Shift and Shine for the Young at Heart (Page 2)

Shift and Shine Technique
Parents, help your children with the following steps:

1. Heart Attention: Place your attention on the area around your heart or center of the chest. It helps to put your hand over your heart area. For young children, model this by putting your hand over your heart.

2. Heart Breathing: Now pretend to breathe in and out of your heart. Take three slow breaths. For young children, model the breathing.

3. Heart Feeling: Think of someone or something that makes you feel happy, like your mom or dad, or a special place that you visit, like the park. Feel that happy feeling in your heart and then shine that happy feeling to someone or something special – your brother or sister, or the whole world. Let the children experience the feeling for a few seconds.

That’s all there is to it, but practicing these steps daily or a few times has the power to reinforce the best qualities in children, to improve their outlook, self-image, sense of security and more, including the following:

Strengthen expression of positive feelings
Improve impulse control
Improve relationships with family and friends
Increase learner readiness for school

Emotions give meaning to our lives. The power of emotion can enrich our lives beyond measure – meaning, color, texture. Understanding the power of your emotions is vital for having a fulfilling, healthy life. Click to receive this Free e-booklet, The Power of Emotion.