report entitled The State of Americas Children, the United States ranks first among industrialized countries in gross domestic product, health expenditures, and number of billionaires. In parallel, it ranks very poorly in fifteen-year-olds math and science scores and absolutely last in childhood poverty, gun violence, and adolescent birthrates. Once every second, a child is suspended; every eleven seconds, a high school student drops out; every twenty seconds, a student is corporally punished; every three hours, a child or teen is killed by a firearm; every five hours, a child or teen commits suicide; and every six hours, a child or teen dies of abuse or neglect.
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