Do you love Studio Ghibli movies like we do? Check out these mindful games!

For this addition to our Movie May, we were inspired by a marathon of Studio Ghibli movies. With our timing coinciding with mental health awareness month and the themes explored in the works produced by Studio Ghibli, our games this week are also focusing on mindfulness.

🐈 🚌 My Neighbor Totoro

Totoro is defined by the natural elements throughout the movie. Let's play a mindfulness game with nature. 

Think of it like long-form I, Spy. Take the time to not just look but to observe the nature that surrounds you. Look for different forms of nature around you and say what you see. Is there a tree? What do the leaves look like? What kind of bark does it have? 

🐡 Ponyo

Ponyo in both her human and fish forms also has strong ties to the nature around her, specifically water elements. Let's play with water!

Fill a bowl with water and then using your hands to make waves, match the rhythm of your breathing with the rhythm of the waves. How do you feel when the rhythm increases? How about when it decreases?

🐱 The Cat Returns

Haru's journey is all about discovering her self-reliance and confidence. Let's play a game to check our own confidence. 

Play a game of catch. Every time that you catch the ball, say something that you're good at, you know a lot about, or things that your are proud of. If it's too difficult at first, try saying things about others and then shift towards yourself!

🧊 The Secret World of Arrietty

The Borrowers take small things without noticing. Let's try to improve the mood of people around us in small ways that they might not immediately notice. 

Using sticky notes, write little affirmations and complements and hide them in places for family members that aren't immediately visible but will be at some point. Maybe when they open a cabinet door or look at a clock. See if your family members can find them all by the end of the day!

We hope you have fun playing (and maybe watching our inspiration movies)!

For more fun, say hello on instagram @playfollies!