Liesl van der Hoven

Children's author and meditation teacher

AFGHANISTAN

ALAND ISLANDS

ALBANIA

ALGERIA

AMERICAN SAMOA

ANDORRA

ANGOLA

ANGUILLA

ANTARCTICA

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

ARGENTINA

ARMENIA

ARUBA

AUSTRALIA

AUSTRIA

AZERBAIJAN

BAHAMAS

BAHRAIN

BANGLADESH

BARBADOS

BELARUS

BELGIUM

BELIZE

BENIN

BERMUDA

BHUTAN

BOLIVIA

BONAIRE, SINT EUSTATIUS AND SABA

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA

BOTSWANA

BOUVET ISLAND

BRAZIL

BRITISH INDIAN OCEAN TERRITORY

BRUNEI DARUSSALAM

BULGARIA

BURKINA FASO

BURUNDI

CAMBODIA

CAMEROON

CANADA

CAPE VERDE

CAYMAN ISLANDS

CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC

CHAD

CHILE

CHINA

CHRISTMAS ISLAND

COCOS (KEELING) ISLANDS

COLOMBIA

COMOROS

CONGO

CONGO, THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF THE

COOK ISLANDS

COSTA RICA

COTE D'IVOIRE

CROATIA

CUBA

CURACAO

CYPRUS

CZECHIA

DENMARK

DJIBOUTI

DOMINICA

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

ECUADOR

EGYPT

EL SALVADOR

EQUATORIAL GUINEA

ERITREA

ESTONIA

ETHIOPIA

FALKLAND ISLANDS (MALVINAS)

FAROE ISLANDS

FIJI

FINLAND

FRANCE

FRENCH GUIANA

FRENCH POLYNESIA

FRENCH SOUTHERN TERRITORIES

GABON

GAMBIA

GEORGIA

GERMANY

GHANA

GIBRALTAR

GREECE

GREENLAND

GRENADA

GUADELOUPE

GUAM

GUATEMALA

GUERNSEY

GUINEA

GUINEA-BISSAU

GUYANA

HAITI

HEARD ISLAND AND MCDONALD ISLANDS

HOLY SEE (VATICAN CITY STATE)

HONDURAS

HONG KONG

A seated breath meditation that includes gentle hand and arm movements to help the young listener become present. This meditation aims to help children visualize themselves surrounded by a light feeling of their own choice, for example, love, happiness, or playfulness. This meditation can be done at any time of the day, but it can be a particularly lovely way to start the day. Background music: Waves of Hope by Music Of Wisdom

Bubble Fingers Breath Exercise

We can help heavy feelings feel lighter when we connect with love, joy, and gratitude to lighten the heart. All emotions are valid and it is OK to feel them, but sometimes we need some help when heavy feelings hang around for too long. This meditation can be enjoyed by itself or accompanied by the "Feelings like Feathers story". Background music: The Inner Calling composed by Music Of Wisdom

Feelings Like Feathers Meditation

Our inner voice can help us to know who we really are. It can help us find answers when we find it hard to make a decision. In this meditation, the listener is guided through a series of listening exercises to help them get in touch with their own feelings and what their inner voice is telling them. We can return to this meditation as often as we need to, to help us get more in touch with our inner voice. Background music: Meditation Impromptu 02 by Kevin MacLeod


Listening to Your Inner Voice

This meditation help children visualize comforting fireflies to watch over them while they sleep. The intention is both to dispel a fear of the dark as well as provide an affirmation that only good dreams will come to them. The purpose of this meditation is to help children become calm at bedtime so that they can drift off to sleep and have a peaceful night. 

Firefly Meditation for Peaceful Sleep

A sweet and gentle story about making friends, perfect for children's bedtime. In the story, a shy and lonely bunny learns that friends can be found anywhere if you are willing to look. All it takes to make a new friend is a willingness to play and have fun.

Bunny Bedtime Story

A relaxing bedtime meditation to help children fall asleep easily and peacefully. During this slow-paced visualization, the listener is visited by 5 friendly stars, each with a gift to share. Focusing on these gifts, for example, love, happiness, and sweet dreams, help little ones drift off to restful sleep. This meditation affirms to children that only sweet dreams await them while they sleep. Background music: Silver Blue Light by Kevin MacLeod

Bedtime Gifts from the Stars Meditation

A story to help children with anxiety. Kiki the klipspringer is anxious about going to a school picnic. She worries about everything that could possibly go wrong, instead of looking forward to an exciting day with her friends. Listen to the helpful ways of dealing with anxiety that Kiki discovers in this story. 

Play therapist Lenka de Villiers-van Zyl acted as an advisor on the helpful exercises that were included in the story. This story is also available in printed and digital format. Find more details here: https://hereyourheart.com/shop/books/ 

Free downloadable exercises to accompany this story are available to our newsletter subscribers: https://hereyourheart.com/subscribe-to-our-newsletter/

What if worries weren’t wild?

This story shows us how we can make heavy feelings feel a bit lighter. All emotions are valid and it is OK to feel them, but sometimes we need some help when heavy feelings, such as sadness, hang around for too long. In the story, children will find out how to connect with love, joy, and gratitude to lighten the heart. Background music: The Inner Calling composed by Music Of Wisdom

Feelings Like Feathers Story

This practice can help an overwhelmed child find a calm and safe space in his or her imagination. Anxious and/or introverted children have a tendency to feel overwhelmed or overstimulated by too much noise or activity. What often helps, is just spending some time in a quiet environment with few stimuli. Background music: Music for Manatees by Kevin MacLeod.

