"I Am A Tree"

Children feel powerful when recognizing how to use their imaginations to ease life’s challenges. When asked, “Where in your body is your power?”, children respond in a variety of ways. The most frequent responses are, “My legs because they make me run fast”, “My brain because that is where my thoughts are” or, “My heart because that is where my love is”. It is important to connect the realization that power is held in our bodies with the ability to consciously use that power when we want to. This is one purpose the imagination serves.

A basic technique exemplifying this is the grounding technique of imagining yourself as a tree. Choose your favorite type of tree. Imaging the tree superimposed on your body. The roots begin below your knees and move down through the bottom of your feet spreading deep and wide into the earth as far down as you can imagine. The trunk aligns with the trunk of your body. The limbs, branches and leaves begin at mid-chest level and spread beyond your head in a huge circle.

Variations in this exercise include changing the type of tree to match your desired outcome – a mighty oak when you feel the need for strength, or the flexible willow tree when change is a challenge. Another variation relates to the leaves on your tree – a Pacific White Pine, a Japanese Red Maple, the yellows of a Poplar tree in the fall; if a specific color feels good with your tree imagine that as well.

Ask your imagination, “What tree do I want to be today?” and see which image springs to mind.

Children can be led in this exercise very effectively. Opportunities to use this include difficulty concentrating, impulsiveness, and constant talking. Another type of opportunity includes times when children are feeling nervous and scared about a situation. For additional power children can think of animals in the tree – climbing the trunk, nestled among the roots, or in the branches. The choice of animal does not need to make sense. Its purpose is to bring comfort with its presence. This visualization can be used as a daily routine; one does not have to wait for a challenge. Another way to invite children to use this technique is to look at a book of trees and have them visualize themselves as the picture they like. This provides many examples of types of trees.

The strong connection trees have with the earth through their roots transfers to us with this visualization. It brings our focus to the moment in the present and decreases our preoccupation with the future.