Mindfulness For Weirdos

In this episode, we’ve got a set of mindfulness exercises designed specifically for weirdos. From silly sounds to funny faces, we'll embrace our weirdness and learn why we should be proud of what makes us weird. From silly breathing, to goofy face stretches, to full body stretches, we embrace weirdness. Then we reflect on what makes us unique before saying affirmations. We end with a silly song about feelings.

Transcript

Hello,

I'm Noah and this is Like You,

A mindfulness podcast for kids.

I'm so glad you're here.

On today's episode,

I hope you're ready to get weird because I've got a set of mindfulness exercises designed specifically for weirdos.

So,

Weirdos of all ages,

Find a place to listen where you feel comfortable and safe.

As I ask questions and invite you to say affirmations,

You're welcome to speak out loud,

Or as always,

You can just think your responses quietly in your mind.

Let's get things started with a breathing exercise where we breathe in a strange way.

When you breathe in,

Think of it like slurping air.

And when you breathe out,

Stick out your tongue and wiggle it back and forth while you make a funny noise.

Are you ready?

Let's breathe in and out a few times.

First,

Slurp that air in.

Then stick out your tongue and blow the air out.

Take another deep slurp in.

Then blow the air out.

One more time.

Give me your longest slurp yet.

And then wiggle that tongue as you blow all the air out.

Great job.

Now,

On the count of three,

Let's all say,

I like me.

One,

Two,

Three.

I like me.

I like you too.

You are curiously quirky,

Beautifully bizarre,

And wonderfully weird.

Your weirdness is what makes you unique,

And I hope your life is full of friends and family who love your weirdness and are just as weird as you.

Now let's try a few weird mindfulness exercises.

First,

A face stretching exercise.

If you happen to have a mirror nearby,

You might want to look at your reflection because you're going to end up making some goofy faces in a moment.

If you don't have a mirror,

That's fine too.

Start by relaxing your face as much as you possibly can.

Loosen your eyebrows,

Droop your mouth open,

And let your whole face go slack.

If you're looking at your reflection,

You might have a blank and boring look on your face right now.

Sit for a moment with your loose and relaxed face.

Try to focus your thoughts on how your face feels right now.

Now,

Reach up to your face with your fingertips and use your fingers to smush and scrunch your cheeks all around.

Keep your face relaxed,

But imagine it as a blob of goo that your fingers can loosely push and pull.

Push your face goo around for a few more seconds and notice how your face feels.

Now,

Push your cheeks back toward your ears,

Making your face pull tight.

Then,

Push your cheeks forward toward your mouth,

Scrunching your lips into a fishy face.

Notice how your face feels different whether it's tight or scrunched.

Try it both ways again.

Push your cheeks back tight,

And then once more,

Push them forward into a scrunchy fish face.

Now,

Drop your hands and let your face get totally loose and relaxed again.

Now,

We'll play a quick funny face game.

So,

When I say the word funny,

You'll make a funny silly face.

Then,

When I say the word loose,

You'll relax and loosen your face.

Try to do a different funny face each time,

And I want you to continue to notice how your face feels different whether it's a funny face or a loose face.

Here we go.

Funny.

Make a silly face.

Loose.

Let your face relax.

Funny.

Loose.

Funny.

Loose.

Funny.

Loose.

Funny.

Loose.

Funny.

And loose.

Okay,

That's all for the face stretches.

Now,

Let's get the whole body involved.

Stand up if you're able,

Or you can follow along with just your arms or your face.

First,

Reach your arms up high over your head,

Stretching them up as far as you can.

Then,

Drop your arms toward the floor and bend forward at your waist.

Go loosey-goosey like a rag doll.

Now,

We'll add your voice to this up and down stretch.

When you reach your arms up high,

Make a high-pitched noise.

You can sing it,

Or you can make it a funny noise,

But whatever noise you choose,

Make it as high-pitched as you can.

Then,

As you drop back down into that loose rag doll position,

Drop your voice down too,

Into the lowest sound you can make.

We'll do this back and forth a few times.

So,

Reach your arms up high with a high-pitched sound.

Then,

Drop low with your hands down into the low-pitched sound.

Then,

Drop low with a low-pitched sound.

Try sliding your voice across all the sounds in between as you transition from high to low and back again.

Here we go.

Stretch high and low.

And high.

And low.

And high.

And low.

