I still kept bringing her one more glass of water when she asked but, half the time, she was already asleep when I came back.Įven a few poses can go a long way to using that powerful mind-body connection to create a calm child (and calmer parent) at bedtime. (She is now 13 and on occasion, when middle school life is feeling very full, I’ll still read her the Cloud Journey Visualization to help her get back to that calm release inside). With a relaxed mind and body, she could be still and use the visualization to self-soothe and further release any tension that might get in the way of falling asleep. When I added the Cloud Journey Visualization, it brought a whole new dimension. I stopped feeling like I was entering a diplomatic negotiation every night and could just enjoy a little time with my daughter, knowing that we were doing something relaxing that seemed to give her the mental and physical calming practice she needed. Doing the practice together was actually calming for both of us. It really helped! We quickly had a routine in place to close the day together. So we started doing a special nighttime flow: Good Night Yoga.

It didn’t feel great, and I was convinced that there was something we could do to help her use that active brain of hers to help herself to settle down.īeing that my husband and I are both yoga teachers, it seemed like there had to be an answer there. Putting her to bed always included a moment where we had to say some form of “enough” and cut her off. She wasn’t an anxious child, but it was as if she just never quite wanted to let go of the day. Maybe that’s just being five, but for her it continued year in and year out. There really weren’t enough glasses of water, back rubs, or stories for her to feel ready to say goodnight. By the time my daughter was five, it was clear that bedtime was not going to be an easy affair.

Good Night Yoga by Mariam Gates