Deciding to sign my 13-year-old up for a three-day camp with Mindful Space was on the spur of the moment. Dreading to have a naturally sedentary teen growing roots on the TV couch during the June holidays, I was intrigued when I read about Mindful Space's programme, particularly their aerial yoga activity.
Those three days came and went, and as usual, I didn't get a lot of information out of a teen apart from the fact that he had a lot of fun and wasn't bothered by the large age gap with his camp mates.
Then a week later, I received a post-camp message from Mindful Space.
Oh my, it is by far, the most detailed and best post-camp review I’ve ever read. True to their business name, someone took the time and effort to mindfully communicate to me about my child and his time at the camp. Not only was the message kind and thoughtful, but it was definitely on point about what kind of person he is, and the areas in which we can continue to help him flourish.
One of the "wow" moments for my child was how he attempted and succeeded in doing a handstand. To some parents of naturally well-coordinated and active kids, this may not seem like much, but for my child, it was huge. He was so surprised and proud of himself - for trying and overcoming. From the note, I especially love how the teachers were able to identify a huge learning point for him through this activity - there was an acknowledgement of fear, followed by an acceptance of self, before embarking on the actual learning of the technique and continual practice.
In our busy, modern society, many people, including adults, get buried with the "doing" but missed out on the critical stage of "being". Once in a while, we all need to recalibrate and reframe our mindsets so that we can be better equipped to embark on the "handstands of our lives".
I'm also happy to report that my child's posture has improved. When waiting for the bus recently, I noticed he was sitting upright when he would otherwise be hunched up like a little old man.
While Singapore is in no lack of children's holiday camps, life-transforming programmes like these are rare and precious. Thank you so much, Mindful Space.