Relaxation Story On A Rainy Evening

A guided meditation especially for young children to get ready for bed. Children are encouraged to get comfortable, take some mindful breaths, and pay attention to each part of their body from toes to top of head, relaxing and resting along the way. Falling rain in the background is not very loud. School age children and children as young as two years old have enjoyed this Relaxation Story.

Note: correct anatomical terms, penis and vagina, are used to describe where the pelvis is located.

Transcript

Okay now,

It's the end of the day.

Time to climb into your bed.

Get really,

Really comfortable.

Cozy under your blankets.

Or maybe you're on top of the blankets if it's summer.

However you are in your bed,

It's important to feel really comfortable.

So wiggle your body around.

Stretch.

Feel your head on your pillow.

Take a deep breath with me.

Do you hear the raindrops outside my window right now?

As you settle into your bed,

Feel your head all cozy on your pillow.

Let's listen to the rain for a minute.

Notice any other sounds that might be in your bedroom.

Do you hear the ticking of a clock?

Do you feel your body rustling around and maybe hear the sound of your hand as it rubs on the sheets?

Do you feel the crunch of your pillow or the breathing of your loved one who's sitting beside you?

Really notice what's happening in your room right now.

Is it dark?

Is it light?

Is your heart beating really fast because you're still excited from the day?

If it is,

Let's take another deep breath.

No matter what,

Let's take another deep breath and really feel ourselves beginning to settle and transition from the busy day you led to getting ready for a great night's sleep.

Taking a deep breath in right now.

When you breathe out,

You can let out a little sigh,

A little sound,

And just feel all the excitement of the day.

Just leave your body.

Don't worry,

There'll be more tomorrow,

But when you're sleeping,

You want to really feel calm,

Relaxed,

And not really be thinking about too much from the day.

Let's try and take another deep breath and when you breathe out,

We call that an exhale.

You can make a little sound with me.

Are you ready?

Breathing in.

Ah,

All right.

If you haven't already done so,

You can close your eyes,

Pull those covers up,

Make any last minute adjustments,

Move your body,

Because during this meditation,

You can feel yourself moving your body.

You can feel yourself moving your body.

You can feel yourself moving your body.

It's a good time to really see if you can do it.

See if you can keep your body in one position,

Whether you're laying on your belly with the hand under your pillow,

Or maybe you're laying on your bed,

Or you're laying on your pillow,

Or you're laying on your pillow.

Take a deep breath in.

Take a deep breath out.

Maybe you're laying on your belly with the hand under your pillow,

Or maybe you're laying on your back with your face shining up to the ceiling.

Let's take one more deep breath,

And we're going to go through your whole body and let each part relax and rest.

Okay,

Let's do one more to get started.

Breathing in now.

Okay,

Starting with your toes.

I want you to pretend in your brain,

In your mind,

That you have a flashlight,

And you're shining the flashlight of your attention down on all 10 of your toes,

All the way down in your bed,

Cozy under the blanket.

Notice how your toes feel right now.

Are they wiggly?

Do they feel like they want to jump up,

Or do they feel like they're ready to sleep?

However your toes feel right now,

We're going to take a deep breath in and send that breath all the way down to your toes.

And after you breathe in,

You're going to hold it there just for a second,

And notice how quiet and still the whole world is,

And how quiet and still your toes are.

And then when you breathe out,

You're going to feel your toes relax,

And you're going to feel your toes rest.

Let's do it now.

Breathing in all the way down to your toes.

Relax and rest.

Let's move the flashlight all the way up to the tops of your feet.

Shine it on the bottoms of your feet and your heels.

Really notice how your feet feel right now.

Do they hurt from running around and playing?

Do they feel relaxed and calm?

With this next breath,

You're going to feel your feet relax and feel your feet rest.

Breathing in.

And rest.

Breathing in.

Move your attention to your ankles and the bottoms of your legs.

Notice how one leg feels and one ankle feels,

And notice the other one.

With this next breath,

You're going to feel both of your ankles and the bottoms of each of your legs relax and rest.

And rest.

Breathing in and out.

Next,

Let's move your attention up your legs to your knees.

Notice how your knees feel on the fronts and the back where your leg bends.

How does it feel right now?

Maybe you can really feel some sensations in your knees,

And maybe you don't notice anything at all,

And that's okay.

However you feel,

Just really pay attention to your knees,

And with this next breath,

You're going to feel your knees relax,

And you're going to feel your knees rest.

Breathing in now and out.

Next,

Move your attention up to the top part of your legs,

Your thighs,

Your quadriceps.

This part of your legs has helped you so much for walking and jumping.

This is the power part of your body.

As you run and play,

Notice how the upper part of your legs are feeling right now from your knee all the way up to your hips.

With this next breath,

You're going to feel the upper part of your right leg and the upper part of your left leg.

Even if you don't know right and left,

It doesn't matter.

You're going to feel each of your legs feel really relaxed,

And each of your legs be ready to really rest.

Breathing in now,

Down.

Move your attention up to your hips.

This middle part of your body,

Where your your top part,

Your belly,

And your arms meets the bottom part,

Your legs,

This whole area is called your pelvis,

And it's where your buttocks,

Your backside,

Your penis,

Or your vagina are in the middle of your body,

Your hips that let your legs move forward and backward.

We're going to pay attention to how this middle part that connects your whole body together and makes you one feels right now.

With this next breath,

You're going to feel your hips and your pelvis relax and rest.

Taking a deep breath in and out.

Next,

Let's move your attention up your body to your abdomen,

Your belly.

Notice the area where your belly button is.

Does it have any feeling or sensation right now?

