So just taking a moment now to

gather your focus to the feeling

of your feet on the ground.

No matter what else has being

going on, right now, just inviting

you to simply notice the feeling

of contact, the sensations, where

your feet are touching the ground.

And then before we do anything else,

just taking a big, slow, deep breath in.

And then let it go.

And just doing a couple

more breaths like this.

Breathing in.

And as you breathe in,

feeling the chest expanding.

And as you breathe out, feel

the softening of all those

muscles as the lungs contract.

And as you take one more breath in now.

And let it go.

If you haven't already, allowing the

eyes to just gently close on the exhale.

And just take a moment to let yourself

settle and soften into your seat here.

And letting yourself be as

comfortable as possible.

Just relaxing into this moment.

And we're going to use a breathing

technique called the square

breath to help soothe, calm,

and balance the mind and body.

I'll guide you through.

So just following along

with my instructions.

And starting off now

with a natural inhale.

And a natural exhale.

And on the next breath in, just breathing

in for the count of one, two, three, four.

And now holding the

breath, two, three, four.

Exhale, two, three, four.

And hold the breath out, two, three, four.

Again, inhale, two, three, four.

Hold, two, three, four.

Exhale, two, three, four.

And hold two, three, four.

So just continuing with this square breath

on your own now for a few more rounds.

And if the count of four feels

too short or too long, feel

free to find your own count.

It might be just to the count

of three or maybe up to six.

Just finding your own way, your

own rhythm with this practice.

Aware of each count of the breath,

nothing but the breath, and just

letting everything else go for now.

And after the next exhale, just

letting your breath fall back

into its own natural rhythm.

So no need to control the breath anymore.

But continuing to follow each breath

with your attention, just feeling

the flow of air as it enters the

body, and flows all the way back out.

Just continuing to stay in

touch with the movement and

sensation of the natural breath.

Just one breath and one moment at a time.

Each time thoughts or emotions arise,

just acknowledge them and let them be.

Allowing any thoughts to arise and pass,

like clouds passing through the sky.

So letting these thoughts and emotions

come and go without pushing anything away

and also without getting lost in them.

But just letting things be as they

are, as you continue to rest in the

soothing rhythm of the natural breathing.

There's nothing you need

to fix or solve right now.

There's nothing you need to do or become.

Just take refuge here in this present

moment and let the breath anchor you

and ground you in the here and now.

If the mind wanders off, just

notice what distracted you.

And no matter how important the

thoughts seems to be, just inviting

the mind back to rest in the

movement and sensation of breathing.

And doing this again and again,

as many times as you need to,

and coming back with patience.

Just giving yourself permission now to

take these last few minutes of meditation

where you can just let everything

else go and let your attention rest

in the breath in the same way that

a raft might rest in a moving sea.

And as we approach the end of this

time of meditation, just taking

a moment now to notice how you're

feeling after taking this time out

to settle and find your center.

And then when you're ready, just

bringing the focus of your attention

back to your whole physical body,

sitting here or lying here, breathing.

And slowly just beginning to

wriggle the fingers and the toes.

And when you're ready, opening the eyes.

As you get ready now to go about your

day, just remembering that you can carry

this more steady and grounded awareness

with you into the rest of your day.