Calm Mind, Fertile Soil
18 Sep 2010 1 Comment
in Parenting Resources, Positive Self-Talk, Uncategorized
A calm mind is fertile soil for learning. When the seeds of learning fall on the fertile soil of a calm mind, the beginning conditions and chances for growth are optimal.
When we teach children how to calm their minds, their potential for learning is maximized. A calm mind is open for accepting new information. A calm mind is able to flow and flux with the patterns of emotions swirling through experience. A calm mind is able to identify and make choices with ease and grace.
Children, like adults, respond differently to various forms of relaxation techniques and practice. What is the best relaxation activity for your child? The one that he/she finds fun and that works! One child might adore bedtime relaxation stories. Another mind find relaxation through mindfully walking barefoot in the grass. The thing is to find what works for each child and to remember that what works one day may not seem to be the flavor of the day the next.
What seeds do you want to plant in the mind of your child? Remember a calm mind equals a receptive mind. Open to the beauty of the mind soil that is fertilized and prepared through relaxation practice.
Tension is our Guest
18 Sep 2010 Leave a Comment
in Educator Resources, Family Relaxation, Parenting Resources, Uncategorized
Tension is our guest, we invite it. Relaxation is our nature; we don’t have to invite it. You don’t have to relax, you have just to stop inviting tension, and relaxation begins on its own. In your very core, in every fiber, in every cell of your being, relaxation percolates and assimilates. –Osho
Considering all the banquets I’ve hosted for a multitude of tension guests, I am sitting with the idea that I can simply ask my internal thought secretary to stop issuing that endless stream of invitations. Acceptance, surrender, allowing, letting. . . all these reminders to BE! I pause and remember today. I set the table of my awareness. I throw the parties of my perception. I decide who gets invited! When I remember to sit at the table of rest, relaxation becomes my constant companion. And I realize that relaxation needs no invitation, just quietness of mind to appreciate its constant presence.
Share this concept with your children. Share with them the concept that relaxation is our natural state of being. It is our choice to tense up and resist things that are happening in our world. When we let go and simply pause in our natural state, we can feel peace.
Sometimes we have practiced a lot of stress/tension/over-activity. But when we decide to pay attention to how we are when we quiet down and sit, we realize that we can be just simply relaxed.
Shake Out
12 Sep 2010 Leave a Comment
For a quick energy shift–help your child to shake out their stress. Tell them that we are going to shake, shake, shake our bodies until all the tense energy is released into the space around us. Begin by simply allowing the body to shake in whatever way it feels comfortable. Let go everywhere. Pay attention to the energy moving through your body. Remember there is nothing to “do”–just relax and allow it to happen. The perfect amount of energy will be released. After you are done shaking, stop for a moment and check in with your body. Simply pay attention to the sensations and how you feel.
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