Kids love savasana. No really. It’s their most favorite pose. It’s the first pose they ask to do the minute they walk into class. I like to incorporate meaningful crafts into RockStar Yogis lesson plans that call for it. Since I happen to love savasana, too, I want it to be special for the kids every time. We dim the lights, turn on the (battery operated) candles, spritz the room with lavender, turn on some ambient yoga music and get to the business of relaxing. To take this one step further, I like to introduce a little DIY savasana eye mask for the kids to help them connect even deeper into the last, yet most important pose of their practice.

This project is super duper easy, and you can take it to so many levels depending on how creative you want to get with it. Some even have suggested it for gifts, along with a soothing tea ritual, candles, etc.; the ideas here are limitless. I made one for each of my kids, and their excitement to have something that would help ease tension, breath by breath, and help close their eyes to relax on their own, was pretty remarkable. And, guess what, it can cost as much or as little as you want! For this particular project, I used clean, but solo socks- orphans, mismatched, death by dryer socks that have been sitting in a bin in my laundry room for *ahem* months. Of course, I do not use my family’s worn socks for my RockStar Yogis classes, but socks bought from the dollar bins or a package of tube socks work great. If you are incredibly talented, or patient, with the sewing machine, then some fabric and stitching would create the same idea. But, I am not, so we use socks around here!

DIY Savasana Eye Masks

Materials Needed:

• white rice
• flax seed
• lavender flowers (optional)
• tube socks
• favorite essential oils
• rubber bands
• burlap twine or baker’s twine
• iron-on decals (optional)
• scoop
• large bowl
• wooden or plastic spoon for mixing

Side Notes:

• I bought the white rice and flax seed at my local Sprouts in the bulk section. 3lbs was just under $3, and that’s more than enough for a family project. 3lbs of each yielded 13 masks.
• Any sock will do, but I found the men’s sizes to work the best so you can manipulate the size of each mask better. If you can find tube socks or knee highs without ridges, even better. The $1 store had great women’s knee highs that I ended up using for my class.
• There are definite rules around which essential oils are the most relaxing. I used a blend of lavender and chamomile, but you can research to find the best oils for you and your family.
• Iron-on decals, fabric letters with glue, shapes, patterns, etc., this is just all about making each mask unique so the kids can tell the difference to know which one is theirs.

Directions:

• Decide how long you want your eye mask to be. Obviously, masks will be bigger for adults, smaller for kids. Once you take a rough measurement, cut the open end of the sock to your measurement.
• Tie off the closed end of the sock about 1cm from the end with a rubber band. Wrap the rubber band a few times so the seeds do not slip through. For looks, after I’ve rubber banded the closed end, I also cut the tip off to give it the same rough edge as the other side.
• If you are using iron-ons or fabric glue for letters, shapes, patterns, now is your chance.
• Use your scoop to measure about 2 scoops of each rice and flax seeds (so 4 scoops total) per mask (add 1 scoop lavender flowers if desired), and empty into bowl. Depending on the size of your mask, you may want to do 3 scoops, but not too much where the masks are overstuffed.
• Add 2-3 drops of essential oils per scoop. If you are blending, then start with 1 drop each per scoop. Example: (2) masks = (4) scoops rice + (4) scoops flax seeds + (4) drops lavender + (4) drops chamomile. Of course, this can be at your discretion, adding 1 drop each until desired strength is reached. If you accidentally add too much of the oils, add more rice and flax seeds. Use caution with the oils, as less is more.
• Mix rice and flax and oils until well blended.
• Use your scoop to fill sock, not over filling. Leave about 1/2″ at least to the opening of the sock.
• Tie off open end of sock with rubber band, wrapping rubber band until taught so seeds and rice do not slip through.
• Use burlap twine or baker’s twine to cover up rubber bands on each end.

The cool thing about these little bags is since they are just rubber banded on the end, you can always undo one end to add more seeds and rice and/or oils as time goes by. These little guys can also be thrown in the microwave for up to 30 seconds for a warm, soothing experience, or toss in the fridge for a cooled one. Either way, when your child is feeling the need for less speed, make sure their savasana eye mask is handy to help calm their minds and move their bodies into a state of relaxation. Perfect for bedtime rituals, for an anxiety release, or stress blocker. NaMaStE.

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