A Walk in the Woods
Narrator: Welcome to Adult Recess. Our bodies and our brains are connected. Moving our bodies in a mindful way helps stimulate our brains and regulate our emotions. And engaging in play is healthy for us at any age. Let's start with a little stretch to wake us up. You can do this seated or standing. Either way, make sure you can move your arms in a circle around you without bumping into anything.
Today's stretch is all about rotation. Choose a direction and gently turn your head to look to the side. Only go as far as feels comfortable. Now slowly turn your head and look to the other side. Now slowly turn back to the first side. This time, when you look to the side, push the opposite hand forward in the air in front of you. Your torso will twist, and now you're looking more behind you.
Try the other side. Turn your head gently and look to the side. Push the opposite hand forward in front of you. Nice. Just one more time. Turn to the first side. Opposite hand comes up. Now, reach behind you with your other arm and gently hold that stretch. Both arms are pointed out, one in front and one behind. Let your arms relax. Now turn to the second side. Opposite hand comes up. Now reach behind you with your other arm and gently hold that stretch. Both arms are outstretched.
And relax. Nice, we're ready to play. Today's game is called A Walk in the Woods. In our warm up, we did some looking around, slowly start walking in place, and look from side to side. Rather than whatever room you see, let's imagine we are on the edge of a forest, and we are walking on a path into the woods.
You're just walking in place. The air is cool, and the light is filtering through the leaves onto the path around us. We're walking along, listening to the birds and the rustle of small animals in the underbrush. Whoops, a stream is coming up. It's deep and looks chilly. We'll need to hop across some stones to get to the other side. Still in place, we need to hop to one foot, then hop to the other foot. Three more rocks. Hop, hop, hop. OK, we're walking in place normally.
Oh dear, a tree trunk is blocking the path. We need to lift one leg to climb over it. And now the other. OK, we're walking again. Uh oh. Stop. Do you hear that? I think there's something up ahead. Oh dear. It's a bear. Let's turn back. OK, we're not going to panic. We're just going to walk quickly in place.
We're at the tree trunk. Let's climb over. Uh, one leg. The other leg. Good. Walking quickly. Actually, let's walk really quickly. Here's the stream. Uh, we'll hop to each stone. Ready? Hop. Hop. Hop. And two more. Hop. Hop. Oh dear. I hear the bear splashing behind us, let's really walk quickly. Yikes, that bear is really close.
OK, freeze. Let's hide.
Everyone, pretend you have your back to a tree. Good. Breathe quietly. Slowly take a peek to one side. No bear. Now take a peek to the other side. No bear. OK, we're safe. Good job. Now grab a seat or lay down on the floor. Time for reflection. Gently close your eyes and take three deep breaths.
Nice. Imagination is a really powerful tool. Think back to when you were a child. Remember a time when you used your imagination to create a whole world around you while you are playing. As you go through your day-to-day, see if there's a moment when you can help someone in your life — could be a child, could be an adult — to use their imagination. OK. Let's take three more deep breaths.
And open your eyes. Nice work playing. Have a great day.
Engage all your senses through mindful grounding practices during a walk through the woods. Finish your walk with an opportunity for reflection and deep breathing.
