Super Snakes That Meditate

London picked the green anaconda, the heaviest snake in the world, and Eleah turned it into a calm-down for the embarrassed feeling, when you made a mistake, your face goes hot, and you want to disappear. This one skips the walk. London is the snake from the first line, lying in a warm brown river in the Amazon with his hands on his hot cheeks.In this episode: London's facts (an anaconda can hold its breath for ten minutes, and its eyes and nose sit on top of its head so it can hide underwater and still see), the anaconda sink (a long breath out, cool water up to your eyes, cheeks cooling off), and the mistake floating past as a leaf on the river. Then a chat about forgiving yourself, and both of them trying out an anaconda sound. About eight minutes. Good for after school, bedtime, or any day your face went red.Recorded in one take by a mom and her kid. More at leala.co

London picked the spitting cobra, a snake that sprays its venom as far as a car is long and aims right at the eyes, and Eleah turned it into a calm-down for the mixed-up feeling, when there are too many feelings at once and you cannot tell which is which. The idea came from the Scribble Spot book, where all the feelings get tangled together. London reads the cobra's facts and its secret himself, and the two of them talk it through at the end.In this episode: the still-as-a-statue start, a walk through tall gold grass in Africa where a bird sings one note over and over, and the cobra aim. Breathe in, find one feeling in the tangle, puff it out through your lips and say its name. Then the next one. One at a time is enough. About nine minutes, with a chat at the end about what comes after the snakes. Good for after school, before bed, or any day that feels like a scribble.Recorded in one take by a mom and her kid. More at leala.co

London picked the boa constrictor, a squeezer with no venom at all, and Eleah turned it into a calm-down for the wiggly feeling, when a body will not settle. London reads the facts himself (a boa can be as long as two grown-ups lying head to toe, and it can feel a heartbeat with its whole body) and heckles from the next pillow the whole way through.In this episode: the still-as-a-statue start, a walk into a warm rainforest in Brazil where a bird calls and a frog answers, and the boa squeeze. Squeeze your arms snug like a seatbelt, then your legs, then everything at once, hold, breathe, and let go slower than you squeezed. About nine minutes. Good for bedtime, after school, or any time a body has too much buzz in it.Recorded in one take by a mom and her kid. More at leala.co

London picked the black mamba, the fastest snake in the world, and Eleah turned it into a calm-down for the wobbly feeling a kid gets when they feel small and unsure of themselves. London opens with his fact: the mamba is not black at all, its body is gray and the black is inside its mouth. The family dogs wander in partway through and stay in the recording, growling and chewing on bones, which both of them decide makes it better.In this episode: the still-as-a-statue start, a walk across a gold grassland in Africa, the mamba stretch (reach your arms long, push your feet down, breathe in, breathe out and stay long, and say it inside: I belong here), and finding where the wobbly feeling lives in the body so it can stretch out warm and wide. About seven and a half minutes. Good for before school, before a big thing, or bedtime.Recorded in one take by a mom and her kid. More at leala.co

London picked the inland taipan, the most venomous snake on land, and Eleah turned it into a calm-down for anger, the kind that feels like a giant hot fire in the body. London reads the opening, adds the facts (one bite carries enough venom for a hundred people), and stays on the mic for the whole thing, interruptions included.In this episode: the still-as-a-statue start, a walk through a warm desert at sunset, the taipan's secret breath (in through the nose, out through the teeth with a long hiss), and finding where the hot fire lives in your body so it can turn into cool blue light. About six minutes. Good for before school, after a meltdown, or bedtime.Recorded in one take by a mom and her kid. More at leala.co