Hello my friend,
It's time to slow down to rest your body and to take a beautiful journey together.
Let's find a comfy place to lie down or sit.
Let your body feel soft and supported.
When you are ready,
If it feels right,
Gently close your eyes.
Let's begin with a slow,
Gentle breath.
Breathing in through your nose,
And breathing out through your mouth.
And again,
Breathe in calm.
And breathe out any busyness.
One more slow breath in,
And a long,
Relaxed breath out.
That's great.
Now,
Imagine you are in a warm,
Green rainforest.
The air around you feels warm and soft on your skin.
You hear gentle sounds all around,
Birds calling from far away,
Leaves whispering,
And the quiet drip of water falling from the trees.
You are in a rainforest that grows in Central and South America.
These rainforests are found in places like Costa Rica,
Panama,
Brazil and Peru.
Where tall trees stretch up towards the sky and create a leafy world above the ground.
Sunlight peeks through the branches,
Painting golden shapes on the leaves.
High up in the trees,
Hanging upside down from a strong branch,
Is a sloth.
The sloth looks peaceful and kind.
Its fur is thick and fluffy,
And its face looks like it's always smiling just a little.
Sloths live in these warm rainforests because they love trees.
Do you love trees?
The trees give them food,
Shelter and safety.
The sloth notices you and slowly blinks hello.
Sloths are some of the slowest animals on Earth.
They move slowly to save energy and to stay calm and quiet.
But whilst they are slow on land,
Sloths are actually really good swimmers.
They can swim three times faster in water than they move on land.
Wow,
Isn't that interesting?
Let's breathe like a sloth.
Take a very slow breath in,
As slow as you can.
And slowly breathe out,
Even slower now.
The sloth gently reaches out one long arm to another branch.
It doesn't rush,
It knows there is plenty of time.
Did you know that sloths can sleep up to 15 hours a day?
They are wonderful at resting.
The sloth invites you to join them.
Imagine yourself floating safely up into the tree.
Then sitting comfortably on a wide leafy branch beside your new sloth friend.
The branch feels strong and steady beneath you.
Take another slow breath in and out.
Together you begin a peaceful journey through the rainforest canopy.
The treetops high above the ground.
You see bright green leaves,
Twisty vines and colourful flowers blooming between the branches.
Below you,
The forest floor is far away.
Up here,
Everything feels quiet and safe.
Did you know that sloths spend most of their lives hanging upside down in trees like these?
Even sleeping and giving birth to baby sloths upside down.
Isn't that interesting?
Their long arms and strong curved claws help them hang and move gently through the forest.
Sloths move like they are in slow motion.
The sloth pauses.
You pause too.
Feel how still your body can be.
Breathing in.
Breathing out.
A soft breeze moves through the trees.
A butterfly floats past,
Its wings glowing in the sunlight.
You notice as the sloth watches the butterfly,
It turns its head almost completely around like an owl without moving its body.
Wow!
You also notice tiny green algae glowing in the sloth's fur.
The algae helps them blend in with the rainforest,
Keeping them hidden and safe.
The sloth looks like part of the forest itself.
Soft,
Slow,
Quiet and peaceful.
You feel calm spreading throughout your body.
Your arms feel heavy and relaxed.
Your legs feel warm and loose.
The sloth carries you to a sunny resting spot high in the trees.
This is one of their favourite places where the sunlight feels gentle and warm.
You stop here together to rest.
Let's take another gentle breath.
Breathe in through your nose like smelling fresh rainforest air and breathe out through your mouth,
Soft and slow.
Your face feels smooth and relaxed.
The sloth curls up comfortably,
Hanging upside down,
Perfectly at ease.
The sloth seems to remind you,
You don't need to hurry,
You don't need to rush.
Slow can be strong.
Slow can be peaceful.
Did you know that sloths are so slow that they only climb down from trees once a week or so to go to the bathroom?
It's a very slow and dangerous trip.
You rest together for a while.
No thinking,
No doing.
Just breathing and being.
Breathe in calm.
Breathe out peace.
After a while,
The sloth slowly opens its eyes.
It's time to return.
The sloth gives you a gentle,
Sleepy smile.
As if to say you can visit any time you need to feel calm.
Bring yourself back now to wherever you are.
Feel the ground beneath your body.
Feel the air against your skin.
Start to gently wriggle your toes and your fingers.
And feel free now to continue to rest.
Or gently open your eyes and continue about your day.
Thank you for taking this slow journey today.
Bye for now.
My friend.
