It sounds as if you are doing a lot of the right things already and adding yoga into your routine will undoubtedly be beneficial. A combination of postures which include forward bends will help to still the mind, along with a gentle story about animals and flowers curling up to sleep which could act as a lovely pre-bath time routine. It might be helpful to go from the dog pose to child pose as the dog rests and the gentle pressure on the forehead helps everyone to feel more grounded in child pose. Cat pose to child pose releases any stiffness and brings a sense of stillness. Standing and reaching up to the warmth of the imaginary sun, then slowly folding forward as the sun goes down is also helpful preparation for quiet time. Seated forward bends, going from a modified plough posture (with the whole of the back staying in contact with the floor, and the legs straight up in the air), to full supine pose, then sitting up to staff pose and bringing the head down towards the legs combines well with a visualisation of the flowers closing their petals as the sun goes down.
Once your child is settled in bed, talking them through a progressive relaxation of each part of the body by again using a visualisation of the tummy rising and falling with the breath, like waves on the sea and a small sail boat bobbing up and down (they can imagine the boat, the color of the sails, the sound of the seagulls etc.). Then as they breath in through their nose, the boat ravels on their breath down to one foot, then leg, then the other foot and leg, etc. going through each of the limbs and parts of the body, ending back at the forehead where it rests. This doesn’t need to take too long, especially once they are familiar with the routine. Getting them to breath through their nose may help if your child has sinus problems, or breathing problems like sleep apnea as it can be helpful in keeping the nasal passages clear. I also teach children to do a counting breaths if they wake up and can’t get back to sleep. They lie on one side, and take 8 slow breaths, then turn to the other side and take 16 breaths, then on their tummies, like a sleeping crocodile posture, and take 24 breaths, and finally-if they haven’t fallen asleep, they turn on to their backs and take 32 breaths. It is important that a child learns to go to sleep on their own in the middle of the night. Many of these techniques would also help during the day if your child needs a bit of calming time out. Once they learn them for themselves, they begin to appreciate how to help themselves calm down.
Sarah Sadler, Chelmsford, Essex.
Sarah is a YogaBugs and Yoga’dUp teacher and Course Instructor. She works with children from 2-14 in schools, playschools and after school clubs. She is also a Trainer for Child Behavior Management.
