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W e live in a world that is undergoing rapid anddramatic change, and our children are beingplaced under more and more stress Ñ at

home, in care settings, and at school. ChildrenÕs time isnow more and more directed by adults, and there is littletime for children to contemplate, reflect, or simply be.Without this balance of child-centred and teacher-directed play, childrenÕs health, well-being, and develop-ment are affected by the negative and damaging effectsof stress. Some of these include long hours in a range ofcare settings and spending time with a number of care-givers, overstimulation and noise, the general fast paceof life, extracurricular activities, and family situationssuch as the separation or divorce of parents or adjustingto blended families.

There is now limited time for play and motor develop-ment as a result of the frantic pace of life and the needfor children to be secure and supervised at all times.Hence, sedentary play is promoted at home and atschool. Media games, advertising, videos, and exposureto news programmes contribute to stress, and in somecases unresolved terror, for children (Levin, 1994, 1998).

Much research to date has focused on stress and stressmanagement strategies for adults in work and home set-tings. However, little research has been directed at howwe can incorporate holistic stress management ideas intoour curricula for young children. Adults readily admitthat they often transfer their stress reactions (no matterhow subtle) onto the children in their care but feelunequipped to incorporate relaxation into their dailyroutines. Young children, often mistakenly stereotypedas innocent and carefree (Dahlberg, Moss, & Pence,1999), do not have the words or the understandings toexpress their worries, fears, and anxieties and often as aresult are labeled ÓnaughtyÓ or Ódisruptive.Ó Relaxationtechniques are simple and easy to incorporate into early

childhood programmes and provide valuable life skillsfor the children in our care.

Dispelling the Myths

Introducing relaxation exercises into an early childhoodprogramme requires discussion, preparation, and plan-ning. Families and colleagues need your support in pro-viding them with relevant information before you beginto work with the children in your program. Families andcolleagues need to know why relaxation is beingincluded and how you will introduce it to the children.Following is a list of concerns that we have encounteredin our work with young children.

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Relaxation: Every Child’s Right to Simply Be

by Patrice Thomas and Wendy Shepherd

Patrice Thomas is a part-timelecturer at the Institute of Early

Childhood in communicationand health and a stress

management consultant.She has worked as an elementary

school teacher in general andspecial education and teaches

Tai Chi and relaxation classes fromher studio in the Blue Mountains,

New South Wales.

Wendy Shepherd is the directorof Mia-Mia Child and Family Study

Centre and part-time lecturer withinthe Institute of Early Childhood in

the areas of managementand health. She has worked as a

teacher in elementary schooland as a director of a preschool

and a long day care centre.

Concern. Parents and colleagues may view relaxation asa Ònew ageÓ or religious concept.

Remedy. Inform parents and colleagues by providingwritten information or video programmes thatdescribe and demonstrate the techniques of Tai Chi,progressive relaxation, and visualization exercises.Reassure families and colleagues that relaxation exer-cises are not promoting any religious beliefs. Discussthe lifelong benefits for children and adults. (Displaya copy of this article!)

Concern. Eastern philosophy such as Tai Chi and therelaxation exercises are viewed as Òdifferent.Ó

Remedy. Embracing diversity is a valuable method ofimparting acceptance of differences in young chil-drenÕs lives.

Concern. Tai Chi exercises are only for adults.Remedy. Reassure families that Tai Chi exercises are safe,

non-invasive exercises for the very young to the veryold. There is a lot of information about Tai Chi forfamilies to read.

Concern. The staff do not know how to do Tai Chi or therelaxation exercises.

Remedy. No one needs specialized skills. Everyone cando it at their own level and pace. Just try! Hold ameeting to demonstrate the exercises to colleaguesand parents. Invite them to do the exercises; theywill enjoy them and feel refreshed.

Concern. Relaxation is adding yet another task to analready heavy work schedule.

Remedy. Consider replacing a less beneficial activity Ñfor example, the preparation for the rest period ofthe day may be replaced with the use of Tai Chi andrelaxation exercises. Some older children have grownout of the need of a midday nap. The relaxation pro-gramme is a perfect substitute for rest or nap timefor those children who do not either rest or sleep.The children are settled and focused after a relax-ation session. The visualization exercise is a wonder-ful opportunity for imaginative storytelling andcommunication with peers. Drawing and writing canbe added as an extension to the experience.

What Is Relaxation?

