Class Series Teaches Kids How to Unwind

Even children have stressful days and need ways to unwind and relax. The Camarillo Health Care District’s Stretch and Relax for Kids Series will teach children 6 to 10 just that.

This series is designed to teach children how to safely stretch their muscles and to be aware of breathing techniques that will help them manage stress.

“Pretest jitters, doing homework and just dealing with things that need to get done on a daily basis will cause children stress,” said class instructor Mikal Rogers, a health technician for Pleasant Valley School District.

“I mostly work on how to do controlled breathing,” Rogers said. “We do breath exercises and learn how to calm the mind by controlling the breath.”

Children can apply these breathing techniques when they are tense or even when they hurt themselves to control pain.

“If a child bumps into a wastebasket or trips and falls, then injury becomes an opportunity for them to apply what they’ve learned about stress control,” she said.

Rogers also takes the class through yoga-based relaxation and stretching movements, in which they learn forward and backward motion and how to stretch the sides, loosen the hamstrings, flex the joints and build muscle and strength in the upper body.

“This course gives them a tool they can use lifelong that will enable them to be healthier, happier and more productive,” Rogers said. “It teaches them how to manage stress starting in childhood and moving through their life.”

The four-week series, which costs $15, will be held from 5 to 5:45 p.m. beginning today. The Camarillo Health Care District is at 3639 E. Las Posas Road. Call 388-1952 to register.