AN organisation which teaches exercise and breathing techniques is helping children of all ages in the Bolton area to beat stress.

Relax Kids is a system which originated in America but which has spread all over the world. The award-winning programme with a nursing standard mental health award has 3,000 coaches in the UK.

In Bolton, it’s run by Mandy Worsley and Nikki Powell. Mandy worked for the NHS and is a qualified paediatric nurse with plenty of experience of working with school-aged young people.

Nikki is from an education background, mostly in pastoral care. She specialised in getting schools to work together and in improving children’s aspirations. Following redundancy, she trained as a hypnotherapist and then as a Relax Kids’ coach.

They set up Relax Kids together to take special, calming classes into schools and nurseries to help children – including those with autism - relax more in order to cope with stress in their lives.

As Nikki explained: “Experiencing chronic stress during childhood can have a negative effect on children’s emotions, social and academic development and their future health.”

Research shows that stressed children have an average diminished educational achievement at the milestones of seven, 13 and 16. Those experiencing stressful situations, like divorce and bereavement, have lower levels of emotional wellbeing. In the long term, stress can cause other mental health issues like depression and anxiety disorders.”

The Relax Kids classes always follow seven steps but each class has a theme. Stated Mandy: “One of my favourite ones has been We’re Going on a Bear Hut, but we have had Princesses, Robots, Star Wars, Dragons, Pokemon, Jack and the Beanstalk, Going to the Zoo and Baa Baa Black Sheep among many others.”

The classes involve breathing and stretching exercises as well as massage and deep relaxation.

The class starts with Move. “This is a fun warm-up,” said Mandy, “where we just start to move our bodies. An example would be different kinds of walking, like slow motion, fast, backwards, spinning, walking tall or walking small. Or, we may sing an action song.”

Then there is Play. “Fun is usually high energy games to burn off some energy,” said Nikki. “The next steps start to bring the energy levels down to prepare the mind for the meditation.”

Stretch is the next stage with simple stretches, again linked to the theme. Then there is Feel. “This is peer massage and self-massage to help show the kids how they can self-calm when feeling stressed,” stated Nikki. “They love drawing pictures on each other’s backs!”

Breathe is the next stage. Said Mandy: “We get them practising breathing techniques but, again, in a fun way – for example, using cotton wool as ‘sheep’ and they have to blow them over a field.”

Next is Believe. “We get them saying nice things about themselves, for example, affirmations. They would be sitting in a circle and we might use a ball which we roll around and they say the affirmation that is nearest their thumb, or sometimes we all say the same one. This might be ‘I am happy’ or ‘I am brave’,” said Mandy.

Relax is the final stage. She added: “At the end of each class, they all lie down and I read a meditation which is an imaginative story designed to help them relax and think happy thoughts.”

Commented Nikki: “It’s been amazing watching our autism-friendly group.

“They have come on so much and love the Relax part which some of them found difficult at first. The idea is that, over time, they will start to use the techniques they have learnt in class at home.”

Mandy and Nikki have found that even children as young as two get used to the routine after a few weeks – “they love lying down and closing their eyes to relax,” she stated.

They have also been working with families. Added Mandy: “My most special moment was at our family workshop.

“In the Believe section we took the kids and parents in separate groups and got them to write a nice message in a card for each other, and then they all read them out to the group.

“There were tears – it was very emotional and so special.”

One of the local venues where Mandy and Nikki have been running classes is Fidgets Soft Play Centre in Egerton.

Here, managing director Liz McGhie explained that they had recognised the need for autism-friendly sessions as well as Relax Kids’ classes, to meet the needs of families.

This had been successful and, she explained: “We have also added an autism friendly play session on a Thursday evening, immediately after the Relax Kids session, which is just open to families with autistic children.”

To find out more about Relax Kids, call 07973 272507 or 07411 341316 or go to their Facebook page Relax kids Bolton.