Welcome to First This, a short mindfulness practice and message for any time.

I'm Catherine Nikolai, and I'm glad you're here.

Let's start today by settling into a seated posture if that's available to you.

If it isn't, any posture that feels comfortable is just fine.

You want to arrange your body so that you can breathe comfortably and notice what you feel

without getting distracted by discomfort if possible.

Once you're there, and you can pause and restart if you need more time, we'll take a few breaths that build upon one another.

Take a smallish belly breath in through your nose, out through your mouth.

Now fill a little bit more belly and side ribs and let it out.

Now a full deep breath but don't strain and release.

Good.

Those deep breaths can help us reset sort of turn the page on anything that was on your mind. Now I'll encourage you to let your breath just be natural.

It might be deep or shallow.

More in your chest or more in your lower lungs. And your job for the next couple of minutes is just to observe it. Notice whatever you can notice.

And when you realize you're not doing that anymore,

start over without even stopping to wonder why.

It doesn't matter why. Still there.

Breathing in. Still there.

Breathing in.

Breathing out. Now, still resting your attention on your breath.

As you notice sensations in your body, as thoughts arise,

memories or items from your to-do list come to mind,

...