Welcome to Hive Mindfulness,
Meditations for Curious Kids.
Hello Little Red Panda.
It's almost time for you to head to bed.
You have had a big day today up in the treetops.
Like many other days,
You have spent all your time up in the trees,
Never even touching the ground.
But all that tree climbing has left you tired.
You've been scooting around the trees quickly without having to worry about falling down.
Your big fluffy red tail helps you balance.
You have even been scooting straight down some of the trees with no trouble at all.
While you have had some naps on sunny branches during the hottest part of the day,
You are still ready to get some more rest as you have had a long evening eating your fill of bamboo.
You spend a lot of your time feasting on bamboo.
Just like the other type of panda,
The big black and white one,
Who you're not related to but who is named after you because she too eats bamboo.
You have been spending your evening eating bamboo and snacking on some of your other favourite forest foods like insects and nuts.
Now you are getting ready to turn in.
It is time for a bath.
But you don't have a bathtub up in the treetops,
So you have another way to clean yourself.
You lick the back of your hands and use them to clean yourself all over.
You smooth the soft fluffy fur all over your body.
First you smooth the fur on the top of your head and on your face.
You feel your face and head relaxing.
Now you're smoothing the fur on your shoulders and your upper back.
So nice.
You move onto your belly and back.
The upper half of your body is clean and relaxed.
Now you pet the soft fur on your legs.
Down past your knees to your ankles.
And finally you smooth out the fur on your feet.
Your whole body is shiny and smooth.
Your glistening rusty red and white fur is like a pair of super comfortable pyjamas.
As a little red panda,
You live with your mama red panda and no one else.
You are very happy to have such a wonderful family member.
You love communicating with your mom.
You red pandas have so much fun and funny ways to communicate.
You use your body by doing things like bobbing your head and arching your tail to give information to your mama.
And sometimes you even make unique sounds like twittering and whistling if you've got something really important to say.
You are thankful that you can talk to your mama and work together with her to make the best life in your forest home.
You look around at the forest all around you in this evening light.
You are thankful for the beauty of your forest home.
You take a minute to appreciate all the beauty of the nature you have seen today.
You look around at the towering trees,
Powerful pine trees with their large needles and tall straight bamboo plants that shoot up into the air and are topped with feathery leaves.
You are also thankful that a curious little critter like you gets to see so many amazing animals around you in the Himalayan forest.
Giant flying squirrels,
Snow leopards,
Bengal tigers,
White bellied rats and golden langurs,
Beautiful monkeys with small black faces and fluffy golden hair over the rest of their bodies.
Your mama tells you that some of the animals can be dangerous,
But you're not scared because you are so good at hiding in your tree home.
The rusty red colour of your fur provides camouflage for you because when other animals look up into the trees,
Your reddish body blends in with the rusty coloured moss on the tree trunks.
It is like you are a superhero and you can make yourself invisible.
Now you're getting tired.
Your busy evening is ending and you need to find a good spot to rest.
The sun has set on the other side of the mountain and it is very dark in your forest,
But you are not worried.
You know that you can always find your mama.
The white spots on her face pretty much glow in the dark,
Making it easy for you to spot her even at night.
You catch a glimpse of her and head over towards her.
You are happy to have her around,
But you are also happy that soon you will be out on your own in the forest.
Like other red pandas,
You are a solitary creature.
You like to have your own space.
You know that you are strong and brave and resourceful and that you can solve the problems that come your way.
Your mama has taught you to try and try again and not to get worried if something does not work out the first time.
Even though your forest home has its challenges,
You know you are up for them.
As you find a very comfortable branch to curl up on,
You think about all the strengths you have,
Repeating them to yourself.
I am brave.
I am adventurous.
I am a good problem solver.
I am strong in the face of challenges.
The air is cooling off little panda,
And you realize that now would be a good time for a deep sleep.
A very deep sleep.
You are special because you are able to go into an incredibly deep sleep called torpor.
You can sleep much deeper than most other animals,
Including humans.
It's a bit like you can hibernate like a bear,
Just not for as long.
You can cool your body right down and slow down your metabolism so your body doesn't need to use very much energy at all as it rests.
This means you can sleep for a long time without needing to wake up to get food.
To get ready for such a deep sleep little red,
You need to get very comfortable.
Snuggle in,
In a nice comfortable position.
Relax your body all over,
From your head to your shoulders and arms to your belly and down through your legs right to your toes.
Luckily you have such a long,
Fluffy,
Comfy,
Cozy tail that you have a built-in blanket and pillow.
So use that pillowy tail to get very comfortable.
Feel the softness of your furry tail blanket against your skin.
The weight of it on your body relaxing you.
Feel how comfortable of a pillow it is as your head sinks into it,
Totally relaxed.
That is so wonderful.
As you drift off to sleep,
You listen to the sound of the wind blowing gently through the trees.
You hear the rustling of leaves and it is like a lullaby for you,
Lulling you into that very deep sleep.
Good night little red panda.
Good night.
