Matthew and Sophie learn to relax
It was getting close to
the end of Matthew and Sophie’s holiday with Granny. They’d had a wonderful and magical time
dancing with fairies, finding the magic apple tree, chasing around India
looking for an elephant and meeting Twilight and Twinkle the stars, But the
children were so excited about seeing Mum and Dad again that they were being
too noisy for Granny.
Granny said, ‘It is time
for you to learn how to relax and to meditate’. So Granny asked Matthew and
Sophie to sit down on their bottoms and cross their legs.
‘The most important thing
to remember when you want to relax is that you are actually breathing,
breathing all day long and all night long too. You never stop breathing and your
breath is very precious. Let’s learn how to breathe deeply now. Place your
hands on your tummy and breath in. Feel how your tummy gets round like big a watermelon.
Now breath out and feel how it is a little empty like a cave. Let’s try to breath in and out deeply and
slowly together’.
Granny was very happy
looking at Matthew and Sophie because she could see already that they were
beginning to relax.
‘I’m going to share a
very special way of breathing with you now. It is called the Ujjayi Breath and
it sounds like the ocean, some people say it sounds like a baby snoring. You
need to hear the breath going down your throat and back up again. Listen
carefully to me and then you try it’.
‘You seem to be natural
breathers!’, Granny said smiling. ‘Let’s lie down now on our backs and I will
tell you a lovely story to help you meditate. Try to listen carefully to the
story and use your imagination too. You can add colours and lights and your own
special magic to the story’.
Imagine you are walking in
warm sand on a golden beach. There is a warm breeze and the sun is warming your
skin and hair. In the distance you can hear seagulls calling slowly and the
sound of the waves softly coming into shore.
This is the beach you have been dreaming of, it’s all yours – quiet,
warm and safe. You walk into the water
and it is the temperature of a warm bath. As you look across the water you
notice the colours of the sea. Light blue under your feet and a little deeper
out it turns to green and in the far distance it is deep, dark green where the
water is at its deepest. And, if you look very carefully you can see dolphins
playing in the distance. Now notice a bridge
that leads out over the ocean to a sparkling palace. Imagine the colours of the
bridge. And imagine the colours of the
sparkling palace. As you look towards the palace you feel that you must cross
the bridge to get there. It feels like a precious place.
Notice now your feet as
they step onto the bridge and your hands holding the railing as you walk
steadily towards the palace. Getting
closer you notice that actually it is a gleaming white colour and the doors are
open wide, welcoming you in. Step through the doors now into the cool, hushed
palace. There is a special bed for you
to lie down on. So imagine lying down now and feeling safe. With every breath out imagine all your
worries disappearing. With every breath out notice how loved you feel, how safe
you feel. With every breath out feeling better and better about everything. Let’s
stay here in the palace for a while and breathe deeply.
It is time to go now, so
look around the palace and say goodbye. Stepping onto your colourful bridge
walk slowly and carefully back to the beach.
Where the warm sand tickles your toes and the breeze comforts you. You can always imagine this beach. You can
come back to your palace at any time. It is your safe place. Take a deep breath
in and open your eyes.
Granny was smiling gently
at the children. And they all felt very connected to each other - very
peaceful. Soon it would be time to go
home but Matthew and Sophie thought they would rather stay with Granny.
©Veronique O’Toole 2016
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