Relaxation Tips for Kids, Teens, and College Students: Guided Meditation

Mountain Top Guided Meditation

For anxious kids, teens, and college students, it can be very difficult to fall asleep at night. Not falling asleep means being exhausted the next morning. And guess what happens the next morning? You're too tired to adequately respond to all of the stressors during your day. It's a vicious cycle - and it's super, super common. 

One of the ways to relax is to build up a regular relaxation practice.

This means incorporating regular exercise and healthy eating ALONG with relaxation practice, including breathing exercises, muscle relaxation, and visualization.

The easiest way to set up a regular relaxation practice is to utilize it at the same time each day. 

I often recommend trying out a meditation exercise right before bed time, in bed, so you or your child is relaxed and ready to sleep.

Below is a guided meditation exercise for relaxing from stress and anxiety. Give it a try!

• Imagine yourself standing at the bottom of a mountain. You decide to climb it.

• Picture yourself walking on a path up the mountain. Notice how this path feels under your feet. Notice what you hear on the mountain. Notice how the air smells crisp and clean. Maybe you see birds, or clouds, or trees.

• (pause for a few seconds)

• As you get higher up the path, notice how the air gets cooler. Maybe you start to see snow around you. The trees start to get further apart. Your legs feel tired, but you decide to keep going.

• (pause a few seconds)

• Finally, you get up, up, all the way to the top of the mountain. Imagine yourself sitting down at the top, noticing all the clouds beneath you, the birds flying, how the sun feels on your face.

• Notice how proud you feel of yourself, in your heart, for climbing all the way up.

• Stay up on top of the mountain for a few moments, maybe imagining yourself sitting or laying down. Notice the clouds in the sky and birds.

• (wait for about 30 seconds for kids or set a timer for 5 minutes for teens and young adults - it may feel long at first! but this is great practice for calming down a mind)

• When you're ready, imagine yourself standing back up, knowing you can climb to the top whenever you want to again. Walk back down the path, down down down, noticing the air getting warmer, the trees, the sounds, the smells.

• Notice how calm your body feels.

• Notice how proud you are in your heart for climbing all the way to the top.

• Wiggle your fingers, wiggle your toes, streeeeetttttch your muscles, and curl up on one side.

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