Hi,
It's Miss Janine here.
Today we're going to listen to a short relaxation or meditation that you can do before bed or whenever you need to give your body and brain a little break.
So find a comfortable spot that's quiet and cozy and lie down and close your eyes.
Let's begin.
Take a deep breath in through your nose and a full breath out the mouth.
Take another deep breath in through the nose,
Filling your lungs and then a full breath out deflating your lungs like a balloon.
Take a deep breath in and a full breath out.
Now you can continue to breathe in and out through your nose this time.
And imagine that you're in a beautiful garden.
The flowers are in full bloom all around you.
There's a stone path that leads to the heart of the garden.
You follow the path and as you do you notice the colors of the flowers red,
Blue,
Pink,
Yellow,
Orange.
There's lots of green too for there are so many leaves.
The path leads to a small pond.
Water trickles down the rocks back into the pool of water.
A frog rests on a wide lily pad.
You see a shadow of wings and look up.
A great blue heron circles above.
Its wings are wide as it glides down to the pond where you stand.
You are frozen in awe as the magical bird lands gracefully on its long,
Long legs in the pond.
Its feathers are gray and white and black.
Some almost look blue.
The bird turns its back to you inviting you to climb aboard and there's just enough room for you and you gently hold on to the top of its strong wings.
The bird waits until you are settled and then leaps into the air with such ease and grace that you're not the slightest bit scared.
You feel safe and you're ready for adventure.
The bird flies up,
Up,
Up until you are as high as the treetops,
Maybe higher.
You look down and notice the world from a different view.
The bird is following the path of a river.
You see rocks poking up from the water as it splashes over and around each one.
Green grasses and trees line the riverbank.
You hear other birds calling out their songs.
A family of deer sips cool water from the edge and you can tell that one of them is young,
A fawn with white spots.
Three turtles are sunning themselves on a log that reaches into the water.
A fish jumps and startles them and they plop one,
Two,
Three into the river's water below.
Up ahead you spot two kayaks,
One orange,
One yellow.
The people inside paddle and you can see a small stream of water spraying up each time they lift the paddle out of the water.
Now you hear laughing,
Splash,
A small squeal of joy.
Ah,
A rope swing tied to a great oak tree.
Children are taking turns climbing out of the water and swinging on the thick rope tied to the branch that hangs out over the river.
A little further down people are picnicking.
They've spread out a blanket on a small patch of green grass and one of them is wading in the water.
They have a fishing rod in their hands.
The bird glides on and you notice the river becoming more narrow now.
The water is not as deep.
You see more rocks and they are rounded and smoothed by the constant water passing over them.
You notice how still they are even though the water around them is not.
The river has become a stream now and it takes a turn into a wooded area and you think you may have lost its course,
But the bird knows and you trust them.
Now you see it.
The stream has trickled into a great big pond.
It is so big you think it could be a lake.
It's beautiful.
Sky is reflected in the clear water.
It's bright blue and you take a deep breath in and out.
The heron glides down now,
Down,
Down and you land gracefully below in the shallow end of the lake.
You thank the heron for sharing an adventure and showing you how they see the world.
You climb off and breathe in and out.
Breathe in and out.
Start to wiggle your fingers and toes,
Maybe stretching your feet out long and your arms up over your head.
If it's your bedtime,
You can drift off to sleep and if it's still day,
Slowly wake up and enjoy the peacefulness that you have created.
