Peaceful Yosemite

It is early spring, here in Yosemite National Park. The air feels particularly crisp at this time of year, with the frost of winter melting away and making room for a new season of growth. Thin panes of ice float lazily on the surface of Mirror Lake, slowly thawing away as fresh snow melt flows in from the Tenaya Creek. The woodland air is sweet and inviting. It's easy to feel at home in this space, especially now as the sun dips below the horizon and nightfall approaches. So as we settle in, let's begin our evening 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 4, 2, 3, 4. Hold it for 4, 2, 3, 4. Now breathing out for 6, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. In for 4, 2, 3, 4. Holding for 4, 2, 3, 4. Out for 6, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. In for 4, 2, 3, 4. Holding for 4, 2, 3, 4. Out for 6, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. In for 4, 2, 3, 4. Holding for 4, 2, 3, 4. Out for 6, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Great. Now returning the breath to normal. Below the sheer face of El Capitan, a traveler wanders through an open meadow gazing up at the rock. He sees what looks like tiny dots on the granite and realizes they're climbers slowly ascending the slope. From below, they look almost like ants. It is as though time has slowed. There is no rush here. Grasshoppers sing in the alpine grasses. Clear rivers from snow melt twist through the meadow and a peregrine falcon soars overhead. Marmots and pikas scramble along the rocks, breaking loose a few stones which tumble down. In the distance, back country hikers pass by on Tioga Road, traversing one of the many spots where Ansel Adams once set up his tripod to take photos of the wide, sweeping valley. In winter, a small waterfall, Horsetail Fall, appears over the eastern edge of El Capitan as snow melt from the highlands spills over into the valley. When the sun catches Horsetail Fall at certain hours the backlit water glows bright red like melting glass. Flowering dogwood trees shimmer along the banks of the Merced River as it wines through the valley. Granite rock faces strike up out of the landscape from El Capitan to Cathedral Peak. These cold, beautiful crags and the green valleys beneath them were all sculpted by glaciers long ago. As the seasons change, the park changes too. In winter, snow piles high on the peaks,...