Many children love making slime and playing with the finished product. Therapist, Chelyan McComas, shows us how to use slime as a visual for relaxation (written by Hope Brewer).
For a more personalized approach, we encourage you to read this Slime Relaxation script to your children.
Lie down on a comfortable surface, either on your back or on your stomach, with your head to one side. Try to make sure your feet, legs, hands, and arms are relaxed and lying flat.
Imagine a bucket of slime. This slime is your favorite color. It also smells really good. See yourself putting your hands in the slime. What does it feel like? Squishy? Sticky? Slippery? What does it look like? Is it glittery? Does it have anything inside of it?
Now, imagine that this is a special slime that can harden, and become a stiff block. When you take a deep breath in and hold it, the slime turns into the block. When you take a deep breath out and count to 4, it slowly turns back into slime. Let’s practice. Take a deep breath in and hold (pause), and let the breath out 1, 2, 3, 4. Now, your slime should be a puddle again.
Next, we are going to pretend that your body becomes the slime. We are going to focus on different parts of your body and turn them from a block into a puddle of slime.
First, focus on your feet and toes. Take a deep breath in and turn them into a stiff block. Hold your breath. Now, breathe out and let your feet and toes turn into slime – 1, 2, 3, 4. Let your feet sink into the ground and relax.
Now, breathe in and tighten your legs. (pause) Now they are slowly melting – 1, 2, 3, 4. Your legs are now two big, relaxed puddles.
Next, is your stomach. Breathe in and hold. (pause) Now breathe out – 1, 2, 3, 4. Your stomach is totally soft now. This should make it easier to take big, deep breaths.
Focus on your hands. Take a deep breath and make your hands really stiff. (pause) Now, slowly count to 4 in your head.
Move up to your arms. Tighten your arms so they are very stiff while you breathe in. (pause) Now let them turn into jelly – 1, 2, 3, 4. Your fingers, hands, and arms are all completely relaxed.
Now focus on your shoulders and neck. Breathe in. Pull your shoulders up to your ears (like you’re shrugging “I don’t know”) and make the slime harden. Now let them go and spread out into slime while counting to 4 in your head. (pause)
Now we are going to turn the last part of your body into slime. Breathe in and squeeze your face muscles, eyes, mouth, jaw. Now turn them into slime. Ready? 1, 2, 3, 4.
Your whole body should be a puddle of slime right now. Think about what color you are as slime, what your body feels like and smells like. Your whole body should be sinking and spreading across what you are lying on. All of your muscles should be relaxed.
If it is time to go to sleep or you want to take a longer break, you can stay a puddle of slime, being as relaxed and loose as possible.
If it is time to get up, slowly start turning your body back to normal. On the count of 10, imagine the slime leaving your body so that your hands, feet, arms, legs, stomach, shoulders, neck, and face all go back to normal. They should not be as stiff as the block of slime, but not as gooey as the melted slime. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.
Any time you feel stressed or tense, remember that you can turn that part of your body back into slime by taking a deep breath holding it, and then slowly counting to 4 until you feel relaxed.
-Written by Hope Brewer, LMSW
