Mandalas

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A mandala is a repetitive flowing design inside a circle. Creating a mandala is a way to express our thoughts and feelings in a harmonious healing way by combining our physical and emotional worlds together in a work of art.

A mandala can be used as a tool for meditation and therapy, or just a way to feel calm while doing a pleasant activity such as colouring in harmonious flowing pictures.

Mandalas are another activity that can assist with expression and validation of thoughts and feelings. They enable the children to find a way to express themselves other than verbally, and allowing parts of their inner selves to come forward in a safe manner. This can assist with helping them to understand what they are feeling.

The children can learn about mandalas by colouring in the template below, this can help them learn about the flow and patterns of the mandala and about applying colour. They can go on to creating their own mandalas by using the starter template below.

Below are two examples of mandalas created by children in our Chill Skills for Kids class.

 

 

Templates for colouring in

Flower mandala

Flower mandala for colouring in

 

 

 

 

Hints on how to help children relax

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                             New York Metro News, August 13, 2013

Newspaper article – relaxation classes for kids

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Shepparton News, Victoria, Australia, August 10, 2013

Newspaper article about relaxation picture book for kids -Imagine Me with The Three Owls

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Shepparton News, Victoria, Australia, 29th June, 2013

Sunset illustration and excerpt – Imagine Me with The Three Owls

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An illustration from Imagine Me with The Three Owls

I find this illustration calming to look at, I hope you do also. Watching a sunset can bring us back to the present moment. When we are back in the present moment, what can happen is that we stop worrying about what is going to happen in the future and what has happened in the past.

When we are not living in the present moment are mind is everywhere else and not where we are physically, this can lead to stress and anxiety. Just by simply taking 5 minutes out in nature to stop and breathe can bring back a sense of ease.

I have included the accompanying text for this illustration from the book, Imagine Me with The Three Owls. This page of the book can be read on its own just as a lovely relaxing activity, to help assist with imagining a special place to be in nature and feel relaxed.

Excerpt from Imagine Me with The Three Owls

Look at all the beautiful colours of the sunset and how each color blends into the next one.

There are many different shades of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple and gold.

Imagine the colors are flowing into your heart.

You feel peaceful

 

 

Imagine Me with The Three Owls, a relaxation picture book for kids

Available from our online store   

                                                                               

Lisa Hemmings

illustrator and co-author Imagine Me with The Three Owls                                            www.pathofcalm.com        www.lisahemmings.com

 

 

 

Book Review – Imagine Me with The Three Owls

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Dad of Divas’ Reviews

Saturday, June 22, 2013   Book Review – Imagine Me With The Three Owls

 

All opinions expressed in this review are my own and not influenced in any way by the company.  Any product claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a product or service should be verified with the manufacturer or provider. Please refer to this site’s Disclaimer  for more information. I have been compensated or given a product free of charge, but that does not impact my views or opinions

My Take on the Book I have tried relaxation guided visualizations in the past but have never tried them with my children before. Tonight I tried it with both of my kids. Seeing that they had never done this before, I think they thought it was a bit strange, but I found that my youngest fell asleep very soon after I read her the story. My oldest seemed to be able to visualize the imagery better and she said that it made her feel relaxed and that she could see some of the images. I can tell that both girls could easily grow into using this visualization event more in the future and its’ effects could easily be more long lasting and profound.    —————————————-

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 Posted by  Christopher Lewis     at  10:53 PM        Email ThisBlogThis!Share to TwitterShare to Facebook

    Labels: book review

Relaxation Techniques For Children Presented In New Book

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By Mel Fabrikant    Monday, June 17, 2013, 06:35 PM EDT

Picture book emphasizes the importance of self-acceptance, teaches children to relax. Stress is not a word commonly associated with children, but in this increasingly busy and demanding world children are facing the realities of living with stress earlier and earlier in their lives.

Lisa Hemmings and Allan O’Keefe, who have extensive experience working with children suffering from a variety of problems from stress to anxiety, have developed a number of resources that teach children how to manage their stress. Imagine Me With The Three Owls is a children’s picture book that teaches children how to use their imaginations and the importance of self-acceptance. This book takes readers or listeners on a relaxing journey through the magic of nature during nighttime and is a great activity that parents and children can enjoy together. “We wanted parents to be able to do this activity at home with their children,” said Hemmings. “Both the parent and the child will both feel more relaxed after reading the story and these feelings can have a positive effect on the whole family.” Hemmings teaches ‘Chill Skills for Kids’ classes that show children techniques they can use in order to relax. After the success of these classes, Hemmings and O’Keefe wanted to supplement their classes with take home activities for parents, which is how Imagine Me With The Three Owls was born. “This book is intended to help children and parents to manage issues,” said Hemmings. “It is meant to help bring more calm, happiness, confidence, resilience and positivity into the lives of all families.” For more information, visit www.lisahemmings.com  or www.pathofcalm.com . Imagine Me With The Three Owls By Lisa Hemmings & Allan O’Keefe Paperback, $13.95 Kindle, $3.99 ISBN: 978-1-45250-551-0 Available at www.amazon.com , www.bn.com  and www.balboapress.com . About the authors Lisa Hemmings has been working with both adults and children throughout her career as a massage therapist. In addition, she runs “Chill Skills for Kids” classes and works individually with children on a range of issues. Allan O’Keefe is a counselor who works with children and adults and he facilitates a men’s anger management program. He also works as a part-time massage therapist. They reside in Shepparton, Australia.

