Little Fish, Floating Thoughts

This is a short meditation for preschool-aged children designed to help them acknowledge thoughts as they come up, but stay calm in their bodies. The meditation includes a visualization of themselves as a little fish swimming through the ocean as thought bubbles float by. They learn to breathe, say hi to their thoughts, and keep a calm body.

Artwork: gizellekei
Music: zehendrew

Transcript

Let's get comfy little fish.

Find a cozy spot to sit or lie down.

If it's comfortable,

You can close your eyes or keep them open a little bit and softly look at something near you.

Take a big breath in through your nose and blow it out through your mouth like bubbles.

Good job.

Let's do it again.

Breathe in and blow out like bubbles.

Now imagine you are a tiny,

Colorful fish.

You're swimming in soft,

Sparkly water.

The water feels cool and gentle on your fins.

You swish your tail and feel the water move all around you.

You are safe.

You are calm.

You are floating.

As you swim,

You see bubbles all around you.

Big ones,

Small ones,

Wiggly ones.

Each bubble is a thought.

Maybe one bubble says,

I'm hungry.

Maybe another bubble says,

I miss my mom.

Maybe another bubble says,

I want to play right now.

You don't need to catch the bubbles.

You can just watch them float by.

If you like,

You can wave a fin and whisper,

Hi,

Bubble!

Then let it float away.

Glug,

Glug,

Glug.

New bubbles come,

And you can watch them too.

You don't have to hold on to any of them.

Just let them drift away in the water.

Even when lots of bubbles float by,

The ocean around you stays calm and quiet.

And you,

Little fish,

Can stay calm too.

You can take a slow fishy breath in,

And blow out your bubbles nice and slow.

Let's try that again.

Take a breath in through your nose,

And blow your bubbles out through your mouth.

Now,

Let's swim back toward the sunshine at the top of the water.

You can see the sun sparkling at the top of the water.

Maybe you can see some light through your eyelids if your eyes are closed.

Wiggle your fingers like little fish fins.

Wiggle your toes like a little tail.

Take one more deep breath in,

And blow out your last bubble.

When you're ready,

Open your eyes.

You're back in the room,

Calm,

Happy,

And ready for your day.

Just remember,

Whenever lots of thoughts come swimming by,

You can always be the little fish watching your bubbles float away.

Bye,

Little fish.