Posted by Akilah Richards on Feb.06, 2009

Our bedtime routine is pretty typical, almost…

Clean-up time (occasionally complimented by the human radio, a.k.a. mommy humming sped-up circus clown music), bath/teeth-brushing, story, breathing/yoga, then bed.

Though our children are young, our daughters, ages 4 and 2, have been learning breathing techniques and basic yoga poses since each of them could walk four steps without falling over. We’re raising our daughters as healthy vegetarians, so if we’re particular about taking care of their bodies, it’s only natural to pay some attention to our minds, too! We don’t use any particular breathing techniques, and for that matter, we even allow our daughters to make up some of the yoga poses we do. The point though, is not lost in the method; because it’s about using breath-awareness as a method of self-soothing; and guess what? It works.

When people hear the terms self-soothing and children in the same sentence, the term Ferberization often comes to mind. Though I’m not a fan of that method, I do believe that young children can be taught levels of self-awareness and believe it or not, emotional introspect, that can lead to a better understanding, and ultimately control, of themselves and their moods. I can’t imagine that I, or you, could not have spared ourselves some undue stress had we been taught at a young age, how to address our emotions. Newsweek ran an article discussing the proven benefits of meditation and breathing techniques for children with ADHD, and that’s wonderful news for us all! It’s more proof that we don’t have to resort to our Pharmaceutical Saviors to help our children build their attention spans. As parents, it behooves us to be proactive and not wait for a teacher to claim that our child is “not as calm” or “less focused” than other students, before we start to explore self-soothing methods. Don’t get me wrong, there are times when all the breathing in the world won’t stop my daughters from growling at me or stomping around the living room in protest, but it’s a process, not a failsafe, and we can take pride in arming our children with a useful skill that they can implement anytime and anywhere stress may surface.

Children’s yoga classes are popping up all over my city, and you can probably find some in your area too. But as super-busy mommies, if you simply can’t fit a yoga class into your already jam-packed schedule, you can find 5-15 minutes each night to breathe with your blessing of a child, right? Sure you can! To make it easier, here are 3 tips straight from our house to yours:

Create a space that mimics the desired result
Don’t do yoga in the living room if there’s a television or toys or lots of family photos. Instead, use a space that’s as “quiet” as you’d like you and your child’s insides to be at that moment. Since we’re not a formal dining family, we turned our dining room into a meditation room, and we sit in the room in silence, either together, or individually. The room is understated, never cluttered, and devoid of excessive stimuli. Other times, we breathe and do yoga in our master bedroom, because our daughters don’t associate that room with playtime, and the room contains no family photos or toys.

Don’t get hung up on methods
It’s always great to take classes and experience the benefit of a professional instructor in the art forms of yoga and/or breathing techniques; but in my opinion, it’s not a “must-do”. As I mentioned, we simply breathe deep, taking care to fill our stomachs with air, then push the air out through our nostrils, being sure to flatten our stomach as we “push the air back out and cleanse our insides of any ruffles”. We wave our arms slowly as we breathe, and we sit or stand up with elongated cores and chins raised high. Outside of that, everything else is open to their suggestions (and giggles). It’s fun and it’s helpful, because each time we’re done, the girls have calmed down significantly, as opposed to going from zero to sixty and being expected to go to sleep in that state of mind.

It’s a stress REDUCER, remember?
There are some nights when I am so tightly-wound by fast-approaching deadlines and unchecked items on my to-do list, that I don’t even know whether exposing my children to that energy is the best thing to do. In those instances, they have to settle for a story and kisses, and that’s okay. Some nights might be a 15 minute session, and some might barely touch the 5-minute marker–that’s okay! Other times, your child may not want to participate, and that’s okay too! Missing a day or two each week isn’t the end of the world, so be sure to cut yourself some slack! It’s about creating consistency in order to form the habit, so if you practice breathing exercises most days of the week, then you and your children will be in good shape.

The point, fellow GreenDivaMoms, is to de-mystify yoga and breathing techniques, and simply slow down long enough to listen, experience, and pass on to your children the power of their own subtle breath. Make it fun, do it often, and be sure to drop me a line and let me know how it’s working for your family.

Namasté!

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Posted under Family, GDM Kids, Tweens, Teens, Living.