Kids: Bedtime River Adventure Sleep Visualization

Does your child struggle getting to sleep? If so, this visualization created for young minds will help ease them into sleep with guided imagery and relaxation techniques. Your child will take a journey from their bed to a magical river on a small blue rowboat. As your child lets their imagination take over, they will be guided on a progressively relaxing, magical journey to ease them into sleep.

Transcript

The lights in your room should be off.

Maybe a small nightlight is glowing.

It's time to go on a nighttime adventure.

The nighttime is really full of wonders.

It is a time for our imaginations to run wild.

It is a time to let go of our worries and thoughts.

Let your daytime mind take a break from all its thinking and planning.

It's time for the creative mind,

The dreaming mind,

Wise and expansive mind to take over.

Gently close your eyes.

Take a deep breath.

And as you do,

Feel your belly rise with the in-breath and fall with the out-breath.

Do this again.

Breathe in long and slow and let your belly rise.

Breathe out longer and slower and let your belly fall.

One more time.

Breathe in slowly.

Now breathe out slower.

You can sense your mind quieting down.

Your body is becoming calm and feeling heavy.

Focus on your feet relaxing as you breathe slowly in and out.

In and out.

Imagine your bed is beginning to gently rise.

And imagine that there is no roof or ceiling above your room.

Your bed floats higher and higher into the sky above your room.

Now above your house.

Higher and higher.

And now you are above your whole neighborhood.

As you begin to soar above the land below you,

You are filled with a sense of calm and happiness.

We are about to go on an adventure of the imagination.

We will travel through unknown lands that are peaceful and welcoming.

Places of rest and calm.

Let the night be your friend and let your imagination carry you deeper into relaxation.

Your bed is now high into the night sky.

Stars shimmer.

The moon is large and bright.

Warm winds gently blow your hair.

You feel weightless in your bed.

Floating through the sky is so freeing and enjoyable.

Look around you.

See the countless stars above.

Look at the forest of trees below you.

Smell the cool,

Refreshing air blowing past you.

Take a deep breath in and out.

Relax.

Enjoy the nighttime.

Realize you have nothing to do but relax and imagine.

Now you can feel your bed beginning to descend back to the land below you.

You know right away that you are no longer in the same place as where you started.

Your bed gently floats down to a meadow on the bank of a river.

The sky has become lighter and rays of sunlight touch your body as the sun creeps out from behind the horizon.

Your bed has touched down on a soft meadow of grasses.

Small swallows,

Birds that zip quickly from here to there,

Fly past your bed in swift arcs.

Sit up from your bed and walk around the meadow.

With bare feet,

You feel the soft meadow grasses and mosses.

Take a deep breath.

It's good to be here.

What a beautiful place.

Walk over to the river that is wide enough to get a boat down,

But not much bigger.

You can see the river winds back and forth through the meadow and beyond,

Down into a valley and then through a forest.

Dip your hand into its water.

Feel the cool,

Refreshing water that has come from the mountain's melting snow.

Take a look around.

See the bright,

Beautiful meadow flowers in bloom.

Watch the orange and black butterfly flap its large wings as she finds the right flower to land on.

See the pair of blue dragonflies hover above some tall grasses.

On your back,

You see large,

Puffy white clouds roll past you.

Take a deep breath in and a long,

Deep breath out.

Look over by a willow tree at the river's edge.

Underneath the tree,

On grass that lines the edge of the riverbank,

Is a small,

Wooden,

Light blue rowboat.

Walk over to the rowboat and untie the rope that attaches it to the willow tree.

With one foot on the shore and one foot in the boat,

Push off into the current.

Feel your boat catch the current and begin drifting down the lazy river of cool mountain water.

Breathe in and slowly out.

You feel calm and at peace.

The river is friendly and safe.

The sun that is shining on your body is lovely and warm.

Lean back in the boat as it rocks back and forth,

Back and forth down the river.

Your feet are hanging out of the boat and you can dip them in the river whenever you like.

Feel soft grasses brush past your feet and tickle your legs.

The river is now speeding up just a bit as it breaks into several smaller rivers ahead.

As your boat is drifting towards the left,

There is no need to control where the boat goes.

Let the river carry you where it may.

Relax into the motion of the boat as it bobs softly down the peaceful river.

Feel your body becoming more relaxed and tired.

Now the river passes under large leafy trees.

The sun hides away for a few moments and the air becomes nice and cool.

Look up ahead to an eddy,

A part of the river that is calm along the shore.

There is a little river otter with its head barely above the water,

Its wet whiskers dripping,

And it's looking right at you.

You smile.

River otters are so playful and this one is no different.

It splashes,

Pokes its slick,

Wet head above the water,

And dives down.

Climbs back on shore and splashes in again.

As you float down,

The otter swims on its back around your rowboat,

Keeping you company in the late afternoon sun.

Stretch out in the rowboat.

Feel the muscles in your face and your jaw relax.

You feel completely at ease and safe on the river.

