Breathe and Be

Send us Fan MailWe guide a short breathing meditation that helps us settle into the body and trust the natural rhythm of the breath. We rest beneath an imagined spring tree and explore what it feels like to be supported without having to earn it.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe guide a quiet breath-led meditation that helps us settle our bodies and trust the natural rhythm of breathing. We step into an early spring scene and use sound, scent, and imagery to practice letting go and allowing small growth to be real.  Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailA low-effort meditation for those middle of the night wake ups. Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailYour mind doesn’t need more pressure to “focus.” It needs permission to be selective. We’re guiding a calming, story-driven meditation that invites you to borrow the perspective of a crow, a creature known for intelligence, pattern recognition, and careful attention. From a steady perch high in a tree, we practice seeing the world in layers: the wide view, the small details, and the quiet truth of what actually matters. Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailI apologize for not releasing an episode last week; recovering from an illness kept me away from my microphone for a few days. This short guided meditation offers a calm place to land and a simple way to reconnect with yourself. We start by settling into a supportive position, softening the gaze, and taking a few slow breaths that help your body shift out of urgency and into a steadier rhythm. Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWaiting can feel like a trap: time slipping away, your mind itching to move. We slow that reflex down. I guide you into a quiet pause that most of us rush through, and we practice letting it support us instead of treating it like a failure of productivity. Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailA tight chest, a crowded mind, and a day that won’t slow down can make even rest feel like work. We guide you into something simpler: a calm, sensory journey that helps your body exhale first, so your thoughts can follow. With slow breathing, relaxed shoulders, and gentle neck movement, we create a landing place for your nervous system to settle and your attention to return to the present moment. Then we walk a narrow path after rain and step into an old, overgrown greenhouse. The air is warm and humid, the soil smells rich, and the glass is fogged with tiny droplets that slide and sparkle. Using vivid guided imagery and mindfulness through the senses, we invite you to pause on a sturdy bench and let the space hold you. This is meditation for stress relief that doesn’t demand effort, insight, or a perfectly quiet mind. It just asks you to notice. Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailYour mind can be loud and still be healthy. When thoughts race, most of us try to clamp down and force quiet, but that struggle often makes the noise feel even bigger. We take a different route: we let the mind settle by giving it something simple, steady, and kind to focus on.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailRainy evenings do something powerful if we let them: they make slowing down feel natural. I’m Mary Ann, and this Breathe and Be meditation is built for the moment when your day is winding down but your mind is still trying to keep going. With the imagined sound of gentle rainfall and the gradual dimming of daylight, we create a quiet space where your nervous system can finally exhale.If thoughts pop up, you’re not doing it wrong. We work with them by picturing each one like a raindrop on a window: it appears, slides along, and passes on its own timeline. Before you step back into your night, I’ll leave you with a gentle reflection on what you can set down until tomorrow. If this rainy evening meditation helps, subscribe, share it with someone who needs a pause. What are you ready to let go of tonight?Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailA jolt of fear can land without warning: a violent image, a risky impulse, a thought that feels nothing like you. We take that moment and turn it into a practice, showing how intrusive thoughts are false alarms from a protective brain that loves to over-deliver. Rather than fighting the noise, we build a calm sequence: pause, name, breathe, and redirect, that helps you step out of the spiral and back into the present with clarity and care.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWhen the world can’t decide between frost and thaw, our bodies often feel the same push and pull. We step into that tender in-between and offer a space to breathe without forcing, to notice without fixing, and to trust the quiet work happening under the surface.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe guide a gentle breath and grounding practice to help the nervous system settle and bring awareness back into the body. We end by returning to the room with simple cues and a reflective question on offering yourself kindness.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWhat if winter wasn’t a test to power through but a teacher nudging you to move at a kinder pace? We invite you into a guided “hibernation” practice—something between sleep and escape—designed to help you conserve energy, regulate your nervous system, and feel held when the days turn dim. Instead of chasing productivity, we look to nature’s timing: animals pull inward, store what they have, and trust the dark to do its quiet work. That same wisdom can reshape how we breathe, think, and care for ourselves in the cold months.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we take a slow walk through an abandoned winter village to let the breath and body soften, explore the peace of stillness, and practice honoring what we don’t need to carry. The journey through a silent clockmaker’s shop invites reflection on time, memory, and letting things rest without forcing answers.