Heidi, Cherry & Vaya Workout - Children's Meditation Story

Are you ready to meditate with Kari?

Are you ready to be still and quiet and peaceful and listen to the story?

Let your feet,

Your legs,

Your body relax completely.

Slow everything down,

Let go of your day and be still and quiet.

Heidi,

Cherry and Vea were not being still and quiet.

They were discussing the best way to work out.

Today was a Monday.

They decided they were going to start working out and getting fit.

Summer was coming and they wanted to feel healthy and happy when they hung out with everyone on the beach and played and had fun and did all of those things.

They wanted to be active and outdoors and that means you need to be healthy.

And one of the ways to be healthy is to move your body and work out.

Now at the moment there's so many different ways to work out it can get kind of confusing because everyone thinks their way of working out is better than the others.

It wasn't that much different with the cats.

They weren't arguing about whose was the best way to work out.

They were just having a simple discussion.

Heidi was talking about the fact that she liked to do track.

Track was when you run on a track.

Distances,

Like a hundred meters or a 200 meter sprint or a 400 meter sprint or an 800 meter sprint and so on.

It's basically just running and Heidi liked to run.

She was telling the cats,

It makes me feel good when I run.

It clears my mind.

The wind blows through my whiskers and through my fur and it feels really good.

Like I'm having a wash or a bath or a shower.

But the wind is washing me clean and the faster I run the faster the wind blows through my fur and it feels so good.

Cherry said,

I can totally see how that would be really nice.

But me personally,

No.

Don't like running.

Don't really like it at all.

I think it's kind of boring.

All you do is just run,

Run,

Run,

Run,

Run,

Run,

Run,

Run,

Run,

Run,

Run,

Run.

That's it.

You're just running.

I mean what you running for?

What?

And the worst,

The worst is running on a treadmill because that's absolutely boring.

It's like you're just a robot running and running and running.

There isn't any nice scenery or anything.

All you're doing is just probably staring at a wall or staring at one point and running and running and running and running and running.

How boring is that?

It's so boring.

Faya said,

Me likes to do ballet.

I like the music.

I like the graceful dancing.

I like it because it makes me feel like a princess.

And it's a very good workout.

You get all sweaty and tired if you do lots and lots of ballet.

It's very difficult and strenuous.

You wouldn't think it,

But it is.

Cherry said,

You know,

I can bet it is.

I can bet you any money it is because you know those ballerinas,

They work so hard and you can tell that it's hard work because they've got really big muscles.

Have you ever noticed?

Have you noticed how muscly the legs are?

It's like they've got like chicken legs.

They're so muscly and defined.

It's crazy.

So yeah,

I bet Faya,

I bet that's a really good workout.

Me,

Personally,

I like to do dance workouts.

I like to play my music and dance vigorously to the music,

Whatever it is I'm playing.

And I like to really just let loose.

I let loose and I let my arms fly all over and I let my legs fly all over and I let me pause,

Clap and do whatever they want.

I let my head sway and swing and roll all over and I just shake my body and I do whatever I want and it feels so nice.

Heidi said,

That's totally your kind of workout.

I can totally see you doing that kind of workout.

Cherry said,

Yeah,

I know.

And I'm so good at it.

But you know,

There's so many people that work out and they don't even enjoy it.

Have you noticed that?

People seem to work out and when you see them working out,

They look absolutely miserable.

They're not smiling,

They're not having fun,

They're not doing anything.

I mean,

Do you remember Lincoln?

You know Lincoln,

Don't you?

Heidi said,

Yes,

Of course.

Lincoln's my ex-boyfriend.

Cherry said,

Yeah,

I know you know Lincoln.

But I was just saying in general,

You know,

How he used to really,

Really like CrossFit and his muscles were so big and his cat pecs were so big.

But he enjoyed it.

He really liked to work out.

He did it all the time,

Didn't he,

Heidi?

Heidi said,

Yes,

Lincoln really liked CrossFit.

Veya said,

Hmm,

Me really likes ballet.

I don't understand how you can exercise and not enjoy it.

Cherry said,

Well,

Think about it Veya.

If I was doing ballet,

I won't be enjoying it because ballet is not my vibe.

My vibe's more like,

You know,

Something jumping,

Fast paced,

Something like,

You know,

Expressive,

More like hip hop,

Something like that.

Ballet is much more you.

It's much more calm,

Relaxing.

Yes,

It's strenuous,

But it's much more you.

It's not me,

Veya.

It's not me.

And if I was trying to do ballet,

Then yeah,

I wouldn't enjoy it at all,

One little bit.

And I'd be like those miserable people that you see that's running past,

Looking all red in the face,

All miserable,

Looking like every single step's really,

Really painful and they're hating every minute of it.

Who wants to work out when they hate it like that?

Heidi said,

Well,

You know,

Unfortunately,

There's so much pressure for everyone to look a certain way these days.