Relaxation helps children to slow down and to calm andquiet their bodies and their minds. Relaxation experi-ences are soothing and restorative for young children.We can teach children to handle stress through gentle

exercise and techniques that provide inner peace andsecurity. Fundamental to learning to relax is discerningthe difference between muscle tension and relaxation(Madders, 1987). We believe that before the mind canrelax, the body must learn to relax. Our approach is dif-ferent to that of most other practitioners as it involvesthe use of gentle exercise (Tai Chi movements) to relaxthe body, followed by progressive relaxation and visual-ization exercises to relax the mind, emotions, and spirit.The techniques we use are gentle and have been prac-ticed for many years in a range of health and educationsettings. Teachers do not need specialist knowledge toimplement these exercises as they are simple and easy tolearn.

Tai Chi or gentle exercise is an ancient form of slow,repetitive movements which bring the body back intobalance and harmony. Tai Chi simply defined is ÒmovingmeditationÓ and, as such, creates peace, harmony, calm,and quietness in children (Crook, 1988). Tai Chi also pro-motes good posture, muscle tone, flexibility, and supple-ness. We have practiced Tai Chi exercises with childrenfrom two years of age and have found that most childrenlove the repetition and flow of the movements.

Traditional exercises and games can be beneficial formany children. However, there are those children whofind that too much competitive play and sport can beemotionally and physically damaging. Children whohave limited mobility or special needs can also partici-pate in some of the Tai Chi exercises. For example, children in wheelchairs can easily perform the upperbody movements alongside the rest of the children. Weassert that it is vital, therefore, to introduce children togentle, non-invasive exercise in order to develop ahealthy, balanced lifestyle instead of negative habits such as poor posture, diet, and exercise.

Progressive relaxation and visualization practices can beused successfully with young children as a follow up totheir Tai Chi practice. Progressive relaxation involvesfocusing the attention on the different parts of the bodyand using rhythmical breathing to help the musclesrelax. It is important that adults keep their terminologyand instructions short and simple here. Visualization orguided imagery involves the children engaging in anexperience led by a teacher which creates a relaxingstory or scene in their imaginations. These stories areoften related to scenes from nature, imaginary friends,animals, and pets. The scripts can be created by adults orchildren.

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It is important to create a quiet time for children each day,that doesnÕt have the stressful associations that sleep timecan often give. In quiet time, children learn to valuelearning to just ÓbeÓ and to experience stillness, reflec-tion, and calmness. These opportunities give childrentime away from busy routines and overstimulation fromnoise and activity during the day.

Creating a Special Place

Select an area that is out of the traffic zones within theplay room, a quiet corner. Weather permitting, a grassyspace under a tree is perfect.

Once this space has been decided on, organize the envi-ronment. A large carpet defines the space, providing aclear message that this is where the relaxation exerciseshappen.

Have a shelf or low table nearby to display somethingwondrous and special: a float bowl with a flower or twodrifting in a pool of water, a basket of beautiful leaves, apaperweight that has a hint of mystery about it, a piece ofpottery or a figurine, a length of shimmery fabric, a musicbox, an art book opened to a page with a painting thatwill intrigue and delight both adult and child, a mask, amusical instrument Ñ the possibilities are endless. Thetable or shelf could also store the tape deck or CD playerfor the relaxation music.

If possible, reduce the lighting in this area to a soft lamp-light, to make it a cozy space.

Cushions around the edge of the carpet are appealing,and if you decide to soften the space with small cushions,you need to be sure there are enough for each child tohave one.

Once this special place has been created, do not pack itaway. Maintain the space as it is so that the children cancome to the area with a minimum of fuss or wait time.You will be surprised to see how well children respond tolooking after this space once it has been arranged andmaintained.

Children often bring along a ÒgiftÓ for the special table Ña feather they have found on the playground or a shellcollected on holiday. Families enjoy looking at the specialobjects to be found on the table as well.

How to Structure Relaxation Sessions

In our work with young children we have found that thefollowing guidelines are useful. As you become morecomfortable and familiar with using relaxation in yourroom, you will begin to structure your sessions specifi-cally to the needs of your children.

To begin:

Spend a short time sitting in a circle and introduce whatthe children will be doing during relaxation time. Takinga few deep breaths with the eyes closed will ÒcentreÓ thegroup. It is interesting to note that for some children, sit-ting still with eyes closed and breathing rhythmically isdifficult. It is important to persevere with this processand support children with calming, gentle, encouragingwords.

