Centering Session Ideas and Contents

Ideas for Openings and Closings

Ideas for Openings

• Dyad exercise: pair up, spend 5 minutes learning about each other, present each other to group. Good for session 1.
• Triad exercise: get in groups of threes, find a unique thing about each person and three things that all three people share. Each member of the threesome then present one shared quality and her/his unique quality to the whole group.
• Things in common exercise: pair up, come up with 6 things they have in common, share them with the group
• Go around the circle and each person share something: a special thing that has happened since last group; favorite food/color/etc.; favorite childhood memory; etc.
• Ball game: start with one ball. Goal is for each member of the group to catch the ball before it goes back to the person who started the game. As you throw the ball, say the name of the person you’re throwing to. When it gets back to the person who started the game, start again, throwing to the same person. Gradually introduce other balls so that there are three or more balls going at one time.
• Relaxation exercise or guided meditation. This can help to “center” and focus the group.
• Name and favorite activity game: say your name and a favorite activity, as you act out your activity (“my name is Laurie and I like to surf”). Then the whole group repeats your name, while acting out the activity, three times. Repeat all the way around the group.
• Where your name comes from: have each person tell the group her/his full name and where the name comes from/the story of the name. Can be a nice opening for the session on families of origin.
• Stand up exercise: have people stand up if the descriptor you call out describes them. For example, “people who will be first-time moms or dads”, “people from Mexico”, “people who have 2 kids already”, etc.

Ideas for Closings

• Affirmations: stand in a circle and have group repeat affirmations stated by leader.
• Sharing closing thoughts or feelings: stand in a circle (hold hands) and have each person who wants to share some thought or feeling, i.e. “share a hope you have for your baby”. This may be useful as a closing after an intense psychosocial discussion.
• Hand massage: using lotion or massage oil in each person’s hand, partner up and do hand massages.
• Shoulder massage: stand in a circle and massage each others’ shoulders. Switch directions.
• Yarn toss: stand in a circle, hold onto a ball of yarn and while sharing a thought or feeling toss the yarn to someone else in the circle. Continue until everyone has gotten the yarn. You will have made a web; each person can cut off some yarn to do with what they will (tie into bracelet to wear into labor, etc.). Might be nice for a later session right before women start to deliver.
• Relaxation or meditation.
• Stretching or other form of exercise.