7 Apps To Help Kids Relax
02 Apr 2012 2 Comments
in All Relaxation Activities, Bedtime Relaxation Activities, Educator Resources, Family Relaxation, One Minute Relaxers, Relaxing on Airplanes, Uncategorized Tags: apps for kids, reducing stress in kids, relaxation apps for kids, relaxation for kids, relaxation help for parents, relaxation ideas for kids, relaxing on the go for kids, stress free kids
My iPhone and iPad have become instant hits with my kids. They love to play games on them. They are great for when I’m out at a restaurant or waiting at the airport and they need something quick to stay occupied. In spite of the battery run down and the fact that I rush to get text messages that end up being reminders to “feed the horse before it dies,” it has been a great portable tool to keep busy. The other day we were riding in the car and my older daughter was stressing about her homework. I was wishing that I had a relaxing application on the iPhone to help her relax. So, I started researching and here are some ideas that I found:
Take a Chill http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/take-a-chill-stressed-teens/id496802813?mt=8
This app is great for tweens and teens. It sends gentle reminders to practice mindfulness and affirmations periodically throughout the day. It provides a way to track your mindfulness practice and has small activities built directly into the app. Great introduction to mindfulness practice!
My First Yoga http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/my-first-yoga-animal-poses/id365336362?mt=8
I use this app almost every day during a sensory break with one of my students at school. The poses are cute, simple, and provide easy, step by step directions to follow. Do just one or all of them, it is easy to choose. I love the peacock pose. The fun animals join us every day in my office. The stretches are relaxing and provide an excellent opportunity to focus in the moment.
iZen Garden http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/izen-garden-2-portable-zen/id347232643?mt=8
Just like the sand trays with little rakes that allow you to calmly draw beautiful lines in the sand, this app is perfect to promote a moment of calm. Using your fingers instead of a rake, you can draw lines in the sand while listening to cheerful chimes.
Gratitude Journal http://itunes.apple.com/app/gratitude-journal-your-positive/id299604556?mt=8
The Institute of Heartmath (http://www.heartmath.org/), shares extensive research on the relationship between thinking thoughts of appreciation and feeling relaxed and at ease. What better way to practice with your child than to keep a gratitude journal. Try out this adorable app that reminds you and your child to think of 5 things you are grateful for each day.
Arabian Nights by Relax Kids http://itunes.apple.com/app/arabian-nights/id500474568?ign-mpt=uo%3D5
Just out in March by Relax Kids, this Arabian Nights app is delightful. Soothing voice, calming journeys, you can travel to exotic places in your imagination. Topics include belly dancing, snake charmers and magic carpets, your children are sure to be engaged and practicing relaxation right along with this app. Enjoy!
S
ilent Island Relaxation Lite http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/silent-island-relaxation-sale/id296191442?mt=8 Listen to the peaceful sounds of a bubbling brook, rushing waves, rain, or birds. Bonuses include videos of floating ice and a slideshow of the islands. It is perfect for those much needed mini moments of relaxation. This version is free, but a full version can be purchased to forego the ads.
For the iPad only:
Enchanted Meditation http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/enchanted-meditations-for/id490096965?mt=8
This app has brief meditations for kids and also includes a tree pose activity. Christiane Kerr’s voice is pleasant and soothing, easy to listen to. I especially love the jellyfish meditation. What fun to flop like a jellyfish!
Cloud Thoughts
05 Mar 2012 Leave a Comment
in All Relaxation Activities, Bedtime Relaxation Activities, Family Relaxation, Mindfulness Practice, Positive Self-Talk, Relaxation Practice, Relaxing in Nature, Uncategorized Tags: meditation, mindfulness activity, positive thoughts, relaxation, stress reduction
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/view_photog.php?photogid=3973
Mindfulness is known as the ability to pull your attention into the present moment, increasing your awareness of the thoughts that are happening as they happen. When you pause to let go and really just allow yourself to be in the present moment, relaxation, naturally, just happens!
As you think about trying to explain meditation or mindfulness practice to your child, you might wonder where to begin. It all starts with the ability to be still, to pay attention to the present moment, and to begin increasing awareness about the thoughts you are having. Try this Cloud Thoughts activity with your child as a perfect starting place.
Step One:
(Materials: A fluffy cloud day, a spot of lush green grass, a blanket and some sunglasses) Invite your child to go with you outside, to lie down in the grass, and to watch the clouds in the sky. Tell her that you are going to take a cloud journey, simply paying attention to the clouds as they float across the sky. Share with her that you are going to do it in silence and that there will be time to share your experiences with each other later. Spend a few moments just relaxing on the blanket and watching the clouds as float past. Watch as they dance, float, morph and transform on their journey across the sky. See what kind of animals or shapes they make. You can share your experiences with each other later while you are doing step two.