The sides of your abdominals,

The front,

The upper part right below your chest.

How does your whole belly feel right now?

The muscles have moved so much as you've sat and stood and ran and jumped and stretched inside.

Your stomach has digested all the healthy foods you've eaten today to give you the energy to grow and play and learn.

With this next breath,

You're going to let your belly relax and let your belly rest.

Next,

We're going to move that attention up to your chest,

All the way up almost to your shoulders and your neck.

We're really going to focus on your chest because you know what's inside?

Your heart.

Your heart has been beating all day long.

Thump,

Bump,

Thump,

Bump,

Thump,

Bump.

Your heart never stops working.

Even when you're sleeping,

Your heart is still pumping blood throughout your body,

Keeping you alive.

But as you lay down in your bed and you relax and rest,

Your heart will slow down and it can relax and rest too.

You also have the heart that lets you love all the good people in your life.

So right now,

I want you to pay attention to your heart and breathe in and really feel your heart relax and feel your heart rest.

Breathing in now and out.

Next,

It's time to focus on your back.

Your back all the way from the base of your neck,

Down your body,

All the way to your backside,

The top of your buttocks.

Notice how your back feels.

It's tight or loose.

If it feels good against your sheets or your blankets,

Notice the temperature on your back right now.

However it feels,

It's okay.

With this next breath,

We're going to feel your back relax and we're going to feel your back rest.

Breathing in now and out.

Next,

We're going to pay attention to your neck,

Your neck in the front or your throat bringing in your breath.

Your neck in the front or your throat brings the food from your mouth down your esophagus to your stomach and the back of your neck where your brain is connected to your spine,

Sending messages throughout your whole body.

Notice how your neck feels right now and with this next breath,

Relax and feel your neck rest.

Breathing in and out.

With this next breath,

We're going to feel your face relax and feel your face rest.

So notice all the muscles in your forehead,

Your nose,

Your cheeks,

Your chin.

Feel all the muscles in your face.

See if right now you can make them loosen up and just go a little more limp.

With this next breath,

You're going to feel your whole face relax and feel your whole face rest for your great night's sleep.

Breathing in now and out.

With this next breath,

You're going to bring your attention to your ears on each side of your head.

Notice how they feel right now.

Maybe they're touching your blankets or your sheets or your pillow.

Maybe they're cold.

Maybe they're warm.

You can notice that your ears are hearing my words and the sound of the raindrops still coming down outside my window.

With this breath,

You're going to feel your ears relax and feel your ears rest.

Breathing in now and out.

With this next breath,

You're going to feel the whole top of your head relax and rest.

Notice how it feels.

Maybe you have a lot of hair.

Maybe you have a very little bit of hair.

Maybe it's pulled back.

Maybe it's all loose and ruffled.

However your head feels,

However the hair feels,

Notice the whole top of your head relax and rest.

With this next breath,

Breathing in now and out.

Now your whole body is relaxed and even.

In position to rest the whole night through.

You're going to stay in this spot.

You're going to notice how the sheets feel,

How the blankets feel.

Notice your body where it's touching all of these different things.

Notice the air on your face.

With this next breath,

You're going to feel your whole body just sinking deeper and deeper into your bed,

Cozy for a long night's rest.

Breathing one last breath in now.

Good night.

Sleep tight.

Reviews

One of the regulars for bedtime in our house!

my 4 year old son loves it n he's sleeping so peacefully right now! :)

Great my son loved this although I heard someone talking it wasn’t very disturbing but I just heard it and thought I’d let you know in case it disturbs someone else but we both 💖💖💖IT SO THANKS TO YOU 😜

This meditation rules the world!!!!

I’m a pediatrician and teach mindfulness in schools. I don’t think there is anything inappropriate at all about this meditation. It’s great. Don’t think the American academy of pediatrics would find it inappropriate either. It’s just a body part. Kudos for calling it what it is!!

First time tonight and my 4 year old was out cold by the end.

I love it 👍🏻 🙏🏻

They’re asleep 😴 thank you 🙏

My son loves it😴

My daughter loves this, helps her go to sleep every night. I wish people would stop saying this isn’t for kids because she says two BODY PARTS to help kids complete their body scan. It’s beautiful, thank you for your service - a tired mom ♥️

This is such a beautiful meditation. Not only does it send my son straight to sleep but this voice also works very well for the little girl in me.

Thank you very much. I wish all moms with babies that don’t love to sleep can access it.

My 7 year old daughter loves this! It’s her absolute favorite.

My three year old son fell asleep after the deep breaths. I continued to listen, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. The way the body parts were related to activities from the day, and the emphasis on not thinking too much about the day, was very nice. I think the adults are more hung up, on the two anatomically correct words, than the children. I think it is appropriate for small children to know the correct names. Thank you for this.

I thought her voice would be too perky to send my child to sleep, but the body scan was just the thing to quiet his wriggles and he was out!

Wonderful voice. Wonderful words and soothing body scan. I appreciate the use of anatomical terms used, but would correct "vagina" to "vulva". Lovely, and we will be using this one again!

I like the flashlight metaphor. I like thinking of the pelvis as holding the two halves of the body together. I like that you say vagina or penis; you could even just say “genitals” to be more inclusive of intersex people. I like how you connected the parts of the body with the fun things kids do during the day. I like the rain :-)

My 5 year old fell right to sleep. Love the rain in the background!

This one put my almost 3 year old twins to sleep right away. I hope it works the same magic next time we use it! I also like that she uses proper anatomical terms like penis and vagina, so important that kids use the proper terminology for these parts.

Wonderful meditation for children but I enjoyed it very much.