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Announcer: This is
a Getty podcast.

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Lilit Sadoyan: Today we’re
exploring the magnificence of

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mountains in Jean-Joseph-Xavier
Bidauld’s View of the Bridge

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and Part of the Town of
Cava, Kingdom of Naples.

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[Theme music begins]

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Welcome to Our Museum
Mindfulness Meditation

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podcast, or OMMM.

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Part art history and part
meditation, we use works of

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art from the Getty collection
as inspiration for mindfulness

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and deep reflection.

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Hello—I’m Lilit Sadoyan.

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I’m a long-time meditation
practitioner and museum

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educator at Getty.

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Thanks for joining me
as we bring mindfulness

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out of the gallery and
into our daily lives.

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[Music ends]

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Today we’re discovering how
to feel still and majestic

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in our exploration of
Jean-Joseph-Xavier Bidauld’s

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painting, View of the Bridge
and Part of the Town of

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Cava, Kingdom of Naples,
made around 1785-1790.

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This episode begins with a
breathing exercise to help

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relax your body and mind.

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We’ll then give a bit of history
and context for the painting.

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And we’ll close with
a mountain meditation.

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This series is also available
as an audio podcast.

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If you’d like to step away
from a screen for a few

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minutes, listen on your
favorite podcast app.

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Now, if you’re
ready, let’s jump in.

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[gong chimes]

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[Calm, meditation music begins]

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Go ahead and find a comfortable
meditation posture, whatever

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that means for you today–maybe
you’re sitting, lying down,

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something that allows you
to feel relaxed yet alert.

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Let’s start by taking a
few deep breaths together.

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In through the nose.
[inhales] 

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Out through the mouth.
[exhales]

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Take a deep breath in.
[inhales]

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And a deep breath out.
[exhales]

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One more.

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Inhale.

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Exhale.

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And just let your breathing 
resume its natural rhythm as we

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explore today’s work of art.

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[bells chime]

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Silvery morning light bathes
a lush mountainside in Naples.

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The rocky, jagged, and steep
features of the highest peak

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in the distance contrasts the
softer, verdant slopes of the

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foothill in the middleground.

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In the foreground, an
arched-stone bridge—an

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aqueduct—crosses over a river.

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A handful of small homes
are scattered and nestled

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in the valley behind it,
while a few larger structures

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emerge to the right.

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Soft smoke rises above the
buildings, indicating that

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this town is inhabited.

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A pale blue sky fills the
upper third of the painting.

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Subtle rays of sunlight
shine down into the

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scene at upper right.

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French artist Jean-Joseph-Xavier
Bidauld painted the fertile

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terrain predominantly with
soft greens and blues,

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and hints of yellow for
the highlights on leaves.

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He breathes extraordinary
freshness into the landscape.

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The cool tonalities of the
mountains in the distance are

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actually created by covering
darker underpaint with a thin,

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light layer of semi-opaque
paint, known as scumble.

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It dulls the color effect to
a blue or cooler tone that

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creates the illusion of depth.

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So the mountains appear to
recede into the atmosphere

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of the background.

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[Music ends]

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Bidauld painted this landscape
between 1785 and 1790,

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while he was on a five-year
sojourn in what is now Italy.

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He visited the Roman
states, Tuscany, and the

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kingdom of Naples, where
he made this painting.

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There, he immersed
himself in nature and made

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direct studies—meaning
he painted what he saw.

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Bidauld’s reputation was built
upon these kinds of small-scale,

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highly detailed works painted
en plein air, or outdoors.

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The small size—approximately
8x10 inches—would have given him

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the flexibility to work outside.

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Although he most likely
started this painting

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outdoors, he probably
finished it in his studio.

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This work complicates what
it means to make a “finished

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work of art.” On the one hand,
it’s an etude, or a study, but

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instead of appearing sketchy,
it’s painted with a high

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degree of finish associated
with tableaux, or paintings.

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A colleague said of Bidauld’s
distinctive manner of working,

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“Each day he painted or drew
on the spot, always in a

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different place, learning to
make studies by making finished

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paintings, and to make finished
paintings by making studies.”

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Bidauld painted the same
scene again and again.

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Sometimes he would shift his
position to paint a different

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angle, or explore nuances in
hue at different times of day.

