Francesca and Gabriele Meditate This is a story about kids just like you,
Who are learning new things all the time.
Find a cozy spot where you can listen,
As I tell you all about a boy named Gabriele and a girl named Francesca,
Who live in Italy.
Are you comfortable?
Great!
Now let's begin.
Gabriele and Francesca are twins who live in a small town in Italy,
Right on the seaside,
Called Amalfi.
Every Sunday they get together with their whole family,
Aunts,
Uncles,
Cousins,
And grandparents,
To have china or dinner together.
The kids run around the piazza or the town square outside their apartment,
While the adults chat or help their nonna make the food.
Cineamo calls their nonna Claudia.
Suddenly everyone's feet are pounding on the cobblestones as they run into the warm apartment with a big table.
It's their favorite time of the week,
When everyone is nice and full of calamari,
Lemon pasta,
And bread.
Their nonna helps the family relax by leading them through a meditation.
Gabriele and Francesca love to listen to nonna Claudia's voice.
It helps them relax as they lay on the ground near their cousins.
You can join them too!
I'll give you a few seconds to find a spot to lay down.
Ready?
Let's listen to nonna Claudia.
Alora,
Find a nice comfortable spot ragazzi.
You can choose to lay down or sit in a comfortable chair.
You can close your eyes or just focus on one spot on the ceiling.
Now that you're comfortable,
Notice your breathing.
Slow your breath down by breathing in for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And then hold.
Then breathe out for one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Again,
In for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
Then hold your breath.
And breathe out for one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
One more time.
Breathe in for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And hold.
Breathe out for one,
Two,
Three,
Four.
Now that you've calmed your mind,
We're going to shift the focus to your body and practice calming it down.
Continue to take slow breaths as you start at the top of your head.
Notice what you are thinking.
Be curious about your many thoughts.
Imagine they're flowing down a big blue river and you're just watching them flow by,
Breathing.
Notice your mouth and jaw.
Allow your mouth to open,
Letting your jaw hang loose.
You might want to open and shut your mouth a few times to help your jaw relax.
Continue to take slow,
Deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth.
Next,
Notice your shoulders.
Are they tight or relaxed?
To help you relax them,
Lift them up all the way to your ears,
As high as you can go,
And then drop them down as low as you can go.
Try one more time.
Lift them up,
Drop them down.
Now bring your attention to your hands.
Clench them as hard as you can.
Squeeze and hold it for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And then release.
Notice how the blood rushes through to your fingers and how calm your hands feel.
Now let your hands hang down and be floppy.
Continue to notice your breath helping you calm down.
Try to make your belly really small when you breathe in and really big like a balloon when you breathe out.
Let's try that one more time.
In,
Small belly,
Out,
Big belly.
Good job.
That's belly breathing and it helps your body calm down.
The last thing to relax are your legs.
Let's take turns with each part.
Start with the top of your legs.
Tighten your muscles for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And release them.
Now move to the muscles below your knees called your calves.
Hold them tight and squeeze for one,
Two,
Three,
Four,
And release.
Last,
Let's flex your feet like you're pointing them up to your face and then release them.
Notice how good it feels to let them flop around like your hands did.
You've relaxed the big parts of your body.
Notice how it feels to be relaxed by thinking about or scanning your body,
Starting at your head and going all the way down to your toes.
Does anything still feel tight or uncomfortable?
If it does,
Squeeze it and relax it again to make it feel nice and calm.
Once you feel comfortable,
Keep taking breaths.
Now open your eyes.
Poni simo,
Ragazzi.
That's the end of the meditation.
Now who wants to go to the gelateria,
Says Nona Claudia.
Francesca and Gabriele do this meditation with their familiar every week after Chaina,
And they love it.
You can do this as often as you like to help you calm down too.
You can even practice relaxing different parts of your body wherever you are.
You can scrunch up your shoulders during class and let them fall back down or clench your fists and release them the next time you feel mad.
The more you practice,
The better you'll get at calming down your body.
Thanks for listening to Nona Claudia's meditation and calming yourself down.
See you next time.
