Self Calming & The Four "B's"

I don't know if its just me, or if its the pre-holiday activities, but it seems that all of the children I have worked with in the past few weeks are just bundles of energy! Its been a challenge to get them to focus for more than short  intervals.

The Four B's is a technique that Pediatric OT, Lisa Baum showed me last week in our very energetic kids yoga class. Its a systematic calming process that she teaches her students to help them calm down, concentrate & regain self-control. Its very easy to teach to your child or students and this blog will take you through the 4 steps.

"Brake"

Brake:

The first thing Lisa has the children do is to put a "brake" on their excess energy.

She has them do this by pressing the palms of the hand together firmly as shown in the photo at the right. This helps to release excess muscle tension.

"Breathe"

Breathe:

Breathing is another vital tool in creating a sense of body awareness & restoring a sense of calm.

The children take a breath with their hands on their belly button, as shown in photo to the left, remembering to breathe deeply into the belly. (You can instruct your child to use 3-5 breaths)


Brain: 

"Brain"

By placing their hands in the top or towards the back of the head, and applying slight pressure, (as shown in photo to the right,) the child can 'activate' the brain, and create a sense of alertness & deeper calm.

This also will stabilize & "ground" the body.

Body:

"Body"

The final step in this process (shown at left)  is for children to cross arms in front of body and apply pressure as if to "hug" themselves.

The squeezing pressure on the arms and shoulders increases body awareness and assists in the sense of "grounded-ness" and security, which further calms the child and helps them stay focused.

These easy steps can be applied quietly and inconspicuously at home, school, church or synagogue, while at dinner in a restaurant (or in dance, yoga, karate or any other class) or anywhere a child needs to reduce fidgeting & regain a sense of focus, calm & self control.  Once the steps are learned, all that's needed is a gentle occasional reminder of  "Where are your 4 B's?".

* To download a FREE full color photo flash card of this technique click here or e-mail your request to: Barbara@bodylogique.com  .

For more information on our R.E.A.Ch™ program (Relaxation Education for Adults & Children) which teaches smany more stres reduction techniques, please visit Barbara at: BodyLogique.com 

To purchase our "Calm & Connected" book on Amazon, click the links below:

Print Edition

Kindle Edition

For more information on Pediatric Occupational Therapy visit Lisa at:

http://www.kidsplaywork.com/

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