Quieting the Mind - Page 2

[crunchy_mommy]

Originally Posted by Tigerle 

The yoga suggestion is interesting. I'll make a note if it - DS is too young I think. He really loves a backrub, or I should say a deep tissue massage, again according to a tight ritualized order. "Now walk up my spine with your fingers. Okay, now knead my back. No , above the arms now. now the underarms.."

He might be able to do it!! My DS just turned 2 and he LOVES yoga. We try to make it more fun for him, so when we do the cat/cow pose we meoooow & moooo, for example. We rename many of the poses to be more applicable to him (usually animal names work) and we do it a little more fast-paced than we would without him. He absolutely loves it though, give it a shot!!!

[docta]

my 2 year old (like many) has a difficult time letting go to sleep at night, and this reminded me that I had insomnia when i was about 7 or 8, i just couldn't stop thinking and reliving/remembering everything that had happened to me that day, week, month etc.

I had a pediatrician who came up with a visualization that i still use occasionally today.Its similar to meditation techniques, but was more easily grasped by a child...which was basically to imagine that all the thoughts that came into my mind were being written on a chalk board, and just to keep erasing them as they appeared...This worked for me then, when counting sheep, reciting the alphabet backwards etc had no effect. It might be helpful for other school aged children.

 When my daugther is older will probably suggest it to her, for now we try doing a few relaxing yoga breathing techniques and postures (she does them on her own to relax at times), but these are only partially effective....i know her mind is going a mile a minute too, but i havent figured out a way to communicate to her how to let her release her thoughts when she is really tired and sleepy but can't sleep.