Pound Ridge Students Get a Lesson in Relaxation

Pound Ridge Elementary School students filed into the Wellness Room and were welcomed by soft, calming music, a darkened space and yoga mats on the floor. Holistic Nurse Toni Russo from Northern Westchester Hospital greeted them as they all sat down.

“I’m a special kind of nurse,” Russo said. “I am a nurse who goes into the hospital to help people relax. Everyone who goes to a hospital is a little worried. When you’re relaxed, everything works better.”

Russo talked about how music can affect our minds and bodies before discussing aromatherapy. She passed a small cotton round to each student and asked them to guess the scent. After guesses of a few different citruses, they learned it was orange.

“I love that smell!” a student called out.

“This is a scent that balances people,” Russo said. “Not everyone in the room feels the same way. Some of you might be tired. Some of you might be anxious.”

That led to a discussion on worries and what ifs. Russo told students about her own experience with them. After having trouble falling asleep, she wondered what if I’m not able to sleep? From there her what ifs went to sleeping through her alarm, being late to work and getting fired.

“A what if can get bigger and bigger until it’s a huge worry,” she said.

She invited students to share some of their own what ifs.

“What if I move and lose all my friends?”

“What if I never see my best friend who moved away again?”

“What if my dog runs into the road?”

Russo told students that those were all very common what ifs.

“We all worry, but sometimes the worries take control and you can’t stop thinking about them,” she said.

Russo taught students a special activity to do in times like those.

“Tapping is a way to send signals from your body to your brain to make you feel better,” she told them. “It’s something you can do to help your body relax.”

She asked students to close their eyes and think about a worry that gets in the way of having the best day ever. She wanted them to really think about it and pay attention to how their bodies felt. Next, she asked them to give their worry a number from one to ten, to get a sense of how powerful it was.

Then they started tapping. Russo led them through tapping all over their bodies— from eyebrow and cheekbone to collarbone and the very top of their heads—and then had them say positive affirmations while they did it.

“Even though I’m learning something new, I know I’m a great kid.”

“This feels silly to me, but I know it can help me when I’m having a lot of feelings.”

At the end, she asked them all to yell, “I love myself!” They were happy to oblige.

Afterward, when they reassessed their worries, students noticed that the numbers they gave them went down.

“Is there a sheet we can take home about tapping?” one student asked, eager to continue the practice.

The session ended with deep breathing and chair yoga, during which students moved their bodies into different animal shapes. They also smelled one last scent, eucalyptus.

“This was really a good exercise,” a student said to his friend as they headed back to class.