Time: 5 minutes
Before Exercise:
- Invite students to get into a comfortable position-standing, sitting, or lying down.
- Students may close their eyes if they feel comfortable. If doing this exercise virtually, consider sharing an image of a calming landscape or artwork for students to softly focus on.
Read the below script at a slow pace and with a calming voice:
- Get into a comfortable position.
- Close your eyes if you feel comfortable, or softly look at something in the room, or on the screen (if a calming image is shared).
- You are going to visit a peaceful place in your mind.
- Imagine a peaceful space where you feel safe, comfortable, and totally relaxed.
- Your relaxing and safe space may be inside or outside … maybe it’s a garden, a beautiful landscape, a favorite place you’ve visited before, somewhere you’ve always wanted to go, or somewhere imaginary.
- As you enter this peaceful space, picture letting go of your anxieties, worries, and your fears.
- When you are in your peaceful space, stress and tension melt away.
- Feel them leaving your body.
- Look around your peaceful space, and notice the details.
- What do you see around you?
- What colors do you notice?
- What do you smell in your peaceful space?
- What do you hear?
- Reach out and touch something in your space-what does it feel like?
- In this space, nothing can harm you.
- There is no to-do list or anything to worry about.
- Notice your toes, feet, and knees feeling more relaxed.
- Now notice your legs, hips, and lower back relaxing.
- Notice feelings of ease in your stomach and chest.
- Notice your heart softening and filling with love and compassion.
- Notice your shoulders and upper back releasing tension.
- Relax your face, your jaw, your eyebrows, your forehead.
- Your body, mind, heart, and spirit are gently embraced by tenderness, care, and love.
- Hold onto this feeling of being relaxed.
- Remind yourself that you can come back and relax in this peaceful space in your mind any time.
- Say to yourself, either out loud or silently, ‘I am at peace. I can relax here. I can come to this peaceful inner space whenever I want.’
- When you are ready, open your eyes.