Comforting Tones
New Age Kids, Inc. - Comforting tones of exceptional beauty…

When meditation/guided imagery programs are produced, they often target the career professional who needs a break from the tension and stress of their daily life. Other programs are designed to help one deal with difficult emotions like grief and depression or overcome physical pain caused by illness or surgical procedures. What do these programs have in common? They are all developed for an adult audience. Children get lost in the shuffle, despite the fact that their need for calmness and reassurance is equally important.

This is where meditation expert Chitra Sukhu is making a difference. Sukhu realizes that there is a need for therapeutic audio programs designed to help children deal with things that happen in our world that they may not understand, not to mention feelings of fear and insecurity, nightmares and other such things. Sukhu takes an interesting approach toward meditation for children… rather than try and calm their minds; she seeks to focus their active, creative thoughts. This can be heard on her audio programs, which feature a strong fantastical component that encourages children to use their imaginations.

Born in the South American country on Guyana, Sukhu has been surrounded by meditation all of her life. Her mother is a teacher of Ayurveda, yoga and Vedanta philosophy and her father Yogi Hari, a musician, teacher and master of Hatha, Raja, and Nada yoga. As such, she was introduced to yoga and meditation at a very early age and has been immersed in these practices ever since. “It’s part of my life, this meditation,” says Sukhu, “I’ve been doing it since I was four, and so it comes tome naturally.” In fact, when her own children were around the same age, she chose to introduce them to meditation practice likewise. The fact that her children responded so well to meditation was one of the catalysts that inspired her to develop guided meditation programs that all children could benefit from.

Anyone who has listened to one of Chitra Sukhu’s guided meditation CD’s will understand quickly why children are so taken by them. Her voice is soft and sweet, with a lulling quality that seems to suggest, “everything is alright.” The journeys themselves are full of colorful characters and whimsical settings that lift the listener out of reality and whisk them off to a world of fantasy and dreams where anything is possible. Her CD Guided Meditation for Children: Journey into the Elements shows this perfectly; the CD features five meditations, each themed after a specific element. As they explore these realms, children become acquainted with gnomes, mermaids and other fanciful creatures that provide guidance and wisdom. The CD features special guest Mario Van Peebles, who provides positive messages for children at the end of each meditation. Visions of Sugarplums, another of Sukhu’s guided journeys, are specifically designed to help a child drift off into a quiet, sound slumber. Once again, a plethora of enchanting creatures like unicorns and fairies act as tour guides along the way.

Sukhu’s repertoire of meditation CD’s do extend to adults as well, like Chakra: Guided Meditations to Unleash Your Full Potential, which offers listeners a guided tour through the charkas and in the process, helps them embrace their inner power. Guided Meditations for the Soul – where a classic style of meditation is taught and two other CD’s for adults which overflow with lush imagery, made even more transfixing by the calm, fluid voice of Sukhu. However programs geared toward children are her specialty. In the future, Sukhu is contemplating extending her output to other mediums, like video and books. In the mean time, people everywhere are discovering the wonderful mental journeys of Chitra Sukhu. Her work has even reached the ears of Deepak Chopra, who was quoted as saying: “This is a beautiful meditation CD which will help children experience restful alertness and enhance their energy and creativity.”