Safe Space Meditation

Although Meerkat and Hedgehog are very different from each other, they are best friends. In this story, they go on a little adventure together that demonstrates Hedgehog's daring spirit and Meerkat's kind and more patient nature. In spite of the trouble they almost get into, they remain loyal best friends. This can be a great story to start a conversation about diversity - both in physical appearance and character - with children.

The Day Hedgehog Almost Blew Away

We don’t always make the best decisions when we are angry. This bedtime story tells us about Cara, who is cross with her friends. They started fighting when they wanted to row a little boat down the river. She walks around hissing and spitting, but then Cara has an idea: She will take the boat down the river on her own! Sometimes we can get ourselves into trouble when we feel angry and act before we think, but luckily everything ends well at the end – thanks to Cara’s friends! 

Cara Gets Cross

This meditation for children is a mindful contemplation of Winter. During this quieter season, we have time to rest, think, and prepare for the busier seasons ahead. It is a good time to think about our wishes, and what we would like to nurture inside of ourselves. I have included a description of a yoga resting pose (child's pose) for children who would like to follow along with the actions described in the meditation. Background music: Enchanted Journey by Kevin MacLeod

Winter Meditation For Cold Days

Sometimes we can get ourselves into trouble when we become overwhelmed and act before we think. This story illustrates a way of calming down when feeling overwhelmed and is a helpful first introduction to meditation for children. Little Owl feels sad and mad and bad – all at once. He decides to fly away, but soon finds himself tired and lost. Then someone shows him how to feel better! This story is ideal for children between 4 and 9 years old.

Sitting Still Like a Dassie

This is a story about appreciating our friends for their unique inner qualities. The story helps create awareness of the qualities in others that we love and admire, and how we can let someone know that they are truly seen and valued. Khwezi's birthday party provides the perfect opportunity for her to write letters of appreciation to each of her friends, and they, in turn also end up telling her what they cherish about her.

A Very Special Birthday Party!

Fantine's story shows how self-esteem can be built when a child is allowed to help in his/her own special way. It's also a good story for little ones to identify with when a new little brother or sister arrives and they have to share some attention with the new baby. One by one, the busy fairies refuse Fantine’s offer to help them take care of the Fairy Babies. Fantine feels sad until she discovers a way of showing everyone that she is good at helping after all!

Fantine & The Fairy Babies

This is an empowering morning meditation for children. The listener is reminded of all of the things that they get to choose throughout the day, and how their choices can contribute to them having a good day. Helping a child to feel that they have the freedom to choose to have a good day, affirms their sense of agency in the world and empowers them to make choices that are good for them. Background music: I will be there for you by Music Of Wisdom

Let's Decide to Have a Great Day

Sending out loving wishes to ourselves and others is a wonderful way of sharing good energy with the world. If you send out good energy to others, you also feel better. This meditation offers an easy-to-follow way of starting a loving-kindness meditation practice that will fill your heart with love and light. Background music: Calmant by Kevin MacLeod

Loving-kindness Meditation for Children

This meditation is a lovely way for a child to learn to connect with his/her higher self. You may also wish to refer to a guardian angel, inner voice, or spirit guide. In this meditation, I refer to a special fairy. Meditation is ideal to do before any creative activity, as it can help a child to reconnect with his/her creativity and innate gifts. Background music: Deep Into Nature composed by Music Of Wisdom

Tree Fairy - Connecting with Higher Self

The grounding tree meditation is a wonderful way for children to connect with nature and the energy of trees. It is also a grounding exercise, helping the listener to become calm and connected with Mother Earth while remaining open to receive energy from the sun. This is an ideal meditation to enjoy outside if you can! Background music: "Windswept" by Kevin MacLeod

Grounding Tree Meditation

This practice is aimed at helping children calm down when they feel angry or upset. We start with a breathing exercise, and then we go on an imaginary walk in nature. During our walk, we go on a short, distracting adventure to gently lead attention away from what is troubling us. We return to the place from where we started, hopefully, a little calmer than when we began. Background music: Windswept by Kevin MacLeod

Meditation For Calming Down When Upset

Nightmares are scary and make children fear the dark and going to sleep. But what if we discovered the beauty of stars and fireflies that only come out to play after dark? What if we could have a little friend to watch over us while we sleep, to help keep nightmares away? Kiki doesn’t want to go to sleep. She is afraid of the dark, because that is when the nightmare comes to scare her. One night, at bedtime, she decides to run away and hide rather than go to sleep. But then she makes a new friend who shows her that there is nothing to be afraid of after dark!

Kiki And The Nightmare

Feeling grateful works a little bit like magic! If you can feel grateful for even the tiniest little thing, it will help you feel better. The better you feel, the more you will remember things to feel grateful for. And then you will feel even better than before! Background music: A Self-Love Song by Music Of Wisdom

Gratitude Meditation for Feeling Better

This meditation was inspired by the rock hyraxes (we call them "dassies") of South Africa that have the habit of soaking up the sunshine on the rocky cliffs where they live. It teaches children to first become calm by focusing on the breath, and then they are gently led through a short visualization, becoming mindful of feeling grounded, warm and safe. The purpose of this meditation is to show young children a way of becoming calm whether they are upset, over-excited, or tired.

Sitting Still in the Sunshine

A loving-kindness meditation to help children visualize the love connections between them and the people they love. The metaphor of a kite connected to a string is used. The purpose of this meditation is to show young children that the people they love are always connected to them through loving thoughts. Background music: Music for Manatees by Kevin MacLeod.

Kite Meditation for Love and Connection

A body scan meditation for children. This meditation is ideal for relaxing and reviving young bodies and minds and can be used on its own, or at the end of a children's yoga class. During the meditation, the listener is guided to gradually relax their entire body until they feel light and relaxed enough to float on a cloud. Background music: Winds of Love composed by Music Of Wisdom

Floating on a Cloud Body Scan Meditation