 

 

The art of self care for parents & carers

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As a parent  you owe it to yourself and your children to take care of yourself. Emotionally, spiritually and physically, you are sharing all of these valuable aspects of yourself  in being a parent. It’s important you find ways give to yourself what you need.

This can mean time out. By simply putting aside some time each week for yourself, to do the things that you enjoy. This time should be treated with the same importance as your other commitments, for example,  you could  schedule that time into your diary as you would other appointments, this also assists you to plan and manage your time efficiently. You don’t have to put aside a lot of time, it could simply be time out for a massage, lunch or coffee  with a friend. Keep it simple and achievable, that way it becomes regular and doesn’t feel like you are taking too much time out of your day. Instead it will become an essential part of your day as you will be re-scheduling self care back into your days.

It is essential that you have a good support network, both professionally and in your private life. Support can be in the form of someone to call when you need to talk through things. Professionally it could be someone else in the same industry as you that understands your business.

Privately it can be a friend or relative that you can call when you need to just talk about things. Also seeking of guidance and support from a professional therapist  is essential if you feel that you are not coping; e.g., counselling, psychologist, alternative therapies can also be beneficial e.g. acupuncture, Reiki and holistic counselling.

Ideally seek out regular on going therapies that will assist to maintain a balance in your life, such as massage, aromatherapy, meditation, acupuncture, etc. Of course, engaging  in regular physical exercise and eating  a healthy balanced diet  is important to our emotional and physical wellbeing.

 

Take care of yourself, you’re worth it!

heart

Lisa & Allan

Chill Skills

 

 

 

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Essential oils and creating calm kids and homes

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Essential oils have  a therapeutic effect on our psychological and physical systems. The aroma of the oils such as Lavender, have a soothing effect on the emotional state. Try putting a drop or two of essential Lavender oil on a cloth and placing it where your child can smell it when they are in bed, e.g. under their pillow, or beside the bed. Try using Lavender oil in a vaporiser, you can buy one from most supermarkets. Vaporisers come in many shapes and sizes, they have a small bowl on top to place water and essential oil in and a platform for a slow burning t-light  candle beneath it.  You can add up to 5 – 10 drops of oil in total to the water, using a combination of up to 3 -4 different essential oils. Remember never to leave a burning candle unattended. Use only 100% pure essential oils, as the cheaper brands are often not pure and are mixed with chemicals to create the perfume. When we use this method, we breathe in the aroma of the essential oils, it goes into our bloodstream, which is why it is very important to use only pure essential oils.

Some blends to try in a vapouriser are;

A calming blend to use in the evening ; Lavender, Cedarwood & Lemon.

A calming blend to use during the day; Lavender, Cedarwood, Ylang Ylang & Mandarin. 

Have fun creating calm,

Path of Calm

 

 

 

 

 

 

Just for Kids – Activity for The Three Owls relaxation story.

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The following is an activity that can be done after listening to the relaxation story, The Three Owls, which is a track from our CD for kids. The CD is available from our online store.

How to do this simple activity. 

After listening to the story, read the theme of the story or what the story is about, (see below)  to the child and encourage them to do the activity which is to draw a picture of themselves surrounded by the moon and the stars.

Why do this activity.

This activity assists the child in connecting with the theme of the story, “about feeling happy in nature and accepting themselves just the way they are”.

Doing this activity helps to validate their exprience and what they may have imagined from the story, helps to embed the relaxing feeling and will also help them to remember other parts of the story that they may like to share.

What to do

Step 1. Listen to the relaxing story.

Step 2. Listen to the theme.

  Theme for The Three Owls  

This story talks about the owls showing you the magic of the night time, the twinkling stars, the moon and the beautiful dark blue of the night sky.

About looking at the refection in the lake of the smiling moon and the twinkling stars and when the stars twinkled, it was a message of happiness to you from the stars.

It’s a great feeling to know that all of the things in nature that are around us can make us feel happy, and being happy can make us feel good about ourselves. That’s what makes the night-time of nature magical.

It also talks about you seeing your refection in the lake, amongst the twinkling stars and the moon, and about you feeling happy because you see that you are a part of the magic of night-time.

Knowing that we can be happy just the way we are helps us to understand that it doesn’t matter what we think others see and think about us.

What is important is that we accept ourselves just the way we are.

 

Step 3. Do activity.

Activity.

Draw a picture of you surrounded by the moon and the stars.

 

 

Lisa Hemmings and Allan O’Keefe, copyright 2012 www.pathofcalm.com