Step Two:
(Materials: timer, crayons, pencils and paper) Go back inside and get some drawing materials. Draw a picture of clouds with your child. Place it in front of you and set a timer for 3 minutes. Tell your child that you are going to simply watch the picture, just like you did outside, and pay attention to the thoughts that drift into and out of your mind like clouds. No need to try to stop or change the thoughts, just watch them with interest. If you like, you can pretend you are a thought scientist and you have been given the task to simply notice and pay attention to the thoughts in your head to see what they have to say. You might be surprised at the thoughts, what they contain and what they want to do. You might notice having more or less thoughts. Just watch with interest for three minutes.
Step Three: When three minutes are up, tell your child that you are going to take the picture you have drawn and write in the clouds some of the thoughts you noticed.
Additional Idea for Use:
- Make this a daily practice. Practice for three minutes each day and notice how it gets easier to watch your thoughts drifting in and out and around in your head like clouds in the sky.
- Skip step one and complete steps two and three before bed each night.
- Start a Cloud Thoughts journal for paying attention to and collecting the thoughts in your head. Discuss any changes you notice as you experience the activity over time. Notice if the thoughts change, if the speed with which they float in and out changes, if the speed changes related to how you are feeling that day, if you feel more or less relaxed after the experience, etc. . .
Body Rock
30 Dec 2011 Leave a Comment
in All Relaxation Activities, Bedtime Relaxation Activities, Family Relaxation, One Minute Relaxers, Relaxing/Balancing the Body, Uncategorized
Body rock involves gently rocking the body back and forth to calm the nervous system. Have your child lie flat on the floor. Use a yoga mat or lie on a soft carpet for increased comfort. Don’t use a pillow to obstruct air flow or to place the neck in an unnatural position. Play soft music, dim the lights and use aromatherapy to prepare the environment for relaxation. Begin by inviting your child to take a couple of deep breaths. Tell your child to simply allow his body to melt into the floor and prepare him that you are going to gently rock his body back and forth to calm down his muscles and nerves. Share with him that the more he can be like a rag doll and let go, allow his body to relax, the more powerful body rock will be. Then gently begin to lightly rock his body back and forth, alternating sides. First give a gentle push on the left and respond with a gentle push on the right. Use very gentle touch, as light as using one finger to move. Apply a relaxed, gentle, steady rhythm. Imagine that your hands are carrying on a very sweet relaxation conversation. As one hand moves on one side, the other gently responds. Allow the body weight to help carry the momentum of the rock back and forth. Move slowly up and down the legs and then to the torso, gently pushing on each arm. Allow the head to remain relaxed and lying on the floor. Be as gentle as possible, and increase in lightness of touch as you continue. As time passes, you will notice the body begin to let go and relax more and more, as evidenced by its effortless motions. Simply allow it to rock, back and forth, back and forth. Check in with your child to make sure he is doing okay or to ask if he needs anything. Complete this for a couple minutes the first time and begin to increase the amount of time spent rocking as your child adjusts to it. Place a blanket over your child for added security and warmth to support further relaxation. He might fall asleep, this is a natural response. If not, allow him to rest in silence for a few minutes when you are finished to allow him to integrate the experience and to become fully aware of the relaxed sensations.
At a later time, discuss with your child how his body felt before, during and after the body rock experience.
Mind Movie: The Relaxed You
22 Oct 2011 Leave a Comment
in All Relaxation Activities, Bedtime Relaxation Activities
Neuro-Linguistic Programming, or NLP, can be used to create and practice experiences of relaxation. NLP is regarded as the science of re-programming your mental landscape by by paying attention to information from the senses and pairing this information with empowering language to mentally rehearse positive experiences/thoughts. This process then, through rehearsal and repetition, re-programs the mind to experience the experiences you want to create. This, in turn begins to shift your perception. The thought/feeling feedback loop becomes engaged to promote the experience of more positive feelings. We can help children to relax by showing them how to re-program and empower their thinking through the rehearsal of thoughts and images of the relaxation experience.
I developed Mind Movie: The Relaxed You after working with a fourth grade student. He was struggling with peer relationships at recess. Wherever he went, it seemed as if he was the magnet for friend trouble. He often reported feelings of anger and frustration and would act out aggressively in the face of perceived injustice. So, in the interest of increasing his positive experience at recess and ability to deal with his anger, we began working with challenging memories to “re-program” them to feel better. Getting into a relaxed state, and thinking of a time when he got into trouble and felt stressed or angry at recess, we began to identify his relaxed you character who became the star of his imaginary show. The more he practiced and rehearsed images of his relaxed you, the more he not only began to increase his confidence in his ability to build positive friendships at recess, but he began to shift his focus toward success and away from failure. Pretty soon, he was creating mind movies staring his relaxed you himself and using them as a tool to calm down and to feel more relaxed in difficult situations. His trouble on the playground slowly decreased until it rarely was a struggle anymore.
