A Mindfulness Practice for Families
This exercise helps you engage your belly and diaphragm (the muscle at the bottom of your rib cage) to help calm your nerves and relax. It’s a great exercise to do at bedtime, rocking your buddy to sleep with your breath.
- Select a stuffed animal to be your buddy.
- Lie down on your back with your legs straight and your arms at your sides. Take a moment to relax.
- Place your buddy on the soft part of your belly. Feel the weight of your buddy resting there.
- Now, rock your buddy by taking deep breaths:
- Take a long, slow breath into your belly making your buddy rise up, as you whisper “up.”
- Breathe out even more slowly, feeling your belly and your buddy go down, as you say “down.”
- Close your eyes and continue this slow breathing for several minutes allowing yourself to rest and relax.
- Notice how your body is feeling after doing this deep breathing for a few minutes.
It’s ok if your child falls asleep while doing this exercise.
