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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.

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Noah: Hey everyone! Like You is on Summer Break, so I’m re-sharing some of my favorite summery episodes.

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Now here’s today’s encore episode, Making Mindful Lemonade.

Hello! I’m Noah and this is Like You, a mindfulness podcast for kids. I’m glad you’re here! Today we’re squeezing some lemons to make mindful lemonade. But first a quick word for the grownups. Like You is listener supported, so if you’d like to help us continue making new episodes, join us at patreon.com/likeyoupodcast for early access to every episode, and other special perks. We also appreciate it when you help others find our show by telling your friends, or writing a review on Apple podcasts. Alright, listeners of all ages, find a place to listen where you feel comfortable and safe. You’re a part of this podcast so I hope you’ll participate. You can speak out loud share your thoughts and answer questions, or if you’d rather just think things quietly in your head, that’s ok too.

On today’s episode we’re going to do lots of movement. And that starts with our breathing exercise. During today’s breathing, we’ll pretend to be lemon trees swaying in the breeze. Stand up if you’re able to. If you can’t, you can close your eyes and imagine yourself as a tree instead. Now I want you to become a lemon trees. Stand up tall and straight. Hold your arms over your head like tree branches. Imagine the warm sun shining on you, and a cool breeze blowing through your leaves. As that breeze blows, I want you to sway slowly side… to side… Sway slowly to the left, then sway slowly to the right. Now add your breathing as you sway. Take a long breath in as you sway to one side, then a long breath out as you sway the other way. Sway back to the other side with a long breath in. And then sway the other way with a long breath out. Keep that up a few more times, swaying slowly side to side with long breaths in and out. As you sway, continue to imagine the warm sun and the cool breeze. Relax as you sway to one side breathing in, and the other side breathing out. Great job lemon tree!

Now on the count of three we’ll all say “I like me.” 1-2-3. I like me.

I like you too. You are bright in so many ways. You have a bright mind, a bright smile, and you bring a bright spirit with you wherever you go.

There’s an old saying about lemons. Maybe you’ve heard it. When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. But what does that mean? It’s a way of saying that sometimes bad things will happen, but we can choose to respond to it in a positive way. What does that have to do with lemons? Well, have you ever tasted a lemon all by itself? How do lemons taste? Yes lemons are sour. For some people, sourness suggests that something is difficult, but sweetness suggests something positive. And what’s a wonderful sweet drink? Lemonade. So making lemonade means taking something sour and turning it into something sweet. With that in mind, today we’re going to make some mindful lemonade. This exercise uses your face, your hands, and your body to help you let go of frustration and open yourself up to a positive mindset. It’s great for when you’re feeling grumpy or frustrated, but you’re ready to move on.

This mindfulness exercise has four steps. We’ll practice each step, then we’ll put them together to make lemonade. Step 1: Squeeze the lemons. Step 2: add water. Step 3: add some sugar. And step 4: stir it up. Let’s start at the beginning with step one: squeeze the lemons. First I want you to scrunch up your face. Pucker your lips, squint your eyes, furrow your brow. Now make fists with your hands. And now tighten up your whole body. Flex all your muscles. Keep your face scrunched and just squeeze your whole body as tight as you can. Now relax. That’s what we’ll call squeezing the lemons. Practice it one more time. Squeeze the lemons. And now relax.

Step 2 is add water. For this step imagine you are the water. Let your body get loose and relaxed. Slowly move your arms and sway your head like flowing water. Keep your body loose. It’s almost the opposite of squeezing lemons. Make smooth, fluid, graceful movements like you are flowing water. That’s step 2, adding water.

Alright, let’s move on to step 3. Add some sugar. You get to choose how to add sugar. It can be any sort of movement or motion that makes you feel happy. It might be a smile, or a laugh. Maybe your sugar is doing a silly dance. Maybe it’s giving yourself a hug. Or maybe your sugar is doing a somersault or a cartwheel. It can be whatever makes you feel happy – the first thing that comes to mind. For me, I’ll add sugar by doing a silly dance. It’s too bad you can’t see me dancing since this is a podcast. You can pick your own sugar, and then let’s practice adding sugar. Go ahead!

Once you’ve added sugar, we’re ready for the final step. Step four is to stir it all up. If you have the space, you can stand up and spin in a circle. If you’re sitting down, you could just shake your head side to side. Let’s give the last step a try. Step 4: Stir it up!

Great job, now we know all the steps for making mindful lemonade. Let’s put them all together. Are you ready?

Step 1: Squeeze the lemons! Tighten your fists, scrunch up your face and squeeze those lemons.

Step 2: Add water! Relax your body. Loosen up and let your movements flow slowly.

Step 3: Add some sugar! What makes you happy. Smile, dance, or do a somersault.

Step 4: Stir it up! Spin around like you’re stirring a pitcher of lemonade.

And that’s how you make mindful lemonade. You can give that a try next time you’re ready to move on from an anxious, sour feeling. Squeezing the lemons helps us redirect that tension, adding water helps us let it go, and the sugar and stirring help us move on to positive thoughts. Let’s put it all together one last time. Here we go.

Squeeze the lemons!

Flow like water!

Add some sugar!

And stir it up!

Now why don’t we end the exercise with a nice sip of refreshing lemonade. Raise a glass to your lips, take a little sip [sip] and then say “ahhhhh.”

And that brings us to today’s affirmations. Affirmations are words you can say to yourself to help you remember how wonderful you are. I’ll say each affirmation twice. Listen the first time, then say it with me the second time.

My positive thoughts create positive feelings.

My challenges help me grow

I am proud of who I am, and who I will be

If I fall, I will get back up

Today I am going to shine

I embrace the greatness within me

There’s no one better to be than myself.

Now let’s smile and take a few slow,  deep breaths as we wind down our time together.

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 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, and our episode art is created by Lindsey Glenn. Our podcast is listener supported, and you can be a part of supporting us by joining our Patreon group at Patreon.com/likeyoupodcast. Other ways to support the show are by telling your friends, writing a review on Apple Podcasts, or checking out our online shop at likeyoupodcast.com. Our website also features show notes for every episode. We love hearing from listeners. You can send us voice memos, drawings and pictures by having a grownup send an email to hello@likeyoupodcast.com. Be sure to follow us on instagram, Facebook, and twitter @likeyoupod. Thanks for listening!