This relaxation tool allows you and your child to rehearse thoughts and experiences of the relaxed you. The more we rehearse thoughts, the more they are programmed in our minds and become increasingly natural in their access and use. It is important to practice some basic relaxation techniques just before doing this activity to “prime the mind” for the experience. It will give your child some ideas that he/she can use during the experience. Please visit the “relaxation techniques” section of this blog for additional ideas.
Mind Movie: The Relaxed You
• Explain to your child that you are going to create a mind movie. This is a movie that you create and play in your imagination. This movie has a star. That star is the relaxed you. We are going to meet the relaxed you on the movie screen in your mind.
• Get into a comfortable position, either sitting or lying down
• Take a deep breath and focus your attention on your body
• Breathe in, counting to 5. Breathe out, counting to five.
• Repeat this 3 times
• Now, allow your body to just melt right where you are
• Let go of any thoughts that might have come to this place with you
• Pause
• Imagine a movie screen in the sky floating in front of you in your imagination
• Now, think of a memory of a time when you were feeling stressed, tense, worried or anxious
• Do you have one? Beautiful.
• Put that memory on the screen in the sky and watch it to play. Pay attention to who is in the video, what they are doing, how you are feeling. What happens?
• Excellent. Now push the pause button. Do you think the relaxed you might have experienced the situation differently? What might have helped the you in the movie to become the relaxed you? What would you have done? What tools might you have used?
• Listen closely to how your child responds. Offer suggestions only asking if he would like some and present them in question form (for example, “I like to breathe slowly and count backwards from 10, do you think that might have helped?”)
• Wonderful. By practicing that tool right now we are going to transform the you on the screen into the relaxed you. Let’s practice that tool right now. (Lead the child through practicing the tool). Great job!!! The relaxed you is now here to star in the show. Please invite the relaxed you to go up on the screen. Pause. Is the relaxed you up on the screen? Beautiful. We are ready for the re-play.
• Now we are going to re-play the memory on the screen and this time you are going to watch what happens when the relaxed you stars in the show. See if anything happens differently. Pay attention to how you are feeling as you play the movie.
• pause. can you see what happens when the relaxed you enters the scene? wonderful.
• Re-play the scene with the relaxed you until it is finished. Pause for a few moments. Is it finished? Did you see the relaxed you?
• Excellent. Let’s take some more deep breaths. Breathing in, counting to 5. Breathing out, counting to five.
• You can open your eyes when you are ready
After the activity, spend some time listening to your child’s experience and asking questions if it feels right. Ask him to describe what the “relaxed you” felt like inside, what did the relaxed you look like? What was he doing? Practice rehearsing the movie of the relaxed you before bed each night for a week and see what changes, if any occur. pay particular attention to the feelings inside.
Additional Ideas:
- Use your home video camera to make a film staring the relaxed you
- Draw a picture of the relaxed you and post it somewhere where it will remind you to relax
Another technique that incorporates the NLP process for children includes The Journey for Kids:
Brandon Bays, author of the The Journey, has a delightful CD for children that takes them on a journey into a memory, helps them to reset it, replay it, speak to their younger self, and to embody new strength characteristics to support the new vision. Please visit www.thejourney.com for more information.
Cloud Garden Bedtime Game
06 Jan 2011 Leave a Comment
in All Relaxation Activities, Bedtime Relaxation Activities, Uncategorized
This is a game that can be played by the family at bedtime in order to foster feelings of peace and relaxation. It is an excellent way to let go of anything during the day that is no longer supportive or needed.
Arrange pillows in a circle to form your “cloud garden”. Start with some gentle stretching to signal the body to begin to relax. Explain to children that this cloud garden is a place for all of us to relax at the end of the day. It is a place for peaceful voices and peaceful bodies. Sit on the pillow and give everyone a few cotton balls to hold. Each of your cotton balls represents something you would like to give to the cloud garden. This can be a special wish or affirmation related to bedtime such as “I am feeling light and soft like a fluffy cloud” or “I am ready for peaceful sleep.” Or, if you have had a particularly challenging day, this can be thoughts or feelings you would like to release into the cloud garden in order to feel more relaxed and ready to sleep. Take turns releasing your cotton balls into the circle.
This activity can be integrated into family relaxation time or can be part of an established bedtime ritual. If you are interested in creating a deeper, more relaxed experience, listen to a pre-recorded guided imagery track or read a guided relaxation script with peaceful music playing in the background.
Maintain the relaxed, peaceful energy as you wander off to bed.
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