You are fully relaxed as you drift down the peaceful river with the otter by your side.

River is now entering a narrow canyon and the flow of the river quickens.

The steep canyon walls are made of red colored rocks and they rise high above you on both sides.

Your rowboat brushes up against the canyon walls and you gently slide your hand along the canyon wall as your boat floats slowly by.

The rock is smooth and cool to the touch.

The canyon wall blocks out the late afternoon sun,

Swallows the birds that you saw earlier in the day dart above you.

They fly so quickly and then make their way into their mud nests built into the rock cliffs.

You see in the water below the boat shiny silvery rainbow trout.

All along the river there is life and you are part of everything.

You feel like you belong.

Breathe in and let your belly slowly rise and fall.

One more time.

Breathe in,

Let your belly rise and fall.

The sun is now almost hidden behind the canyon and afternoon is turning into evening.

Your boat floats peacefully along through the high walled canyons.

Fish jump out of the river near your boat as if to say hello fellow traveler.

See the shimmery fish scales reflect the last bits of light that shine into the canyon.

The river is slowing down and there is a fork in the river that weighs down through the canyon.

Which way will your boat go?

The quicker larger stream on the left or the quieter smaller stream on the right?

Take a long deep full breath and relax your whole body.

Whichever way your boat takes you will be completely safe and protected in your rowboat.

Mother nature will care for you as you drift through the canyon.

And here you are now at the fork in the river and your boat drifts down the way that you thought it would.

The stars are starting to shine now and night time is fully here.

Sparrows are still flittering about the red canyon wall.

The river is so relaxing and the sounds of the river are so enjoyable.

It's making you feel so tired and calm.

Now the river empties into a small lake.

The moon reflects upon the lake how enjoyable it is to be here at this quiet lake.

The sounds of the rushing river have quieted down and now you can hear frogs croaking and night time insects roaming about.

Your rowboat drifts slowly across the lake and you see on the other side a small red sandy beach along the canyon wall.

You see that where the beach is the tall canyon wall curves deeply in making a rounded room almost in the steep rock cliffs.

Your boat lazily drifts over to that beach and you see that there is a bonfire burning in a circular rock fire pit deep inside the curved cliff room.

The fire throws shadows high on the cliff walls.

It looks so cozy in the cliff room.

The crackling sound of the fire draws you in farther.

You get out of your boat and walk upon the soft sandy beach.

You peer into the cliff room and see that all around the fire are different kinds of animals playing strange instruments that you have never seen before.

Some animals are dancing happily and swaying around the fire smiling.

You notice bears playing instruments made of branches and grasses being played like a violin.

You see hedgehogs drumming on wooden drums.

Other forest animals like porcupines play upon other strange and exotic natural instruments making a wonderfully tranquil and pleasant song.

You see a bed of grasses made up for someone like you to lie upon.

You decide to lie down and take a small rest before you head back out on your trusty row boat.

Take a few breaths.

Feel how heavy your legs feel.

Notice how tired your feet and hands have become.

Relax your jaw.

Let your belly rise as air fills it up.

Slowly and fully breathe out becoming more relaxed and more sleepy.

More at peace.

You are completely safe in the cliff room and you feel a part of the natural world.

Let the music carry you off.

There is nothing to do and nowhere else that you should be.

After a while you notice the music has stopped and the animals have lied down to sleep around the warm crackling fire.

You decide you should probably get back in your boat and continue your journey down the river.

Slowly rise and make your way off the bed of grass and out the cliff room to your boat that waits upon the sandy beach.

Sit back in your boat and notice the starry sky above you.

There are so many stars.

They look like bright specks of dust against the black night.

You push off the shore and you drift across the lake to where the river flows out of it and continues down the canyon.

The current starts to pull you along slowly at first and then more quickly.

Soon the pond is far behind you and you are winding down through the canyon walls.

The river is swift and lively.

Through the canyon you go,

Drifting along and drifting along.

You are starting to come out of the canyon now.

The steep red walls give way to grassy plains that stretch as far as the eye can see.

The river winds for miles and miles through the plains of tall grasses.

Everything is lit by the bright moon that shines upon the land.

Hear the gentle waves of the river lap upon the wood sides of your rowboat.

Hear the soft wind blowing across the grassy plains.

You are completely at home here on the river that winds through these wide open plains.

You are at home just like the nighthawk that glides high above you now.

You are at home just like the family of deer far ahead drinking from the river.

Breathe in deeply and breathe out.

Let go of any thoughts or worries.

Relax your body fully.

Breathe in again.

Let your belly rise and then slowly fall.

We have made our way out of the canyon.

Lean back in your rowboat and float down the river.

Relax.

Feel the peace of the nighttime,

The relaxing river sounds.

Breathe in and out.

It's time to rest.

Reviews

Lovely and relaxing and imaginative. Enjoyed the nature sounds.

My son says it’s his favourite

My boys enjoyed this very much! The birds chirping at the end was wonderful. Thank you!