Gentle exercises:

Have the children stand up and find their own space.Undertake a few warm-up exercises as you would for anyphysical activity (e.g., limbering, stretching) to preparethe children for their Tai Chi. Begin with one or two TaiChi exercises (we have provided some for you in this arti-cle) and build upon these as you learn more.

Progressive relaxation and visualization experiences:

Ask the children to lie on their backs with their arms andlegs relaxed and their eyes closed. (Closing eyes andkeeping still may be threatening for some children, soallow them to come to this in their own time.) Prepare aÒrelaxation scriptÓ and lead the children through an exercise where they focus on relaxing each part of theirbodies in turn. For young children, begin with the feet,ankles, knees, thighs through to tummy, chest, back,shoulders, arms, neck, and head. Encourage slow breath-ing throughout this.

Next, create a Òvisualization scriptÓ or a story where youlead the children on a journey in their imaginations.Always enter into the story slowly, as they visualizethemselves moving out of their classroom and to theirspecial destination. Likewise, do not end the visualizationprocess too abruptly. Lead the children back from theirjourney carefully as they slowly Òre-enterÓ the room andgive them time to ÒsenseÓ their bodies and recall whattheir room looks like before opening their eyes. Remem-ber, there is no need to rush relaxation time . . . you willdefeat its purpose.

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Closing circle:

After relaxation, have the children sit up and form a cir-cle where they will share their responses and reactions tothe relaxation sessions. Children usually love to tell oth-ers about the sights, sounds, and adventures they hadduring their visualization experiences. Likewise, childrenoften provide very insightful comments about how theirbodies feel after their Tai Chi exercises. Not all childrenwill want to talk about their experiences each time. It isimportant to respect those children who simply wish toÒbeÓ after their relaxation time. This part of the sessioncan be further followed up with drawing, painting, orother creative art experiences as a way of expressing thechildrenÕs ideas and imaginings. These materials andresources need to be organized beforehand and set upclose by the relaxation space.

Some Simple Exercises

Some easy and simple TaiChi exercises suitable foryoung children are as fol-lows:

Greeting Ñ Sun andMoon Bow. Have childrenstand with their feet apart,knees slightly bent, armsresting by their sides (thisis traditionally called theÒHorse Riding StanceÓ).Ask the children to form afist with their right hand Ñ this is their Òsun.Ó At thesame time, ask the children to form a semi-circle aroundtheir ÒsunÓ with their left hand Ñ this is their Òmoon.Ó(See photograph.) Bring the hands to the forehead and

make a bow. This is how we beginour Tai Chi.

Exercise 1Ñ Wu Chi.Begin withthe HorseRidingStance. As thechildrenbreathe in,they raisetheir armsin front of

them to shoulder height. As they lower their arms to theirsides, the children breathe out slowly. Repeat this exercisethree or four times. (See photograph.)

Exercise 2 Ñ The Bird. Begin with the Horse Riding Stance. As the children breathe in,they bring their palms up tochest height, crossing theirhands as the wrists. As theybreathe out, the children raisetheir arms out to the sides,palm down, at shoulderheight. Repeat this exercisethree or four times. (Seephotograph.)

Closing Ñ Embrace Tiger andReturn to the Mountain.Begin with the Horse RidingStance. Ask the children tohold their right hand undertheir left hand (palms up) just

below navel height. The chil-dren move their hands uptowards chest height andturn them over (palmsdown). Now hands arelowered to their sides and

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feet are in the starting position. Repeat three or fourtimes. (See photograph.)

Terminology

Young children relate well to the symbolic and lyrical language of Tai Chi exercises. For example, closing withÒEmbrace Tiger and Return to MountainÓ becomes anenchanting ritual experience for them.

Some Simple Visualization Ideas

We have been using progressive relaxation and visualiza-tion techniques with children for over ten years. We havewritten some enjoyable visualization stories (or ÒscriptsÓfor adults to read to children aloud) based on the follow-ing ideas:

■ A Walk in the Rainforest■ A Magic Carpet Ride■ My Teddy Bear Friend■ The Fairy Party■ Walking Along a Beach■ My Symbol of Peace■ The Wise Old Tree■ My Peaceful Garden■ A Ride on a Cloud■ A Flight with a Magical Bird

As you develop confidence and familiarity in using thesetechniques with your children, it wonÕt be long beforeyou will be creating many varied and interesting storiestogether.

