Relaxation

Lately I have been trying to help my kids go to sleep.  Big Girl has troubles falling asleep like her mom.  Thankfully its not due to pain, its just because her mind runs a mile a minute and its hard to calm it down.  Little Man is pretty good about falling asleep, but he has his nights when he is restless.  They sleep in the same room, so they can antagonize each other too. 

I have resorted to using a relaxation technique where they hold muscles tight for a few seconds release.  I ask them to visualize the tension leaving their body.  This was a technique I learned when I was a little older then them.  It seems quite effective and only once or twice have they not settled completely down as a result.

When I was in High School I tried Bio-Feedback where different muscle groups were attached to sensors and I would "hear" if the tension was present or not. The idea was I could train myself to relax.  I remember many times laying there wondering why I would still feel so much pain if I was making those machines completely silent.  As a teenager, I wanted immediate results.  However as an adult I wonder if that relaxation allows for a nights rest which in turn will allow for less pain the next day, or after several nights rests allow for less pain over the next week.  I don't actively go through my muscle groups and tense and release them and I am training my children.  However I do relax and meditate, even in severe pain, because honestly, I what else can I do?