Relaxation exercise for children: Grounded like a tree

I am preparing for a Story Relaxation class I am leading tomorrow for children with their parents. I am going to teach a lot of different ways to use stories, your imagination, touch and guided imagery to relax, be mindful and connect with each other. This is one of the exercises I plan to use. I translated this relaxation exercise from Heike Jung's book that has Massage stories and movement games for children. It is perfect to start the Earth Day week as well! Have a lovely week and keep your feet firmly grounded on the earth!

Grounded like a tree
Relaxation exercise for children

Starting position: Stand on the floor, barefooted is best, feet hip width apart and knees slightly bent

Script (talk with a slow calm voice): Imagine you are a tree with a thick trunk. You have stood in that same spot for 200 years, that is how old you are! No storm has ever been able to take you down. Under your feet there are strong roots that grow deep in the ground. They keep you strongly grounded. Stand still for a moment and imagine how it would feel to be a big old tree.

Now you feel a light wind. Your branches and leaves move in the wind. The wind strokes softly the trunk, branches and leaves. Let your arms be the branches and fingers the leaves. Let them move slowly and softly in the wind. Stroke gently your head, arms, face and hands.

The wind becomes stronger. The whole tree waves in the wind from side to side. Then the wind changes direction and the tree moves from front to back. Move your body from left to right and then front and back.

The wind has stopped. You stand still again. The sun peeks from behind the clouds. You notice how the sun beams warm your body. Put your both hands on your face and feel the warmth of the sun. Put your hands on your belly, close your eyes and feel the warmth there as well.

How to help kids to sleep with story massage

Photo: Hello Pinecone Photography

Happy Monday!

This daylight savings is often rough for us! Getting the kids to sleep earlier isn't easy. My four year old went to school late today as he just slept and slept. Story massage can help with sleep. Research shows that kids who were massaged before bedtime slept better - they fell asleep faster and their sleep patterns improved compared to the control group who was read a bedtime story but didn't receive massage. Read more why and how to try it tonight with your kids below!

Why story massage helps sleep?

1. Nurturing touch reduces stress hormones in the body (for both the one receiving touch and the one giving it!)

2. Story massage, nurturing touch, nurturing story and your mindful presence will create a safe space for the child to fall asleep. Feeling your hand on their back helps the child feel so safe that they can close their eyes and drift to sleep. It also helps the adult to stop after a busy day.

3. The safe space can inspire the child to share anything worrying them and help them fall asleep faster after getting the load off their backs.

Ideas for bedtime story massage:

• A story massage: This Day. Make up a story massage of the events of the day. 
• Use any story or nursery rhyme your child is already familiar with, or one you remember from your own childhood 
• Have children come up with their own stories and draw those on their back. 
• Print this bedtime story massage out and use it tonight: 

Night in the forestA tactile story for children by Sirpa Kaajakari

Follow the instructions below to draw the story on your child’s back to help them sleep, feel safe and to connect with them. Always ask permission before starting. Use gentle strokes avoiding pressure on the spine and kidneys in the low back.
A big old spruce tree stood in the forest. Its roots were planted deep in the ground, its trunk was thick and sturdy and its branches were wide and green. The sap from the tree smelled so fresh. (Using the palms of your hands start from the low back and draw a tree with lots of branches on the back.)

The tree was a home for birds and squirrels. They felt safe in the old tree and ate the seeds from the cones and the bugs that crawled on the trunk. (Draw small circles with the tips of your fingers on the back.)

Foxes hid under the tree when it was raining. (Rest your hands on the low back.)

Hikers who needed to rest their tired legs sat under the tree and leaned against the strong trunk of the tree and enjoyed the peace of the forest. (Stroke with your hands on both sides of the spine starting from the low back.)

At night stars were bright and the moon lighted the forest. (Sprinkle stars all over the back with your finger tips.)

An owl sat on the branch of the old spruce tree, alert and awake when everyone else was sleeping. Keeping an eye on everything so the others could sleep peacefully. (Gently squeeze the shoulders.)

The wind gently brushed the tree branches and whispered: You are safe. (Draw whirly wind all over the back.)

One star fell from the sky but the tree caught it and the star got stuck on the top of the tree. From there it shone brightly, bringing peace and happiness to everyone in the forest. (Stroke the head and run your hands down to the upper back and rest them there.)

Information about story massage classes in Los Angeles:

www.kaikulifestyle.com

Christmas Story Massage

I would like to wish you and your family lots of peace, joy and happiness this holiday season. I hope you can find time to relax and connect with your children. Remember that you and your mindful presence is their best gift!

I wrote today a story massage. It is not the first one I have written but it is the first one I am sharing publicly so I am a little bit nervous. Please send me feed back! It is a Christmas story BUT if you don't celebrate Christmas, you can just leave out the word Christmas and it will magically turn into a non-Christmas story! It can be used like this during the rest of the year too. I wrote this story to help my little boy feel safe when he is going to sleep. He has been afraid of ghosts lately. I hope you'll enjoy it.


(Christmas) night in the forest
A tactile story for children
Written by Sirpa Kaajakari, 2014

Follow the instructions below to draw the story on your child’s back to help them sleep, feel safe and to connect with them. Always ask permission before starting. Use gentle strokes avoiding pressure on the spine and kidneys in the low back. For more information go to www.kaikulifestyle.com

A big old spruce tree stood in the forest. Its roots were planted deep in the ground, its trunk was thick and sturdy and its branches were wide and green. The sap from the tree smelled so fresh. (Using the palms of your hands start from the low back and draw a tree with lots of branches on the back.)

The tree was a home for birds and squirrels. They felt safe in the old tree and ate the seeds from the cones and the bugs that crawled on the trunk. (Draw small circles with the tips of your fingers on the back.)

Foxes hid under the tree when it was raining. (Rest your hands on the low back.)

Hikers who needed to rest their tired legs sat under the tree and leaned against the strong trunk of the tree and enjoyed the peace of the forest. (Stroke with your hands on both sides of the spine starting from the low back.)

On Christmas night (or replace with “At night”) stars were bright and the moon lighted the forest. (Sprinkle stars all over the back with your finger tips.)

An owl sat on the branch of the old spruce tree, alert and awake when everyone else was sleeping. Keeping an eye on everything so the others could sleep peacefully. (Gently squeeze the shoulders.)

The wind gently brushed the tree branches and whispered: You are safe. (Draw whirly wind all over the back.)

One star fell from the sky but the tree caught it and the star got stuck on the top of the tree. From there it shone brightly, bringing peace and happiness to everyone in the forest. (Stroke the head and run your hands down to the upper back and rest them there.)

Read more about the benefits of story massage for children here. 

For information about story massage and relaxation classes for children go to www.kaikulifestyle.com