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These mountain
landscapes drew him back.

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He seems to have used painting
to try and understand something

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ineffable about the landscape.

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Mountains combine awe-inspiring
beauty with the overcoming of

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physical and mental challenges.

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Standing before, or on top, of
a mountain, we are reminded of

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something larger than ourselves.

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Their sheer size evokes
feelings of wonder.

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Their massiveness also
shifts our perspective.

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To climb a mountain is to exceed
one’s own perceived limits.

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Practicing a mountain
meditation invites us to

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find our inner strength and
stillness, and it helps us

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feel more calm and connected.

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This meditation is inspired
by Jon Kabat-Zinn’s classic

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mountain meditation.

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Let’s find out what
it’s like to be like the

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mountain in this painting.

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[Meditative music resumes]

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A mountain meditation is
normally done in a seated

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position, but you can do this
meditation standing, too.

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Whatever feels
right for you today.

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And if you feel comfortable,
allow your eyes to close

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And if you’d rather keep your
eyes open, that’s okay too.

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Just lower your gaze
and lower your eyelids,

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minimizing visual distraction.

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Using this time to go inward.

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Adopt a posture that feels
both relaxed and alert.

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And let’s begin by taking a
few deep breaths together, to

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ground in the here and now.

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In through the nose.
[inhales]


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Out through the mouth.
[exhales]

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Deep inhale.

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Deep exhale.

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One more deep breath in.

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And a deep breath out.
[exhales]

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Now let your breathing resume
its natural rhythm.

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No need to extend
the inhale or exhale.

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Just let your body do what
it does very naturally.

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[Silence]

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Maybe even extending a
silent thank you to your

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body for keeping you going.

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[Silence]

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And bring your awareness
to how the breath

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moves through the body.

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How it enters the body
through your nostrils.

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What’s the temperature like
right around your nostrils?

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Is it warm or cool on the
in-breath and out-breath?

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What’s the texture like today?

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[Silence]

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And see if you can follow
that breath through your

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nasal passage all the
way down into your chest.

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Notice the rise and
fall of your chest.

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And if your mind wanders
here, know that that’s

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completely natural.

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The objective is never to clear
or empty the mind in meditation.

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Rather, it’s to become aware
of those thoughts as they

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arise in the present moment.

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Noticing those thoughts,
letting them drift away.

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And kindly bringing your
awareness back to your breath.

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Use your breath as your
anchor to the present moment.

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[Meditative music resumes]

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Let’s explore what it feels
like to be still in our bodies.

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We can learn a lot
from mountains.

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They stand tall and strong.

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They remain calm and peaceful.

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Mountains are majestic.

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See if you can
embody the mountain.

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Notice your posture.

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See if your body and the
image of a mountain in your

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mind’s eye can become one.

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Imagine your peak
and your steep faces.

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Like a mountain,

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embody this sense of dignity.

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A sense of being complete.

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A sense of wholeness.

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Breathe.

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[Silence]

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In a seated or
standing position,

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feel into the surface
upon which you’re resting.

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Lift the crown of your head like
the peak of a mountain skyward.

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Your arms are like the
sloping mountainsides.

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Your palms like valleys.

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Your seat, solid beneath you.

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Unmoving.

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Feel into the stillness and
presence of the mountain.

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[Silence]

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And even from the outside, notice
how a mountain teems with life:

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waterfalls, wildlife,
changing weather.

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And yet it remains
Still.

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You are unwavering in
your inner stillness.

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Sit peacefully
like the mountain.

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Be the mountain.

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Take a deep, full
breath of fresh air.

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Notice how you feel right now.

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And if your eyes are closed, I
invite you to gently open them.

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Come back to your environment.

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And as we return to the
world, let’s carry this

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sense of strength, stability,
and stillness with us.

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And I would like for us
to see if we can, like a

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mountain, meet each moment
with steadiness, even in the

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midst of movement and change.

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We can pause, even briefly,
and feel our ground beneath us.

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Take these opportunities
as reminders to be in the

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present moment, and notice
how they make you feel.

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Let’s return to our breath and
close our practice by taking

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a full deep breath together.

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Inhale.

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Sigh it out.

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Thank you so much
for joining me.

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[Music slowly fades out]