Evening Tide

The sun has just begun to set on this quiet stretch of beach. The water on the horizon shimmers with a vibrant white glow illuminating the sandy cliffs that line the shore. At the base of these cliffs, a rocky reef is gradually exposed by the rising tide, creating a small outcropping of natural tide pools. Slowly as darkness begins to fall on the shoreline, the newly-formed tide pools come to life. Seagulls and sandpipers hop from rock to rock navigating through small ecosystems of crabs, mollusks, and starfish. Backlit by the setting sun, the wildlife perform their daily ritual in silhouette, soaking in the last glimmers of daylight. Now, as we settle in for the evening, let's deepen your state of relaxation with a short wind down exercise. Tonight's exercise is a really simple breathing exercise. So when you're ready, let's begin. So first, get yourself comfortable. Now just bringing the attention to the breath, just noticing where you feel it, in the nose, the throat, the chest, the diaphragm. You're nice and relaxed. We're going to be taking a deep breath in for four, holding it for four, and then breathing out for six. So are you ready? Let's begin In for four. Two, three, four. Hold it for four. Two, three, four. Now breathing out for six. Two, three, four, five, six. In for four. Two, three, four. Hold it for four. Two, three, four. Out for six. Two, three, four, five, six. In for four. Two, three, four. Holding for four. Two, three, four. Out for six. Two, three, four, five, six. In for four. Two, three, four. Holding for four. Two, three, four. Out for six. Two, three, four, five, six. Great. Now returning the breath to normal. Hidden beneath the rocks, firmly clinging to them, or buried in the sand, all manner of animal and plant life. Some tide pools appear completely bare, while others house several creatures in a single nook. The pools can hide so much, but reveal their secrets to an intrepid explorer. Just such a man is crouched at a shallow pool, his eyes squint at the reflected light as he looks intently below the surface. Through the shimmer, he spots a small octopus, barely visible among the settling sands. Its mottled skin perfectly matches the flecked sand that surrounds it. Its odd eyes stand out as they clearly watch the man crouched above them. He slowly reaches his hand beneath the octopus and lifts it from the center of its body out of the water. The octopus's tentacles curl and reach before wrapping gingerly around his wrist. Rising up, he raises the octopus to eye-level and rotates it so that the sunlight sparkles on its skin. After a moment of awe, he crouches down and returns the octopus to its pool. It wastes no time swimming to the far side of the pool to hide once again. Walking on the wet sand leaves behind an indent with each step....