On this episode we’re going to have a mindful pizza party! We’ll talk about our favorite pizza toppings, and pretend to be pizza dough rising and cheese melting. 🍕
Show Notes
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Like You is a production of Perpetual Motion. The show is written and produced by Noah Glenn. The show’s artwork was illustrated by Mia Saine. Episode art is created by Lindsey Glenn.
This episode features original music by Noah Glenn.
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Transcript
Noah: Hey everyone! I want to start with a shout out to our supporters on Patreon who help make each episode possible! You can also be a part of helping us produce new episodes by making a small monthly donation at Patreon.com/likeyoupodcast. And don’t forget to subscribe to Like You on your favorite podcast app, so you never miss an episode. While you’re at it, you can leave a 5 star review to help other listeners find us. Now let’s start the show!
[intro music]
Hello! I’m Noah and this is Like You, a mindfulness podcast for kids. I’m so glad you’re here! Today we’re going to have a mindful pizza party! We’ll talk about our favorite pizza toppings, and we’ll pretend to be pizza dough rising and cheese melting. So listeners of all ages, find a place to listen where you feel comfortable and safe. As I ask questions and invite you to say affirmations, you’re welcome to speak out loud, or as always, you can just think your responses quietly in your mind.
Let’s kick the show off with a short affirmation. On the count of three we’ll say I like me. 1-2-3. I like me.
I like you too. Your smile brings warmth, your laugh brings joy, and your kindness inspires friendship. You make this podcast special just by being here.
Do you like pizza? I’m sure there are some people out there who don’t, but in my experience almost everyone enjoys a nice slice of pizza. So let’s kick things off with a breathing exercise where we imagine our favorite pizza. Imagine sitting in front you there is a plate with a slice of your favorite pizza. The pizza is fresh out of the oven, and it smells delicious. Take a deep breath in through your nose and imagine the smell of pizza filling up your lungs. Then let out a satisfied sigh [ahhhhh]. As the wonderful smell fills your nostrils it’s almost like the pizza is calling your name. [Ruby, Mira, Thomas, Sophia, Jayden, Liam, Ava, Ben]. There’s only one problem. This slice of pizza is too hot to eat. So let’s cool it off with a few deep breaths. Breathe in through your nose, imagining the smell of pizza, then blow out through your mouth, cooling off the slice. Now another deep breath in through your nose, and blow across the pizza slice, cooling it off. One last time. Deep breath in, smelling the pizza, and one final breath out, blowing on the slice to cool it. Great job. Now it is the perfect temperature! So imagine taking a bite. Think about the taste of pizza. I wonder- is your imagination strong enough to convince yourself that you can really taste the pizza right now? Close your eyes and see if you can taste it. As you think about eating that slice of pizza, imagine it filling you up with warmth from the inside out.
I’d like to tell you about one of my favorite family traditions that we started several years ago. Around my house we call Friday evening “pizza party movie night.” That phrase probably explains itself, but each Friday evening we eat pizza and we pick out a movie to watch together as a family. And for past 2 years, I’ve made our pizza at home from scratch. It has become a habit and a routine, and for me it is a very mindful experience. It is a slow process. I mix up pizza dough on Wednesday night. It rises slowly in the refrigerator for a whole day, then I divide it into 2 dough balls, which spend another day slowly rising in the refrigerator. Finally on Friday evening, everything comes together as I stretch the dough into big circles, cover it with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and other toppings, then put it in the oven to bake.
And today I thought we could practice mindfulness as we think about each stage of making a pizza. We’ll get your whole body moving and stretching as we imagine making pizza. The first stage is making pizza dough. If you’ve never touched pizza dough, you could imagine it a bit like play-dough, but it’s stretchier and gooey-er. Pizza dough is made from flour, water, salt, sometimes a little sugar and oil, and a special ingredient called yeast. Yeast is also found in bread, and it’s what makes dough rise. As dough rises, it grows bigger, expanding as it puffs up with air.
