Donut Hole or Donut?
24 Jun 2011 1 Comment
My daughters and I were driving to camp this morning. My youngest daughter was lamenting the fact that certain friends couldn’t attend her birthday party. As she continued to complain, a thought popped into my head. I said, ”Hey Maddie, are you focused on the hole or the donut?” The randomness of the question interrupted her thoughts for a moment and she replied, “Um, the hole I think.” I nodded and kept silent, allowing her to consider it for a second. Then I said, “I really like to keep my attention on the donut rather than the hole. When I focus on the hole, I stay hungry for the yummy donut and never get filled. There are a lot of “donuts” about your party, what are some of them?”
The rest of the conversation turned to positives about the party, such as who was coming, the decorations, the film festival we were preparing, and the fun food.
I’m gluten and sugar free so I don’t actually eat donuts, however I enjoy imagining them. I love to fill my imagination with all kinds: cream filled, coconut dusted, chocolate coated, long johns, cake, sprinkle topped, etc. What I have realized is that when I focus on the donut hole (and I don’t mean the little powder sugared donut balls, but the actual hole), then I am missing the entire rest of the donut. The same goes for my thoughts. When I am focused on what I don’t have or getting sucked into a hole of “not enough”, I feel hungry for more, hungry for feeling good, hungry for feeling inspired and fulfilled. When I shift my attention to the donut itself, and all the beautiful yumminess of life, I feel fulfilled, full and happy. It is my choice where I put my attention, both the donut hole and the donut exist depending on how I imagine it.
My daughter got it. I encouraged her and her sister to look for the “donut opportunities” today at camp. They left discussing possible donut thoughts.
Activity:
You and your child can use the simple question, “Donut hole or donut?” as a reminder in times of complaining or focusing on lack in order to shift back into positive thoughts that feel good.
Encourage your child to look for donut thoughts. Ask each other if you can share donut hole thoughts and donut thoughts at the end of the day. Explain to your child that a donut hole thought is one that doesn’t feel good or that is about something missing or not being enough. Explain further that a donut thought is a yummy, feel good thought. Draw the connection between focusing on the hole and feeling yucky and focusing on the donut and feeling good. Practice coming up with as many donut thoughts as possible. You can even draw them out at the end of the day and place them on a paper plate as reminder donuts for tomorrow. Collect as many yummy thoughts as you can!
The RELAX Box
22 Jun 2011 3 Comments
Design a RELAX Box with your child for your family. Have your child decorate a box with relaxing words or pictures. Create a series of index cards that include instructions for your favorite relaxation activities, short “feel good” stories, pictures of things you love, pictures of people you love, pictures of fun memories, and words or phrases that you like to think about. As you are creating the cards, you can practice the activities! Place all of these cards in a box and take turns drawing one out during family circle time or during times you want to relax. Place it in your Relaxation Station (http://wp.me/p11MDD-2j), and use it to generate discussion or to initiate your relaxation practice during your daily circle time.
Thank you Relaxation!
21 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in All Relaxation Activities, Family Relaxation, Uncategorized
While in the book store yesterday, I came across a new little book by Leah Dieterich called ThxThxThx (http://thxthxthx.com/). In the book she writes thank you notes to just about everything you could think of. Many of her themes are adult related, but while reading her gratitude, I got to thinking. What if, as a family, you facilitated creating your relaxation atmosphere and emphasizing your intention to relaxation practice, by writing little notes of gratitude to anything related to your relaxation experience that occurs throughout the day? I believe strongly that what we focus on expands in our awareness. Therefore, why not find a fun, playful way to focus on all of the ways your relaxed today? Most likely the more you focus on what is going well in your relaxation practice and draw attention to how many ways you are relaxing, the more relaxed you will feel. While you are writing to your relaxing thoughts, relaxing moments, relaxing deep breaths, relaxing stretches, etc. . . . It would also prime the brain for more relaxation since you are drawing attention to and rehearsing all the ways you currently bring relaxation practice into your daily life.
Here is an example thank-you note:
Dear Relaxing Thought,
Thank you so much for being in my mind while I was doing my homework. It is so much easier to concentrate and my body feels so wonderful and calm when you are in my mind.
Love, Z
Some other ideas to write to and acknowledge include:
yoga stretch, yoga teacher, positive thought, deep breath, a pause to smile, a mindful moment, a time when you slowed down your pace to feel and BE, a relaxation script activity, a moment while coloring a picture. The possibilities are endless!!
The point is to have fun recognizing and celebrating how much relaxing you are practicing throughout the day!
