Hi Ufuk,
i wonder how do you approach and advise a beginner? i am not asking about which technique to give, since you don't have any data about her... my question is how do you analyse a person and guess which technique is suitable for a hassle free start?
Here is my favorite breathing meditation guide for anyone, not just children: Daniel Goleman on George Lucas' Edutopia,
discussing "Breathing Buddies". The video is 1:48 in duration: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=scqFHGI_nZE
Here is a transcript:
Daniel Goleman:
"One of the ways that children can learn to focus better and strengthen their attention skills, particularly for concentration in school is something I saw demonstrated in a second grade classroom in a public school in Manhattan's Spanish Harlem, which is a very impoverished area of New York City. Kids there live in the housing projects and they have very tough lives. I was astonished because the classroom atmosphere is very calm, very focused. Kids were very alert, very attentive to the teacher. "What's the secret here?" I wondered. Then I realized why it was. The teacher said, "Every day we do an exercise called 'Breathing Buddies'. One by one the children go to their cubby and get their favorite little stuffed animal, then they find a place on the floor to lie down; they put that animal on their tummy and watch their breath go up --- counting 1, 2, 3 --- and watch it go down 1, 2, 3. Up 1, 2, 3. Down 1, 2, 3." That is training of the attentional circuitry. This is the kind of training which helps children not just focus on what the teacher's saying, but it turns out that same circuitry helps them manage their distressing emotions. So they're getting a two-fer: They're getting attention training and self-management training, inner self-management training. Something as simple as just watching your breath and bringing your mind back when it wanders --- is that basic repetition of the muscle for focusing."I could always stand to do this more throughout any day, more often, and I am no master.
Here's to hoping this helps. I also just want to say this sounds very hard. Your girlfriend knows better than I and it can be annoying to have suggestions from people not suffering identical pains.
Edit2: Seeing Not Tao's reply, this sticks out for me:
My reason might be opposite, though. You should choose whatever seems the most interesting and relaxing - you want to get lost it in and forget the world for a little while.
and so maybe something like yoga or light swimming or massage can help.
__________
edit x2 typos