The excitement of Christmas coupled with the end-of-year school frenzy means our kids are likely to be anything but calm over the festive period!
Katie Brown – author of the Relaxation Rainbow – guided visualisations for children, has the following tips to help encourage your kids be super chilled and calm…
#1: Colour breathing. When you sense your child is feeling a little overwhelmed or anxious then encourage them to do the rainbow ribbon breath – take a breath in, then lightly part the lips and breathe out whatever colour comes to mind… imagine this exhaled breath like a ribbon of light unravelling into the distance. You can continue through each of the rainbow colours or just choose your favourite colour.
#2: Shake it out! When you feel the energy begin to build, just shake out your body. Start with the hands, then shake the arms – as if you are shaking water off your skin. Then stand on one leg and shake out your other foot, then the entire leg and then swap to the other leg. Finish with an full body shake and then try to stand as still as you can, taking three deep breaths.
#3: Sigh…! Breathe in and then open your mouth and sigh the breath all the way out. Make it as loud and long as you like, do this at least three times.
#4: Hum… humming can really help us to quieten a busy mind. Breathe in through the nose and block the ears with the thumbs and place your fingers over your eyes and then with the lips lightly together and teeth apart hum the breath out… do this at least three times.
#5: Sleep well with the Relaxation Rainbow. We all know how important it is to have a good night’s sleep (for us as well as our kids!), one of the best ways to do this is to have a bedtime routine. And make sure you spend a little time reading together (ideally with a physical book and not on a screen). The Relaxation Rainbow is the perfect bedtime reading. There is a different guided visualisation for each of the rainbow colours – so children can choose which colour to drift off to sleep to, relaxations include the Magic Sunset (red), Healing Gemstone (orange), Buttercup Flower Crown (yellow), Emerald Forest (green), Calm Castle (blue), Moonlight Lake (Indigo) and Mountain Mist (violet) relaxations… and a journey through all the colours to find the treasure at the end of the rainbow!
Katie Brown is a mum-of-three and has been teaching yoga on the Northern Beaches for 24 years. She is the author of Mother Me, Guided Relaxations and The Relaxation Rainbow. For more information please visit: https://katiebrownyoga.com/books/relaxation-rainbow/