Send B-mail
16 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in All Relaxation Activities, Deep Breathing
Deep breathing is a messenger that tells our body that we are relaxing. Make it FUN by teaching your children to send B-mail! A B-mail message is a deep breath that tells our body that we are relaxing in the moment. It also serves as a physiological signal that automatically activates the physical relaxation response within our bodies. When we send many B-mail messages throughout the day and fill our physical body inbox with B-mail messages, the result is increased feelings of relaxation and tranquility, both physically and emotionally. The body, in receipt of the message, responds automatically by activating the relaxation response. Once children learn and apply basic breathing techniques, they have built the foundation of their relaxation practice.
Explain the B-mail principle with your child today. Initiate a contest to see how full you can make your inbox by the end of the day. Design a little journal to be your B-mail counter. Each deep breath you take, make a mark in the journal and compare inboxes at the end of the day. Design a B-mail template that looks like the front of an email inbox. Send a little reminder during the day. Smile and say, “Hey, I just sent you a B-mail.” Encourage him to send one back. Practice a deep breath together to get started and have fun checking your mail!
Lion’s Breath
15 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in Deep Breathing, Emotional Regulation, Uncategorized
Roar like a mighty lion and let go of strong emotions or unwanted thoughts. With Lion’s Breath, you and your children have the opportunity to release energy that is getting in the way of your day. Known as Simhasana in the yoga tradition, Lion’s pose is a fun, playful way to release and relax into more peaceful feelings. Not only is the exhale giving the body an opportunity to release thoughts and feelings, but in addition the body is naturally releasing toxins that have accumulated within. Here is a fun variation for Lion’s pose:
How To:
1. Explain: “We are going to do a breath called the Lion’s Breath in order to let go of feelings or thoughts that we no longer want. This breath is a very powerful way to get those thoughts and feelings out from inside of us and to push them far away.
2. Suggest: “Imagine that you are a mighty lion. You have a giant roar. Sit cross-legged and sit up tall like a proud lion. And get ready to let your roar go.”
3. Model: “I’m going to think of a feeling that I would like to let go, or a thought that I want to release. Now I squeeze my hands in fists, holding tight that feeling or thought and scrunch up my face getting ready to roar. I take a deep breath in and let my roar out, sticking my tongue out at the same time and stretching my arms out wide in front of me, opening my hands wide.”
4. Guide: “Now it is your turn. Sit up tall. Think of the feeling or thought that you would like to roar out. Scrunch that feeling or thought into your hands and pull them up tight in front of you. Now scrunch up your face tight. Take a deep breath in. And. . . ROAR!!!!! it out, sticking your tongue out and letting your arms and hand stretch out wide in front of you. Excellent!!!! Let’s try it a few more times. Really ROAR!! it out!!!!!
Ideas for Use:
- Practice first thing in the morning to stimulate your day. Wake up your body with Lion’s Breath.
- Practice at the end of each day to let go of unwanted thoughts or feelings.
- Use when strong feelings come up that want to be released.
- Use any time you would like to stimulate the body energetically, activating a more alert state.
√ Promotes emotional regulation and releases tension, particularly in the face and chest regions.
Deep Breath of Love
07 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in All Relaxation Activities, Deep Breathing, Uncategorized
Here is a deep breathing game that will stimulate love thoughts at the same time.
Materials Needed: BLOPensTM, paper
For this activity, you will need BLOPensTM. They can be purchased at http://www.amazon.com/BLOpens-Deluxe-Blo-Pens-Creative-Activity/dp/B00004YZAL or at Toys R Us.
Step One: Discuss a review of deep breathing (aka diaphragmatic breathing) techniques with your child.
Step Two: Draw a big heart on a paper. Ask your child to select a color of love that they would like to put inside the heart. You may also wish to write the word “LOVE” inside the heart.
Step Three: Take a deep breath in through the nose, taking care to fill up the lungs and allowing the tummy to float outward as you take oxygen in. Exhale and blow air through the BLOPen. See how much color you can put inside the heart and how long you can exhale. The longer the exhale, the more color that will go into the heart. Practice slow, steady exhale (attempting to blow air out in an easy stream instead of a giant initial burst or sputter that tappers suddenly off). Switch colors with each breath to make a colorful heart picture and to see visually the varying lengths of exhale.
Recognize your child’s effort in taking the time to practice relaxing his/her body. Simply state, “You are practicing deep breathing while coloring with BLOPens!” Notice and state your observations without judging the process.
Practice the deep breath of love whenever you are feeling tension or would like further practice in deep breathing. Send the picture to a friend or family member who you would like to send a little love to today!