Now we’re going to imagine your belly is a beautiful, squishy ball of pizza dough. Try giving your tummy a little poke. Feel how is squishes in, and watch how it bounces back when you pull your finger away. Pizza dough starts out like this too. Now let’s imagine your pizza dough belly rising. Take a deep breath in, and fill your tummy with air, puffy it out nice and big. Now let that breath out. Then let your pizza dough belly rise again. Deep breath in, puff out your stomach as it fills with air. And let that breath out again.
Next we’ll imagine stretching a ball of dough into a nice big round circle, the same size and shape the pizza is going to be. Let your whole body stretch out. Arms wide. Legs spread. You can stand or sit or lie down as you stretch out wide. Once you’ve stretched out as far as you can, you can relax. It’s time to top the pizza. Imagine adding sauce, and then covering the sauce with shredded mozzarella cheese. And now you get to pick your favorite topping to go on top. What do you like on your pizza? Plain cheese? Pepperoni? Mushrooms? Bell peppers? Do you like to stick with familiar toppings, or try new and different pizza toppings? Feel free to say your favorite pizza topping out loud, or just think about it in your head.
Once you’ve picked your favorite topping, it’s time to put this pizza in the oven. It will help to sit or lay down for this part. Because now we’re going to imagine we are cheese, bubbling up and melting in a hot oven. When cheese gets hot it turns bubbly, so right now I want you to take a few seconds to just wiggle around a like bubbly cheese. Wiggle your fingers, wiggle your face, wiggle your whole body. And then the cheese starts to melt. As you imagine melting, let your entire body relax. Picture yourself as a gooey melty cheese, melting and relaxing, sinking into the sauce and spreading out wide. Let yourself melt and relax more and more. Melting. Relaxing. Sinking into the pizza. Take a few more seconds to just see how relaxed you can make your whole body feel.
And just like that, the pizza is ready. The last thing we’ll do is imagine that gooey cheese stretching out as you grab a slice of pizza. You know when you pick up a piece of pizza, and the cheese hangs on, stretching out as you pull it toward your plate? Imagine your body it that stretchy cheese. Raise your arms high over your head, stretch your finger tips like stretchy cheese. And now relax.
Now it’s time for affirmations. Affirmations are words you can say about yourself to remind yourself how wonderful you are. You can say them out loud or inside your head. We’ll say each affirmation twice. You can listen the first time, then say it with me the second time.
I am an amazing person.
I choose to think positive thoughts.
I speak kindly to others and myself.
I deserve to be happy.
It is okay to make mistakes.
It is enough to do my best.
I am grateful for all that I have.
I am proud of who I am.
Now let’s smile and take a few slow, deep breaths as we wind down our time together. If any of those affirmations stood out to you, feel free to write them down, or just store them safely in your mind to say when you need it. If you have an affirmation that is special to you, I would love to hear it! You can even send a recording of an affirmation to play on the show. Have a grownup check our website or show notes for more info.
I can’t wait to spend some time together again soon. Until then, I like you, I’m proud of you, and I’m glad we are friends. Have a happy and peaceful day.
Like You is a production of Perpetual Motion. It is made possible by our supporters on Patreon. Become a supporter by visiting Patreon.com/likeyoupodcast. Like You is written and hosted by me, Noah Glenn. I also composed and performed the Like You theme music and other music that appeared in the episode. Our podcast cover art was illustrated by Mia Saine. Our episode art is created by Lindsey Glenn. If you’ve enjoyed the podcast, I hope you’ll tell your friends, and leave us a 5 star review wherever you listen to podcasts. You can send us voice memos, drawings, and pictures by having a grownup send an email to hello@likeyoupodcast.com or if they follow us on instagram, they can send us a direct message there. Visit our website at likeyoupodcast.com to find show notes, transcripts for each episode, an online shop, and other info about the show. Be sure to follow us on instagram, Facebook, and twitter @likeyoupod. Thanks for listening!
