The 8 Essentials of Guiding Children into Relaxation

There is a strong connection between our body and our mind. All of our mental and emotional tensions express themselves in our body. If we are not happy, if we are worried or anxious, we will feel it after a while in our back, shoulders or neck, in our digestion or as a headache. When we are stressed or sad our immune system becomes weaker and we are more susceptible to diseases. Being happy and relaxed is the best preventative medicine.

This is true for kids just as much as for adults. Kids do not have a stress-free life – try to see the world through their eyes and you will understand that. 

It is very difficult to release the tension directly from the mind. If we just tell someone “Hey! What’s your problem? Just chill.” It doesn’t really help, right? But because the body and mind are so connected, if we release the tension from the body, the mind relaxes too.  It is easier to do it through the body.  

Modern doctors and scientists have just recently caught up with yoga and now for the most part understand the connection between mental tension and physical ailments. Many doctors these days prescribe Prozac or other antidepressants for chronic headaches, indigestion or other discomforts (whether these problems can be alleviated without pharmaceuticals is another matter).

In yoga we release physical (and therefore also mental) tension through stretching in the yoga poses, through breathing deeply, through playing… but lying down, being still and letting go is the best and quickest way to relax this tension.

When we combine guided imagery with physical relaxation, not only does the relaxation become more interesting and fun, but also its effects penetrate deeper. By using our imagination, we can easily influence and even completely change our emotions and our body.

When we experience the world using our senses, all the information comes through these channels into our brain and is interpreted and presented to us there – the real experience is really happening in our mind. When we are engaged in imagination or guided imagery we actually create an experience in our mind, so our brain and our body respond in the same way as if these experiences were really happening. 

The inner images we create during guided imagery have a tremendous response on many emotional and physiological levels – this is the reason they are such a powerful tool in creating a positive change. When using visualization and imagining ourselves to be in a peaceful, pleasant and beautiful environment, our mind and body respond by relaxing.

Nowadays, based on these principles, many sports professionals, business people, and even army personnel use guided imagery to create positive mental patterns, relax, and improve performance.

At Rainbow Kids Yoga we end almost every class with relaxation and guided imagery. The first challenge is always to have the kids stop all activities and just lie down and relax! If the class was exciting and intensive, they will be happy to rest and be quiet for a few moments. If the energy is too high for relaxation, try to play a meditative game prior to the relaxation or otherwise use one of the techniques offered below.  After a few classes, the kids learn to enjoy the relaxation and guided imagery and will be anticipating it eagerly. 

The relaxation can take anywhere between one minute to ten minutes, depending on the age and mood of the kids.

Tips for Guiding a Relaxation:

 1. Your Voice

2. The environment

3. Creating an atmosphere

 4. The posture

Let your students relax in any pose they find comfortable. This can be on their belly, on their back or on their side. If it fits your theme, ask them to sleep like a snake on their belly, curl-in in Child Pose like a caterpillar waiting to be transformed into a butterfly, rest on their back in Starfish Pose or lie down on their yoga mat towel, relax on their magic carpet, or doze off on the yoga cloud.

 5. Deepening the breath

• Breath more deeply than usual.
• Breath deeply enough that you can hear your breath.
• Listen to the sounds of the waves in your breath; when you breathe in the waves come close and when you breathe out the waves go back into the sea.
• Breath deeply enough that you’ll be able to feel how the breath moves your body; when you breathe in your body expands and lifts, when you breathe out everything relaxes.
• Breathe deeply enough that you feel how your breath moves your partners head, or another object on your belly.
• With every breath that you take your body becomes lighter and lighter, so that you can slowly even fly.
• With the inhalation the body expands and with the exhalation, it relaxes and sinks closer to the yoga mat.

6. Guided imagery

7. Gradual ending

8. Meditation