Activate the Snail Principle
06 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
When life is moving very fast it can feel as if we are hamsters on a wheel. It is easy for the body and mind to feel overstimulated and, with that, feelings of tension rise. Invite your child to activate the snail principle with you today! Moment to moment, give yourselves permission to slow down, breathe, and notice the world around you. The snail principle can calm down the “do” in your life and add some time to just “be.” When speed begins to return, as if on autopilot, gently remind yourself and your child, “I activate the snail principle! I remember to slow down, breathe, and watch.” Pretty soon, with practice, you will be able to simply say, “snail!” and your body and mind will automatically respond. Snails have plenty of time to notice the world around them. For extra fun, draw a picture of what your “snail” sees, including as much detail as possible. Post little “snail principle” reminders around the house. Enjoy the world from a snail pace!
Relaxation Gym: Workout Three for Test Taking
03 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
Mind/Body Connection Workout: Stimulate the Physical Body for Focus
Stimulating and enhancing the mind/body connection is the final step in the test taking Relaxation Gym workout. It is possible to formulate any number of combinations. The components in this step include: physical activity to stimulate the brain, stretching and deep breathing. When you combine activities that address each of these areas, you are building strength in the mind/body connection that supports the relaxation related to enhanced focus, concentration and memory.
Activity: Mind/Body Workout: Move + Stretch + Breathe = Increased Focus
I Move Activity: Shake Out
For a quick energy shift, tell students it is time to shake out any feelings about the test that they don’t want. Suggest that, if they are feeling worried, or tense or concerned or tired, this is the perfect opportunity to release those feelings and shake it out. 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 gently, slowly shake in whatever way it feels comfortable. Let go everywhere like a floppy noodle. 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 about two minutes, tell students to begin to finish up their shaking. Initiate a Freeze and Feel by having them stop and do a body check, checking in to pay very close attention to the sensations and feelings that are moving through them.
I Stretch Activity: Sweep Stretch
Introduce this stretch by saying that we are going to sweep our minds clean to get ready for the test. Ask students if there are any thoughts that they have right now that they would like to sweep out of their minds. We can sweep out those thoughts to get our minds ready for the test. Begin by standing by your desk. Take a deep breath, reach your arms way up high and bring your hands together to form your broom. Now bend over at the waste, release your breath, let your muscles go, and sweep the floor with your hands. Back and forth, back and forth. Reach up high, take a deep breath in and stretch. Now bend over again, release your breath and sweep the floor. Repeat until your mind feels focused and ready to start.
I Breathe Activity: Breathing Test Taking Jingle
This is the final activity to prepare for test taking. The Relaxation Gym workout is almost complete. The final step to being completely ready is to practice some deep breaths. Remind students that this deep breathing workout can be completed during the test as well in order to re-focus on your work and to remind yourself to relax while you are taking the test. Explain to students that when our breathing is slow and even, we can tell that our bodies are relaxed. Have the students sit up straight at their desks. Begin by taking a deep breath in through your nose, hold it for a count of three, and gently release it out through your mouth. Practice this three times. Give them a sticker to place on their tummies to make sure that you are practicing tummy breathing, not chest breathing. The sticker should move on the inhale and collapse back down on the exhale. After you are finished practicing, have the class recite the following jingle together:
I take a deep breath,
I go with the flow.
It’s easy for me,
To show what I know.
Congratulations! You and your class are well on your way to building stellar test taking muscles. Practice builds strength. Great work training your brai
Imaginations that Fly: In-Flight Guided Imagery Relaxation Activity
02 Jun 2011 Leave a Comment
in All Relaxation Activities, Guided Imagery, Relaxing on Airplanes
Freeze and Feel
02 Jun 2011 3 Comments
in All Relaxation Activities, Mindfulness Practice, One Minute Relaxers
Practice mindfulness today by initiating a Freeze and Feel. Freeze and Feel steps are as follows:
1. Decide what the signal will be, (a bell, chime, hand clap or finger snap, gesture, or turning off the lights, etc. . . ). When the signal is given, tell children you are going to all Freeze!– right where you are and pause.
2. Now Feel. Take a couple of deep breaths and tune in to your body and notice what you are feeling. You might feel a little tightness in your shoulders, or your hands might be clenched. Are you holding yourself off of your chair or are you relaxing completely and allowing the chair to hold you? Notice all of your feelings that you can. Become a detective and search your whole body, scan for all sensations.
3. Give the signal again to bring attention back to the room. Discuss with children what they noticed.
Variation: Add a little fun to the practice and tell children that you will call out a body part after 1 minute and if they can tell you how that part felt during the freeze and feel, they win! (Facilitator decides the prize categories)
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