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

I'm Catherine Nikolai. Please find a position that suits you, sitting or lying down. If stillness is not

helpful right now,

you could even stand and sway

or take slow steps.

I promise there's no way to do this wrong.

Draw a deep breath through your nose.

And exhale from your mouth.

Again, breathe in.

And let it go.

Good.

Let's start just by dropping into your body, especially if you've been stuck in your head.

Literally feel your awareness dropping down through your spine and abdomen, extending out into your limbs. Spreading out like a drop of ink

in a glass of water.

Back in your body. I feel your lower belly as it moves in and out, the slow echo of your breath. Nothing else to do.

No matter, if you wander. Thank you. Thank you. I'm thinking today about neuroplasticity, the brain's ability to change.

The more you think a thought, the more your brain builds a path for it.

It's listening to what it hears most often.

From your thoughts, from your thoughts your memories the world around you and it tries to help by repeating what it thinks you need to hear.

And sometimes it gets it wrong.

Sometimes it highlights a thought, not because it's true, but because it's familiar.

And then it turns into a feedback loop.

...