CREATING YOUR OWN GUIDED VISUALIZATIONS
for CHILDREN
by Sydney Solis

The Greeks said that the soul speaks in an image. It is the image that arises from the heart and connects us to the divine within. It’s also the illusion, the obstacle of the sixth chakra, that we must let go of and pass through to realize the ineffable mystery of the divine.
Einstein said that imagination is more important than knowledge. Imagery is an important aspect of teaching children any symbolic language, such as math, reading and even computers. A child must have before the age of six a rich imagination to master this relationship between symbols. Otherwise, studies have said, that children will be unable to learn as they get older.
Imagination helps us to create. By pre-visualizing things, it is then transferred to the paper, to the action in the physical world to create. How many of you watched Star Trek in the 60s and 70s only to find that a communicator is actually a cell phone! Imagination creates the whole universe and it was essential in the evolution of humans.
Another important aspect of imagination is that is allows the psyche to experience things safely. Jung said that if a woman dreamed she went to the moon, she really did go to the moon. The psyche doesn’t know the difference if it was real or imagined. Mythic play and visualization gives a safe container to act out negative feelings, fears or aggressions and desires that human’s experience. We need to occasionally stab Cesar to satisfy the dark side, the shadow, in our psyches. We need to visualize things that give us pleasure to evoke that feeling within and satisfy us.
Bringing imagination to a child’s world is one of the most important things we can do. We can easily explore and develop the vastness of a child’s inner world through storytelling and also guided meditation using imagery.
You can easily create your own guided visualizations to use with children – and adults.
I always teach yoga with a theme of story, which is either acted out with the yoga postures or brought up as a theme throughout the class. Before relaxation, allow children to call out the images that came to them during the story. Those “pictures in my head.” They can draw a symbol for that image, and tell about what it means to them or how it relates to that story.
Use a variant of yoga nidra for children to get them to relax. Begin with awareness of the sounds in the room, then awareness of their breath. Then call out certain body parts, such as the feet, the knees. This rotation of consciousness allows the busy mind to rest on the body and eventually relax into a deeper state.
For the youngest children in preschool, make this very short. Feet, legs, hips, chest. Older children you can take more time in calling out body parts. Toes, ankle, foot, etc.
Then guide the children to drop their awareness down to their heart center.
Here you can either drop in a symbol from the story or allow the children to use the symbol they created from the story.
Or, you can just drop in any image you create. A ship sailing on the seas, a rose blooming, a bird in flight, a river rushing through a canyon.
Allow children to create their own images that are appealing to them. What do they like? What makes them happy?Allow them to imagine people they love.

With their imaginations, you can also have them revisit the story you told as if they were the main character of the story. Have the child visualize the story again as the character. Ask them questions during the visualization as “What do you see? Where are you?” You can pull out main elements of the story and ask them to connect it to their lives. What journey are you on? What do you want in your life? What obstacle do you have in your life? What animal friend do you have in your life? What can you do to get help? Allow the child to let things arise, not force anything. It helps to teach them to rest their minds in the space between the thoughts to allow things to arise between the thoughts.

You can create guided visualizations by starting one off on a journey. Starting with a place, such as a forest, outer space, a boat sailing to an island. Have them imagine it in detail. What sounds, smells, and sights do they see?
You can add characters, such as an animal guide, a fairy, a person who greets them. What happens next?
Have them reach a special place. What is it? A bubbling pot, a magic door, a secret well? What comes out of it? What message is there for them? What image, object, animal just for them?
Have a return, saying goodbye, returning with a magical object that was found, having a feeling of safety, comfort, joy, or relaxation.

Allow the child to “talk” to the characters in their visualization. What do they say? Encourage children to do this exercise after relaxation as well by writing down the conversation. This is called active imagination and can problem solve for children. (adults can do this too!)

Design the visualization to meet a goal. If there is some anxiety, let children jump off a cliff in their mind’s eye to learn to let go. Let them feel the falling freely and safely. Let them enter a cave of darkness safely, and find magical gifts. What are the gifts? What magical abilities to they have to solve the problem they are having? If they need to relax, allow them to just sink into the earth. Perhaps they will journey into another world. Allow them to drop into this and play with whatever arises for them.
Have them invite a symbol to come from within to help them remember how to let go, to be courageous, to be relaxed. Encourage them to remember that symbol and let it rest in their heart, that it is available at any time they need it.
Let them draw that personal symbol and have them put it in a place where they can see it every day.

You can guide them with an intention. Such as expansion, connectedness, love for others, or gratitude. Ask them to think about images of expansion, love or gratitude that are in their own lives.
For example, with expansion, you could create a visualization that awareness expands from their heart, out to their toes, out to the floor, to the person next to them, to the door, out the door. You could use the same visualization for connectedness.

During meditation, ask children to create an affirmation in the positive. Such as, I am smart, I am kind. I am confident. Have them repeat it three times to themselves during meditation. Have them visualize an image to represent this affirmation.

In my book Storytime Yoga: Teaching Yoga to Children Through story, I have fairy tale shavasana for older children. Each successive relaxation allows a child to journey on an original fairy tale.
• Who is in the story? What happens in the character’s life that they are called on a journey? What has been upset in the character’s life that must be brought back into balance, healed, defeated?
• What is it that must be restored to bring life back into balance, healed, or vindicated?
• What secrets are there? What animals or magical helpers come their way?
• What obstacles must be overcome? What magical objects are discovered to overcome the obstacles?
• How is the problem overcome? What is the action that overcomes the problem?
• How does it end?

After the visualizations, encourage children to draw, write, speak about the images they saw.

Encourage children to contemplate the images throughout their day.

Have them pay attention to their dreams and keep a dream journal. Have them draw their dreams.

Encourage them to be aware of the images in their waking life. Such as animals, flowers, keys and doors, certain people, etc. to relate them symbolically to their own lives. This cultivates attention to the present and reflection on what’s going on inside and how it relates to their life on the outside.

Encourage children to monitor their thoughts. To listen to that inner voice, the chatter. Remind children that they are not their thoughts. They are something much more than their thoughts.

Above all, encourage children to practice meditation and relaxation at home! Even to invite their parents and friends to join them!

As a teacher, in creating your own guided visualizations, your own imagination is the only limit! Teach out of your own experience. What are your issues and how can imagery and guided imagination help you? What would make you feel safe, help you cool down anger, relax? What great adventures, joys do you have? Create your own visualizations and then use it on children. We are all human and have the same hopes and fears, joys and sorrows. You can connect deeper to your children when you share from your own experience and offer up the healing and joy you have received to them. Images are universal and it is the individual who will receive their messages for their own life’s needs. That is the connection of the outer to the inner, and the inner to the eternal.
Namaste,
Sydney Solis