Engaging the Senses
When we are first born, we are immersed into the sensory world. As adults, we are so removed this experience, that it may seem almost unimagine-able that we, too, had the same beginning. On the other hand, we are more likely so accustomed to the world around us, that we often do not realize when we ourselves have become overwhelmed and overstimulated by it.
Take a moment to reflect on the number of images you have processed in the last 24 hours. What were the gross and subtle sounds of environments you passed through? How about smells? What textures or embraces did you experience on your skin? Did you taste your food happily with every mouthful?
Engaging the five senses for children is of well-established significance to early childhood development, enhancing cognitive function, social interaction, adaptability, etc. When we grow older and observe a person is rather dull, it usually implies a person who does not quickly respond to sensory input. As adults, we may notice this in ourselves, no longer notice and tend to the signals of our senses. We can’t remember the last time we gave ourselves a massage with oil. We have been talking on the phone while driving and listening to music while rushing to an appointment. We have been watching a screen while eating our food, not realizing that the second half of the burrito has already been consumed. Perhaps it is that we have become overwhelmed with sensory input, and have lost the habit of taking a break, going outside, taking a digestive stroll.
As we incorporate activities to improve sensory development into our engagement with children, it is an opportunity to re-engage these senses ourself. If we include ourselves in activities of discovery, this establishes a powerful formative imprint on the child as well. When the child is older will she remember my mother used to massage her feet every night before going to bed, or in our home we always paused to close our eyes, share gratitude, and smell our food before eating. Self-love is a life-long habit which we can demonstrate by example in very simple and consistent ways. In Ayurveda, routine nourishment of the senses is essential to cultivating wellness, and included in the definition of health (better translated as “self-established” from the Sanskrit word swastha).
Children give a wonderful (literally) invitation for us to slow down and remember what it means to be filled with wonder, to simply witness the phenomenon of nature without narratives. This portal to gratitude and mindfulness is an invitation to listen and show the same kindness to ourselves.