Take a deep breath in...

Mid meltdown one day over the festive period (one of his; not one of mine) I gave Abe a guided meditation to listen to on the iPad. Not only did it stop him in his tracks, he loved it. And, the very best bit? He fell asleep before the end and slept for two hours.

Clearly, I tried it again the next day when he got tired - same results. I got him to do it the next day, and the next day and the next day, until he'd worked his way through the one about Santa on a sleigh, a magic tree, an enchanted forrest, a penguin wonderland, a rainbow...

It was all going swimmingly through crystal clear streams and meadows filled with buttercups until Dad went back to work. At which point Abe didn't want to do meditation anymore. He wanted to watch Bottle Top Bill on the iPad instead. And, just like that, guided-meditation-time became one-more-thing-to-have-a-fecking-battle-about time.

Why?!

I can only conclude that he got wise to the soothing voice of the lady at www.newhorizonsholisticcentre.co.uk's trick putting him to sleep. Or that he worked out that even though he had the iPad, he couldn't switch over to feed the Toca Boca Monsters or administer help on Pepi Doctor because mum had locked it, so it lost its appeal.

That said, he did seem to like it. He told me it was 'lovely' a few times. A sentiment I totally agree with. I have done guided meditation since I was about 17. I used to do it every day. No matter what, or who, or why, because, as Sam Vimes knows, some things are important. Naturally, as I am not one of those things now I am a mum (it seems) I don't get to do it with anything like the same regularity anymore.

I thought about making it my New Year's Resolution...daily meditation I mean. Then I remembered, I'd probably fail at it and I had enough as a parent that I felt bad or guilty about or went unachieved on a daily basis, so I decided not to bother.

But maybe I should have done. And maybe, since he's too young to make his own, I should have made it Abe's too. Because a bit of time out is always a good idea.

It's unlikely that I'll get chance to do my own, but perhaps I can get Abe back into his if I lie down and do them with him. Not quite as good as my own time out, but still pretty good. Because as well as a pretty soothing voice, the New Horizon's ones also have some pretty solid ideas and concepts running through them.

Along with teaching children to breathe slowly, in through their noses and out through their mouths, and to use their imaginations to take them to places that appeal outside and away from their own chaotic worlds, they also talk about light and protection and safety and coziness. Some of the most important features of the places we try to find in the space in our minds. And some important words and concepts for my three year old to learn.

Depending on the meditation, there's also some stuff about self belief - encouraging the listener to trust that they have the power and the ability to achieve what they want or about grounding - learning to feel part of and connected to the world around them.

So while it might not be what he wants to do every day, on the days I can convince him to, I'll be getting him to stop for 25 minutes and listen to the kids meditations we've found on You Tube. And on the days I can't? They'll be the ones I need to carve out my own 25 minutes to just breathe and imagine myself a tree with roots calmly growing into the ground, no doubt.

#Meditaion #Calm #Break