Cherry said,

I know,

I know,

It's all over social media.

If you don't wear the right bikini or if you don't wear,

If you're a boy,

If you don't wear the right sneakers or you don't look a certain way or you don't follow the right football or whatever,

Or if you're a girl and you don't and your body doesn't look a certain way and you don't dress a certain way and you don't act a certain way,

Then yeah,

There's so much pressure,

Isn't there,

To look a certain way and be a certain way?

Heidi said,

Exactly.

And that's really not fair because that makes people work out even when they don't want to.

That makes people think if they're not working out,

Then they're not a good person even.

Like if they don't work out and they don't look a certain way or dress a certain way,

Then they're just not in the in crowd or they're not cool or they're not pretty like pop stars or film stars or social media stars.

Vea said,

Me thinks that's awful.

Me thinks that's so sad because how are you supposed to love yourself and like yourself if you don't look like what they look like?

Heidi said,

Exactly.

That's the problem,

Vea.

Cherry said,

I think,

I think this,

I think that you should just think you're awesome.

Like I do,

You know,

I have so much confidence.

I'm so awesome.

Every single part of me is awesome.

My cat bum's awesome.

My paws are awesome.

My hips are awesome.

My lips are awesome.

My eyes are just right.

My eyebrows don't need plucking.

They're absolutely awesome.

I don't need to shave.

Can you imagine if we shaved?

All three cats laughed.

Can you imagine if we were bald and we weren't supposed to be bald?

All three cats laughed once again.

Yeah,

We don't shave if we don't want to shave.

We don't wear a certain clothes if we don't want to wear those clothes.

We just do what we want,

Don't we guys?

And you know why we do that?

Do you know why?

Heidi said,

Because we're awesome.

Vea said,

Me thinks it's because we're awesome.

Cherry said,

Exactly,

Because we're awesome.

Because we don't need to be told from social media,

From Facebook,

Instagram,

Snapchat,

TikTak,

TikTaki,

Whatever it is.

Is it TikTak or TikTak?

It's TikTak.

TikTak.

Whatever those things are,

We don't need to listen.

You know why?

Because we're just awesome the way that we are.

And you know what's really cool?

You know what I think's really cool?

When someone's just confident about who they are and what dress size they are and what their hair's like and what their skin color is and what they look like and what they sound like and what they act like,

They're just being themselves.

I think that's the bestest thing ever.

I think that's so much more cooler than copying someone on Instagram or feeling like you're supposed to look like them on Instagram because just because you know.

Heidi said,

You're right.

It's really cool when you just do your own thing and act your own way and be yourself because no one else is you,

Right?

There's billions of people in this world,

Billions of cats,

Billions of animals,

Billions of people,

Billions of boys,

Billions of girls.

And if we were all the same,

How boring would that be?

They are sad.

Me totally agrees.

Me thinks that I'm fair.

I'm special and no one's like me.

Cherry said,

I'm Cherry.

I am awesome and no one is me.

Heidi said,

I'm Heidi.

I am perfect the way I am and no one is like me.

All three cats high pawed each other.

Right,

So Cherry,

Let's do our workout.

Now we know why we're working out.

Why are we working out,

Heidi?

Heidi said,

We're working out because we want to be healthy.

We want to feel good moving our bodies and we want to be fit so that we can have lots of outdoor fun over summer.

Right,

Said Cherry.

That's it.

Exactly.

That's why we're working out.

We're not working out so we can get into a certain,

I don't know,

Cool gang.

No,

We're not.

We're not working out so that we lose weight.

No,

We're not.

We're not working out so that we have big muscles and we only think we're great if we have big muscles,

Even though Lincoln was nice and he did have big muscles.

That's not the point.

We're not working out just to get big muscles because boys compete over the muscles.

No,

We're not,

Are we?

No.

They said,

No,

No,

Definitely not.

I'm going to do my ballet because it makes me feel so calm and peaceful inside and I love it.

Cherry said,

I'm going to do my dance workout.

I'm going to do my hip hop moves.

I'm going to do some jiving and some bopping and some awesome like groovy moves and I'm going to feel great.

Heidi said,

I am going to go outside and run some track and it makes me feel great.

And that's the end of that,

Right cats?

All the cats agreed.

They all went off to do their workout.

That evening they were pooped,

So tired but they felt so good.

They'd had a good sweat in their own way,

Released some toxins.

They met their skin shiny and fresh looking.

They'd had a nice shower,

Got the pajamas on,

Had a healthy meal.

It's time to go to bed.

Time to relax their bodies,

The wonderful perfect cat bodies,

Just the way that they were.

Their hearts were super kind and special.

Their lungs were big and healthy.

Their minds were sharp and compassionate and sweet.

Everything about them was perfect just the way that they are and they knew that they didn't have to be like anybody else.

They didn't have to compete to be just like anybody else.

They were awesome just the way they were.

Night night,

Sleep tight.