A guided imagery for overwhelmed Littles
Best to enjoy while lying on the floor or a blanket.
After a story told by M, who is 6. She once heard, that God has a lamb, that can carry the burdens of the whole world and this is what it looks like for her:
Maybe you are feeling heavy and overwhelmed right now and maybe everything seems too much for you.
If you want to release some of that, I invite you to get comfortable and to imagine, that we will go for a walk to visit the little “baan’t-go-on”. You can keep your eyes open or close them or alternate between those.
Imagine there is a door and also a doorknob. You can open the door and there is a fresh breeze, maybe it is cool, maybe comfortably warm and maybe it even smells nice.
You can step outdoors now, if you like. Without walls around you, what is it you might see? Perhaps you will find a path or a direction you want to follow, maybe its brighter or more colorful over there. You can simply go there.
When you pass a meadow you might see lush grass growing there, maybe there are flowers or trees or whatever comes to your mind. Listen, is there a bird singing? Can you discover other nice animals? And maybe you would like to sit down, or lay down, in the safe grass and take some rest. Feel the ground underneath you and how it is carrying you.
I wonder, if you can spot a little sheep somewhere. It looks a little ruffled, its sparsely hair standing up into every direction, it suffers from hair loss, you know? It is a young “baan’t-go-on”. You can decide for yourself, if it should be a girl or a boy, because it will soon help you to get a little lighter, if you like.
You can wave it over or you can call it, maybe you even want to “baa” at it and talk their language.
When you imagine that everything that is bearing you down, everything that is too much, too heavy, that is overwhelming you, becomes like the grass you are sitting or lying on, sticking out as high as it is too much, then you can ask the little “baan’t-go-on” to nibble the grass away.
With soft lips and very carefully it can begin to pick the grass from you. Maybe it will start with your feet and pull pull pull the grass disappears into its mouth.If you like, you can do the pulling motion with your hand as well, right where the sheep is eating right now [touch has a calming effect] and oh! The sheep is smacking its lips a little, while it munches on the grass! If you like, you can join in with some noise, too. [helps regulate breathing]
The sheep carefully continues, on your legs…… your belly….. your back….. the arms….. and your head. Let it take as much time as it needs to munch away everything, before it continues with the next body part. Sometimes it needs longer with chest and head, because there is so much grass there, but that is no problem at all and it is great fun too.
You might want to look at the sheep again, then you might notice, that it doesn’t look as shaggy as in the beginning.When it eats all that grass it grows fresh, new, warm wool. And maybe you can also see, that the wool has many colors or even a pattern now. Everywhere the sheep pulled grass from you, it is now wrapped softly and warmly.
When the little sheep is full and it has pulled all the grass from you and you feel so much lighter, then maybe you want to cuddle with it for a while, or play or run around a little. Whatever feels right to you.
Eventually, when you feel ready to return, you can thank the little sheep for its help. If you like, you can also name it. It is your friend and helper. And because it is losing hair all the time, it will be glad to help you again, next time you visit.
Take you time to say goodbye, then you can slowly walk back, imagine how you step through the doorway and you can slowly arrive back in this room, maybe stretch or shake out your arms and legs and open your eyes again.
[Side note: this exercise is supposed to help in case things get stressful. This should become an exception. This is NOT a tool to help you keep crossing your boundaries. You are not a machine where you could tighten a screw and keep going full speed]
general information about guided imagery
Introduction to guided imagery
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