[ad_1]
PITTSFIELD – When Elizabeth Heller was a child in California, she turned to journaling to cope with abuse and trauma. “I had a very challenging upbringing,” she said. “I picked up a pen and wrote about ballet. It was a powerful experience because it was the first time I was in touch with my emotions outside of myself and myself.
“Journaling saved my life,” says Heller now.
A new venture backed by a philanthropic group for all of Berkshire County’s Entrepreneurship seeks to provide that same benefit to children.
Heller self-published “Children’s Super Journal.” She describes it as a “mind-based activity book” for 7- to 12-year-olds. The book combines exercises in breathing, body movement and journaling.
“All three of these things have been shown to be very effective in science,” she said. “I wanted the magazine to be a self-directed tool for kids to be their best selves.”
Elizabeth Heller of Pittsfield self-published “Kids Super Journal,” a collection of techniques designed to help children with their emotional lives.
Mindfulness, a word associated with meditation, is not an easy concept for children. Heller says she brings the concepts to a child’s level by making the concepts in her book “simple and fun.”
“Breathing works, for example, deep breathing, abdominal breathing, children put a bean or favorite belly on their lower abdomen to breathe in and make it come up.” “You get the benefits of doing the activity that you enjoy.”
A certified children’s yoga teacher, Heller said she used breath, movement and journaling as techniques when teaching the practice to children in Boston, where she lived before moving to Pittsfield last year. She lost her job two years ago due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Heller was looking for a way to continue her career when she came up with the idea for “Children’s Super Journal.”
She started out with a podcast through her company Pig and Whale LLC. Heller has a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University.
After moving to Pittsfield last October, Heller developed her idea for a “super journal for kids” while she was a member of a class run by Entrepreneurship for All Berkshire County, which helps entrepreneurs develop business plans.
Heller received $3,500 from EforAll — the highest award given to a member of her class when she graduated in June — for the “Kids’ Super Journal.” That funding, plus an additional $4,917 Heller raised through a Kickstarter campaign, allowed her to support the first publication of her book at Studley Press in Dalton.
“It’s amazing to have this support,” Heller said.
The book will soon be available for purchase at kidssuperjournal.com.
Heller says the 12-week program at EforAll gave her purpose and direction for her project.
“EforAll has completely changed the way I go about my business and how I interact with the Berkshire community and the Pittsfield community,” she said. “I had three wonderful mentors.”
[ad_2]
Source link
