Children learn the concept of chilling

The 'Relax Kids' course uses yoga, drama and storytelling to teach children how to cope with everyday stresses, writes MICHELLE McDONAGH

IMAGINE A curriculum which incorporates relaxation skills, stress management and positive thinking into the school day just like swimming and music. This was the dream of former children’s entertainer, Marneta Viegas, when she set up her company in the UK called Relax Kids after becoming concerned about the increasingly hyperactive behaviour she was seeing in children during her work.

Using her knowledge of yoga, drama and storytelling, Viegas developed storybook CDs to calm children and help them sleep. In 2005, in her company’s infancy, Viegas appeared on the second series of Dragons’ Den in Britain where her business plan was rejected for being socially rather than financially driven.

However, since then she has gone on to achieve international success developing courses and products to help children’s emotional and creative development. Her Relax Kids courses are now taught in primary and secondary schools in the UK as well as in the US, Dubai, Holland and Spain with a special Chill Skills programme devised for children aged seven to 13.

A recent ITV series called Kids Under Pressure revealed how concerned British parents were about the stresses their children were facing in the 21st century. The programmes claimed there has been a 70 per cent increase in serious emotional problems in children since the 1970s and that 10 per cent of teens were being diagnosed with mental health issues. Exam stress and peer pressure, as well as reduced playtime and freedom to be children, were cited as some of the causes of these problems.

With Irish children facing the same pressures as their UK peers, Nicole Lordan, a Galway-based massage therapist, reflexologist and relaxation coach, has brought the Relax Kids concept to the west of Ireland. Swiss-born Lordan studied to be a Relax Kids teacher while living in London and is now based at the Indigo Holistic Healing Centre in Tuam.

“When I lived in London, I saw a small advertisement in a yoga magazine for Relax Kids. I ordered one of the CDs and really liked it. I had two children and was looking for something I could do while they were in school and preschool. When I saw that Marneta did teacher training, I did a bit more research into it and decided to go for it.”

Lordan and her Ennis-born husband, Noel, moved to Athenry with their two sons, Jonah (7) and Dylan (4), almost three years ago, when the country was heading into recession. The timing was not ideal, she laughs, but the couple had always planned to move out of London and back to Ireland once their children were of school-going age.

As well as running the Chill Skills programme for schools in Galway city and county, Lordan provides Relax Kids after-school classes in Tuam and Athenry, and workshops for parents. She also offers private sessions for parents who want to learn how to teach relaxation skills to their children.

“It would be great if teachers could incorporate relaxation into their daily teaching. an eight-week course that children do in school instead of music or sport, for example, and the parents pay €2 to €3 a week, about the same as they would pay for those other activities,” she explains.

“My long-term goal is to get into secondary schools, especially for Leaving Cert students. I strongly believe that these students could very much benefit from relaxation, visualisation and breathing exercises to help them cope with the immense pressure they face.”

Each course involves a combination of storytelling and exercises, stretching, breathing and peer massage, as well as positive affirmations, discussions about emotions, healthy living, mood management, visualisation and relaxation.

As well as learning skills that will help them for years to come and improve confidence, self-esteem and concentration, Lordan says the programme is about children having fun.

While the Relax Kids concept has taken off in the UK and further afield, Lordan admits that it has been slow to flourish in Ireland. She is hoping this will change as word spreads among parents, teachers and children.

In her workshops, she shows parents how to fit the Relax Kids exercises into their busy daily lives, for example, by spending five minutes doing positive affirmations at the breakfast table or by creating a “chill corner” in the house instead of a naughty step where an overwrought child can sit and listen to a calming track on a CD.

For more information on Relax Kids, go to relaxkids.com. To contact Nicole Lordan, tel 086-7930196 or e-mail bodymindtherapy@me.com

COOLING OFF: FROM MELTING BUTTER TO GREEN BREATHS

Exercises

Melting butterImagine you are a tiny piece of butter lying on warm toast. Imagine that the floor is warm like toast and you are slowly melting into the toast. Feel your whole body becoming soft and gooey as you melt and relax into the warm toast. How long can you lie there for, feeling relaxed and calm?

My five achievementsThis exercise is great for helping your child develop their self-esteem as they start to acknowledge even the small things that they have achieved. At the end of each day before bed, ask children to write a list of five great things they did that day. They might like to put these in a book or keep them on the same piece of paper. These can be simple things from listening at school, eating everything on their plate, smiling at someone or being a good friend.

Green breathsLie on the floor or bed and put your hand on your tummy. Breathe in and out gently and feel your tummy rising and falling. Now, as you breathe in, imagine you are breathing green light. It feels very calming and peaceful. Now breathe the green light out into the room. Fill the whole room with soft, green light. Breathe in, breathe out, breathe in, breathe out.

BubblesImagine you are blowing bubbles of peace or happiness or love into the room. Take in a breath and imagine you have a pot of bubble liquid. Slowly and gently blow bubbles into the room. As you blow out the bubbles, imagine they are filled with peace and the whole room is filling up with peace.

Positive affirmations

Today I will be gentle like a bumble bee This is to help you remember to stay gentle and kind to others.

Today I will be quiet like a mouse This is to help you stay quiet and listen to what is going on around you.

Today I will be positive like a peacock This is to help you feel cheerful.

Today I will be beautiful like a rose This is to help you remember all the special qualities you have.

Today I will be courageous like a lion This is to help you stay strong and brave.