Deep Relaxation

We took this exercise from the book Meditation: Mindful Movements for Children, Parents and Teachers by Dr. Guy Hendrick and Dr. Russell Wills. When meditating, we get a feeling of balance, a feeling of inner strength, complete unity of mind and body, as the authors write in the first chapter of their book. These concepts may seem too complex for a young child, but teaching him how to meditate or simply relax can help him in stressful situations (like performing in a performance) or when he's feeling a lot of emotion. If your child gains such useful skills while playing, it will be a true gift for him.

Find a carpeted area where you and your baby can lie down next to each other. Tell your child to lie down comfortably and then close his eyes. Now command him to focus on his hands and feel how heavy they are. Then let him clench his fist and keep it clenched for ten seconds.

Continue by following the instructions below, leaving a few seconds between commands:

1. Now relax and feel how weightless your hands are.

2. Focus your attention on your shoulders. Squeeze them, imagine, if you can, how small they are and how they pass through your ears. Keep your shoulders tight.

3. Now straighten your shoulders, the tension leaves your body.

4. Your eyes are closed, and your mouth is open as wide as possible, with tension. Now relax your mouth muscles. It's much nicer this way. Is not it?

5. Press your tongue against the roof of your mouth and tense your entire jaw. Relax, let the feeling of softness and calm pass through your face into your body.

6. Now wrinkle your nose and make a very scary face. Now relax, your face feels very nice.

7. Tighten your chest, stomach and insides and keep everything in a tense, hard state until I tell you to relax. Now relax, all tension leaves your body.

Continue giving similar instructions for the hips, legs, and toes. Then tell your child to completely relax. If he feels that his body is still tense, let him take a deep breath and send him to the tension zone, this will help relaxation. Let your child take a few more deep breaths, feeling peace and quiet within.

Tell your child that you will count backwards from ten to one and when you finish, all the energy will return to his body. At number one, he should rise and feel happy and calmly focused.