- Teach your child belly breathing. Have him sit in a comfortable chair or lie back on a mattress and observe his breath for a few minutes. Then, instruct him to place a hand over his belly. He should breathe into and out of his belly so that it rises and falls, pushing his hand with it. His chest should remain fairly still the whole time. Have him practice breathing slowly and deeply into the belly for several breaths until he gets the hang of it.
- Once your child is breathing slowly and calmly, start directing her breath to different areas to relax the body. You can have her imagine her breath as a warm blue mist, a sparkling white light, or whatever image works for her. Instruct her to feel the breath flowing into her toes with the in breath, and flowing back out with the out breath, taking any tension with it. Continue up to her feet, ankles, legs and the rest of her body, instructing her to relax with her breath. Finish up with the forehead and the scalp. By this point, she should be very relaxed.
- You can use the deep breathing and to facilitate other kinds of visualization to help your child with anxiety, temper or any other problems he might have. For example, you can have him imagine that with each breath he is walking down a long staircase. When he gets the bottom, have them visualize a door and open it to a secret garden. Tell him that it is always safe and calm there and describe the pleasant, idyllic surroundings. When you're done with the guided imagery, tell him that he is leaving the garden but that he can return any time he needs to be somewhere calm. Have him leave, close the door and walk back up the stairs very, describing his progress all the way to the top. Finally, have him open his eyes into the room. When your kid has anger, anxiety or other emotional problems, he can go back to that visualization you gave him and use it to calm down.
