Bedtime Mindful Movement With Gratitude

You're invited to start this practice seated and follow along with the playful, gratitude-inspired movement. Once you've felt what you are thankful for, the adventure takes you on a train to a beautiful castle, and to the nearby forest, where the animals are gathering to celebrate Gratitude Day. You'll help birds decorate, imagine yourself as an owl, and meet a friendly dragon who teaches dragon breath. You'll be invited to imagine planting a gratitude tree, tucking yourself into the shape of a seed, and growing tall as you feel sun, rain, and love surround you.

The meditation ends with a slow body scan, as you shine gratitude, like a light, through your whole body. This practice can be done as you prepare for bedtime, or anytime.

Transcript

In this meditation, I'll invite you to imagine yourself going to a beautiful castle in the forest. This adventure is all about gratitude. So before we head to the castle, You might be wondering, What is gratitude? Well, We can think about gratitude like an extra special thank you. Noticing what we are really thankful for. For me, I am so thankful for my family, For my body, And for my voice. So I can share this adventure with you. And what about you? Let's explore what you are thankful for. First, Find a place to sit. A place where you have a little room around you. Room for your arms to move up and out to the sides. Whatever spot you've chosen, See if you can sit up nice and tall, Like the trunk of a tree. You could bring the palms of your hands together in front of your heart. And then rub them together, Feeling them get a little warmer. And then bring both hands over your heart, One hand resting on top of the other. Feel your chest, How it rises and falls as your body breathes. And if you'd like to, You could close your eyes for a moment and let your heart remind you what you are so thankful for. What do you notice? Can you picture something or someone that you are so grateful for? What does it feel like in your body? Does it feel warm or bubbly? Maybe it feels like a hug. Do you feel it in your face, Your smile, Or somewhere else? I like to imagine the beat of my heart saying, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you. And then you can relax your hands and your arms back down. And we'll take some big, Full, Grateful breaths together. So sitting up tall once again, And let your arms stretch out to the sides, Open and wide like wings. And as you breathe in, Lift your wings up high overhead. As you breathe out, Your wings float down. Breathing in, Wings rise up. Breathing out, Wings float down. Breathe in up, Breathe out down. Yeah, Keep going a few times, Following your breath. You might even imagine yourself flying through the sky like a bird or a fairy. And then let your arms come back down to your lap. And remember once again, What you are so grateful for. Now, Reach down towards the floor and imagine scooping up gratitude like fairy dust. One big scoop in each hand. Once you've got it, Lift it up, Up, Up overhead. And begin to sprinkle that gratitude over your whole body, Wiggling your fingers, Sprinkling thank yous on your brain, Thank you brain, Sprinkling gratitude over your heart, Thank you heart. And then sprinkle it all around you, Out in front and out to the sides, Sending gratitude to everyone around you, To the people who love and care for you, To your neighbors, To the trees and animals, To the whole world. Nice. And then let your arms rest back down. Now it's time to head to the castle. The best way that I have found to get to this castle is to take a train. So imagine that you are boarding this magical train, Noticing the sounds all around you as you jump on board and find a seat. And you hear the train preparing to leave the station. All aboard. You feel the train begin to roll forward and pick up speed, Feeling the hum of the engine, The sound of the wheels riding the tracks. And all the amazing things you might see out the window as they pass by. What do you see when you use your imagination? The train begins to slow. The first stop is the castle. Out the window, We see a big sign on the castle wall that says, Happy Gratitude Day. Huh. They are celebrating gratitude at the castle today, And in the forest all around the castle. As we jump off the train, We hear something in the distance. What could it be? Oh, It's an owl. And let's imagine being an owl. Pretend your fingers are paintbrushes. Dip your fingers into your favorite color paint, Any color you choose, And paint on your owl feathers. Imagine painting feathers on your wings as you brush your arms with your paintbrushes. Paint feathers on your belly and on your legs. Yeah, So good. And then just like before, Sit up nice and tall. Let your wings reach out to the side, Way out wide, As you flap, Flap, Flap your wings. Look over one shoulder and say, Hoo-hoo, Hoo-hoo. And then look over the other shoulder, Hoo-hoo, Hoo-hoo. Coming back to center, Let your arms gently float back down. We say goodbye to the owl and head into the forest, Where the animals are gathering to decorate for Gratitude Day. Let's see who's there and how we can help. Ah, The birds are decorating with string lights and hanging streamers of berries and rose petals. Can you imagine reaching up and helping the birds place the lights just right? Nice. Over there, The forest fairies are teaching each other how to twinkle. And up on the hill, The friendly dragon is teaching a group of frogs how to do dragon breath. Maybe you want to try breathing like a dragon too. If you do, Let's use your fingers again like paintbrushes, Painting on your scales. Painting dragon scales on your chest and your belly. What color are they? Are they shaped like diamonds or maybe hearts? Brush your scales on your arms, Your legs, And your tail. That's it. And now for the dragon breath. We'll take a big breath in and when we breathe out, We'll open our eyes and our mouth super wide, Even sticking out your tongue if you want. Here we go. Breathe in through your nose, Open your mouth wide, And let it out. Nice. That's it. Breathe in through your nose, Stick out your tongue. Last one. Dragon breath in and out. That's it. That's dragon breath. And now let your body and breath come back to its natural, Easy rhythm. Nothing you need to do, Your body breathing all by itself. The animals are all gathering around to plant a gratitude tree. If you want to, Now you could imagine that you are a little seed resting deep in the ground, Feeling warm and safe. If you like, You can make your body look like a seed, Tucking into a ball or just hugging yourself in and remembering what you are so grateful for. Imagine feeling some cool rain on your back and you begin to unfold, Growing a little taller. Imagine feeling warm sun on your back and you grow a little taller. Leaves beginning to sprout and then you feel some love and you grow even taller. Maybe you're standing up tall now or imagining that you are. Feeling your roots spreading deep into the soil, Your branches growing way out wide, The breeze blowing in the wind, And the feeling of gratitude spreading through your whole body, Through your trunk, Branches, Your twigs, And your leaves, Thanking the sun and the rain and the glowing moon and the love all around you. Nice. It's almost time to leave the forest. Before you do, You decide to take a rest. The animals show you a soft, Quiet place to lay down. They are so grateful that you came to visit and you thank them for welcoming you. If you have room around you, You might want to lie down for this part of the adventure, Clearing some space or finding a soft spot to rest. Once you're ready, You could hug your knees in and rock a few times side to side. You might now stretch your arms and legs out long, Resting back, Letting your whole body be soft as we shine gratitude like a light through your body, Kind of like shining a flashlight, Sending this beam of light to your toes and your feet, Thanking your legs and your hips, Thank you, Arms and hands, Sending gratitude to your belly and your chest, Your back, Shoulders and neck, To your voice and your mouth, Thanking your eyes, Ears and nose, Your cheeks and forehead, Shining gratitude on your whole body from head to toes and toes to head, Filling your entire body with this light of gratitude, Resting here, Feeling your chest rise and fall, Breath flowing in, Breath flowing out, Feeling the gratitude that is here, Remembering what you are so thankful for. And let's imagine taking the train back to where you began, Giving yourself a hug, Resting here as long as it feels good, And remembering that you can make every day a happy gratitude day. Closing this practice with a simple breath together, Breathing in and out.