And we're done.

You can return to a comfy cozy spot now.

I'd like to have you take a moment to think about something that makes you feel weird or different.

Maybe you like some sort of odd food,

Like a peanut butter and cucumber sandwich,

Or putting pickles on your ice cream.

Maybe you like to play a silly game that you made up,

Or maybe you pretend to be imaginary characters that say funny things.

Maybe there's something that's not exactly weird,

But it's just a little bit different than other people you know.

How does it make you feel to think of yourself as being weird or different?

Does that make you feel proud?

Excited?

Or maybe being different makes you feel nervous,

Anxious,

Or lonely.

Maybe even scared.

Feeling a little weird or different can inspire all sorts of different feelings.

But here's something important to remember.

Everyone is a little bit weird.

You and me,

Your parents,

Other kids at your school or on your sports team or at your place of worship,

Strangers that you see on the street.

Everyone is a little bit weird,

And that's what makes us each unique.

The world would be a boring place if we were all exactly the same.

The world would be a boring place if we were all exactly the same.

And yes,

Some of the things that make you unique might also make you feel proud and special.

And other things might make you feel lonely or left out.

Everyone around you feels both of those things sometimes.

They feel proud at some times or lonely and anxious at other times.

It's part of being a person.

Each of us is just a little weird.

But one of the greatest parts of life is when you meet someone else who feels like the same kind of weird as you.

That is what we call a friend.

So remember,

Be proud of what makes you weird and always be on the lookout for other weirdos like you.

Now it's time for affirmations.

Affirmations are words you could say about yourself to remind yourself how wonderful you are.

You can say them out loud or inside your head.

Our friend Maya will join us to say affirmations today.

Maya and I will take turns saying affirmations.

We'll say each affirmation twice so you can listen the first time then say it together with us the second time.

Here we go.

My weirdness makes me cool.

My weirdness makes me cool.

There is beauty in our differences.

There is beauty in our differences.

I'm proud of every part of me.

I'm proud of every part of me.

I love people who are different than me.

I love people who are different than me.

I am an amazing person.

I am an amazing person.

I deserve to be loved.

I deserve to be loved.

There is no one better to be than myself.

There is no one better to be than myself.

Now let's smile and take a few slow deep breaths as we wind down our time together.

If any of those affirmations stood out to you feel free to write them down or just store them safely in your mind to say when you need it.

If you have an affirmation that is special to you I would love to hear it.

You can even send a recording of an affirmation to play on the show.

Have a grown-up check our website or show notes for more information.

Right now I want to play an affirmation sent to us by a podcast listener.

I'll let him introduce himself and tell you his favorite affirmation.

Hi my name is Antonio and I'm nine years old and I'm from Florida but I'm born in Brazil.

My favorite affirmation is all the feelings can pass.

All the feelings can pass and this mindfulness podcast helped me be more relaxed at school and more confident at school too.

So bye.

Thank you Antonio.

I love that affirmation.

All the feelings can pass.

I'd like to end with a song called However You Feel.

It's a reminder that we all feel many different kinds of emotions and that it's okay to feel them all.

I also personally think that this is one of the goofiest songs I've written for the podcast.

So let me know what you think.

If you feel like singing here's what you can do.

Cheering If you feel like laughing here's what you can do Hey ooh ooh ooh ooh However you feel,

Your feelings are real And you're never alone So sing out high And sing out low And let somebody know If you feel like crying Here's what you can do Wah wah wah wah boo hoo hoo Wah wah wah wah boo hoo hoo If you're feeling anxious Here's what you can do Breathe in deep then breathe out too Breathe in deep then breathe out too However you feel,

Your feelings are real And you're never alone So sing out high And sing out low And let somebody know If you feel like making someone smile Here's what you can do Say,

I'm glad that we're friends and I like you I'm glad that we're friends and I like you I can't wait to spend some time together again soon Until then,

I like you,

I'm proud of you,

And I'm glad we are friends Have a happy and peaceful day Like You is written and hosted by me,

Noah Glenn I also composed and performed the Like You theme music and other music that appeared in the episode Our podcast cover art was illustrated by Maya Sane Our episode art is created by Lindsay Glenn And thanks for listening!

Reviews

This one got me out of my funk. I'm an older person but it made me feel like a kidagain. My inner child was grateful. Thank you!

Fun. Thank you💕🙏🕊️