In today's session, we'll practice

calming down and settling our nerves.

Let's get started.

Since so much of our anxiety comes from

a scattered mind that's caught up in the

future or the past, ideas and judgments,

it's helpful to calm the mind by giving

it something specific to focus on.

So at the beginning of each

meditation in this series, I'm

going to ring a bell for you.

When you hear that bell, bring

your full presence and focus to the

sound all the way until that moment

when it dissolves into silence.

Here we go.

Let's do that one more time.

To help us settle in more deeply,

let's take a deep breath together.

Breathing in fully through the nose.

Breathing in.

And then out slowly through the mouth.

Inviting the jaw to relax.

The teeth don't need to be clenched.

Inviting the neck and shoulders to soften.

As well as the hands and the belly.

Just letting the breath come

back to its natural rhythm.

Not needing to breathe deeply

or in a way that you perceive

to be right for meditation.

Just lettingthe breath

be normal and at ease.

And with every exhale, feeling your

body relax a little more deeply.

And letting the thoughts in your mind

settle, like snow in a snow globe.

In this moment, there's no place else

you need to be, nothing else he needed

to do, and no problems you need to fix.

And see if you can just let any excess

energy that might be in your body sort

of wash over you and through you, like

waves crashing and then retreating.

So that you become a place of stillness.

And any anxiety or worries or chaos in the

mind kind of just has this space to move

through you, but not have to impact you.

Letting your peace and groundedness

reside someplace deeper.

As you just feel your body breathing.

And experience the ease of not having

to do anything or get anywhere.

To close this meditation, I'm going

to ring the bells two more times.

And when I do, just let the sound

soothe your mind, focus your attention,

and bring your full presence to the

bell as if it were the most important

thing in the world right now.

And once more.

So if your eyes have been closed,

you're welcome to open them now.

And you did a great job today.

But you can come back to this

meditation at any point throughout

the day when you find yourself

needing a little bit more calm.

Take care.