Incorporating Relaxation intoYour Daily Routine

We have established why it is important to teach relax-ation to children at an early age and we have discussedhow beneficial some simple relaxation exercises can befor young children. However, the main comment wereceive from many early childhood teachers and care-givers is that they donÕt have enough time in their busydays to practice relaxation Ñ that there are simply toomany other things to fit into the curriculum. Herein lies

the problem that we discussed at the beginning ofthis article. We all need to reflect upon our currentroutines and practices and ask ourselves thequestion:

Am I adding to the stress of the children in my care withthe routine tasks of the day and the expectations ofparticipation in all aspects of the programme?

We believe that many practices in care and educa-tion settings do indeed create more stress forchildren and staff alike. However, like any newidea, we need to develop slowly and gently untileveryone becomes comfortable with the concept of a daily relaxation time.

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Reflection (above)Circle Ñ at the end of the

visualization process (right)

Ñ Black and white photographs by Kylie Duffy

Using relaxation with children involves much more thanlearning and trying out a few exercises and scripts. Welike to refer to our commitment to the health and well-being of children as Òdeveloping an ecology of relax-ation.Ó This involves questioning our current timetablesand looking at our own stress reactions and verbal andnon-verbal behaviours. It also means creating aestheti-cally beautiful and peaceful spaces for relaxation times Ñplaces where children and adults want to be. This ecologyof relaxation also involves exploring our attitudes andvalues towards health and well-being and the importancewe place on quiet, reflective time for children and adultseach day.

Fundamental to the success of any programme with children is the way we incorporate parents and col-leagues into the planning, design, and implementation.At Mia-Mia, we shared our ideas for setting up a relax-ation programme with our parents and asked for theircontributions and questions. We communicated theprogress of our sessions at evening group meetings byvideotaping meetings and sessions with the children andloaning these tapes out to parents, and through newslet-ters, interviews, and surveys. In this way, the parentswere in tune with the relaxation programme and sup-ported it by practicing the techniques and discussingthem withthe children at home.

Conclusion

We believe that every child has a right to quiet, reflectivetime each day Ñ what we call Òspirit and soulÓ time.Relaxation activities uplift the spirit and soothe the soul.Early childhood settings are unique in that they have thepotential to embrace relaxation settings each day as partof their programmes. In this way, children and adultsalike can share the benefits of exercise, relaxation, andimaginative time. At Mia-Mia, we have developed theconcept of relaxation as a Òway of beingÓ Ñ which is fun-damental to the underlying philosophy and practices ofthe whole centre. We continue to include relaxation as anintegral part of our preschool programme because wehave observed our children enjoying Tai Chi exercisesand soaring creatively and imaginatively through visual-ization experiences.

It is our hope that many other early childhood practition-ers discover the health and learning benefits of usingrelaxation with children. Small beginnings lead to a senseof peacefulness, calmness, wonder, and enchantment forall those who tread the path of relaxation Ñ a path wehope will be more traveled in the future.

Useful References

Crook, R. (1988). Relaxation for children. Katoomba,Australia: Second Back Row Publishing.

Dahlberg, G., Moss, P., & Pence, A. (1999). Beyondquality in early childhood education and care: Postmod-ern perspectives. London: Falmer Press.

Garth, M. (1991). Starbright. Sydney: Collins Dove.

Garth, M. (1997). Earthlight. Sydney: Collins Dove.

Khor, G. (1993). Tai Chi qi gong for stress control andrelaxation. Sydney: Simon and Schuster.

Levin, D. (1994). Teaching young children in violenttimes: building a peaceable classroom. Cambridge, MA:Educators for Social Responsibility.

Levin, D. (1998). Remote control childhood: combatingthe hazards of media culture. Washington, DC:National Association for the Education of YoungChildren.

Madders, J. (1987). Relax and be happy. Sydney: Allenand Unwin.

Rickard, J. (1994). Relaxation for children. Canberra:Australian Council for Education Research.

Roe, D. (1996). Young children and stress: how can wehelp? Canberra: Australian Early Childhood Associ-ation Resource Booklet (3), 4.

Rozman, D. (1994). Meditating with children. BoulderCreek, CA: Planetary Publications.

Thomas, P. (in press). The magic of relaxation: A guidefor teachers, parents and carers. Sydney: PademelonPress.

Special Thanks in Shaping ThisBeginnings Workshop to:

Cecelia Alvarado ¥ Susan Aronson ¥ Celia Boykin Leah Curry-Rood ¥ Roslyn Duffy ¥ Peter A. Gorski

Joan Lombardi ¥ Peter Michael Miller ¥ Rich ScofieldKaren Stephens ¥ Ann Zavitkovsky

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