My older daughter (7) responds to all the breathing cues in the meditation such as inhaling through the nose and exhaling through the mouth. My younger daughter (4) isn’t quite old enough to keep up with all the cues, but as soon as the guided meditation begins, she quiets down pretty quickly and is more easily able to drift off to sleep.
Thank you for these beautiful reminders!
I have found that being conscious of my own energy and state of mind during the bedtime routine plays a big role in how everything goes as well. If I can take a few deep breaths before & during the sometimes chaotic nightly rituals, and can remain mindful during story time, etc., I find it rubs off on my kids as well (conversely when I’m stressed or thinking about all of the stuff I have to do after I leave their room, inevitably it’s a more chaotic night…).
Thanks again for your post!
May you be… calm 🙂 Shannon
I love that you are using breath work and guided imagery, that is so great…I will send you my cd’s unless you have them …it all serves to calm on so many levels-you are amazing!! xoxo
[…] practice at home is through the guided kindness meditations on Headspace. I’ve written in the past about how we have done guided meditations as a soothing ritual before bed, which has worked really well for our home. In fact, many nights at bedtime now, my younger […]