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailCold air clears the mind, but only if we let it meet us where we are. We return from a nourishing pause to guide you through a quiet winter practice that trades urgency for presence. Together we build a slower rhythm—steady breath, soft shoulders, and a moonlit path that helps the body remember what calm feels like.We begin by easing into the season with simple, intentional breathing that signals safety to the nervous system. Then we move through a gentle body scan, starting from the forehead, jaw, shoulders, chest, belly, hips, and legs, inviting release without force. The meditation shifts into a vivid winter scene: crisp night air, the reassuring crunch of snow beneath your boots, and a lake glowing under a full moon. You watch skaters carve slow, graceful lines, hearing the soft glide of blades and the alive ping of ice, a reminder that stillness can hold movement without losing its peace.This practice explores the space between solitude and connection. You don’t have to step onto the ice to belong; observing with an open heart is its own kind of participation. We close by returning to the room with gentle movement, asking one tender question: What did this winter stillness offer me today? and setting down what you don’t need to carry right now. We’re shifting to a weekly cadence so you can rely on a small, steady pause that fits into your life and follows the season’s pace.If this practice brought you even a moment of ease, share it with someone who needs a softer day. Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailThe season gets loud, expectations pile up, and our bodies quietly hold the weight. We wanted to create a small, steady refuge: a guided body scan that helps you slow down, soften the edges, and reconnect with your breath. Across twenty soothing minutes, we move from the crown of the head to the feet, inviting the jaw to unclench, the eyes to relax, the neck to warm, and the shoulders to drop. You’ll explore the chest and heart space with a gentle inner glow, ease the belly to support deeper breathing, and trace the spine, hips, and legs to release guarded areas that often go unnoticed.I will be taking a short year-end break to rest and reset, modeling the same care I encourage you to give yourself. If you’ve been craving a pocket of calm, this practice is your invitation to return to your body and choose ease over urgency. Listen when you need a soft landing, share it with someone who could use a breath. Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe guide a quiet meditation set in a November field, using a scarecrow’s stillness, a crow’s companionship, and a distant bonfire to help the body soften and the mind settle. Breath slows, senses open, and we return with kindness and small movement.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe guide you through a story-meditation from a gray autumn road to a warm village square, where breath, color, and quiet company loosen hidden heaviness. The fox leads gently, the bonfire steadies, and you leave with a portable calm you can return to anytime.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailThis is a gentle meditation that leads from breath awareness to a personal doorway into deep rest, where guilt fades and permission to pause returns. The journey ends with a soft re-entry and a question that helps you carry calm back into your day.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailIn this episode, we read Mary Cornelia Hartshorn’s 1927 parable of seasons and survival and pair it with a brief breath practice. The poem reframes loss as groundwork for renewal and invites two simple questions to guide the week.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe guide a slow, breath-led meditation set against a November rain, using the season’s pace to practice letting go with care. We move from sensory grounding to gentle release, then return with a single clear reflection to carry into the day.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe pair the pulse of Shakespeare’s witches with a reading of Thomas Moore’s ballad, moving from playful spellcraft to a tender meditation on love, loss, and the images that carry us through darkness. We close by asking you to notice the memory that still glows in your fog.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe guide a gentle meditation into an overgrown field and a silent carousel to help you set burdens down and meet stillness without forcing it. Breath, touch, and image anchor attention so calm can rise on its own and travel back with you into daily life.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe read George Parsons Lothrop’s “Incantation” and wander through autumn’s soft, eerie light to awaken the hidden rooms of imagination. We reflect on descent and return, the poise of neap tides, and how quiet rituals can turn fog into a teacher.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe guide a gentle practice to name invisible weights, set them down with care, and let the body open to fuller breath and space. We close with a reflection to choose one thing to pause and a slow return to the room with lightness and ease.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe read Longfellow’s “Autumn” and trace how beauty, duty, and mortality weave into a calm acceptance of change. The poem’s images of golden harvest and quiet skies become a guide for slowing down and listening to what the season wants to teach.Next Saturday, we'll step into something a little different with Incantation by George Parsons Lothrop, a poem with a darker, more mysterious tone as we gently ease into spooky seasonSupport the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe guide a calm practice to step away from screens, ease the nervous system, and reclaim presence through breath, posture, and a simple mantra. We explore how dopamine loops shape focus, then use visualization and gentle movement to reset attention and energy.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe read Robert Frost’s “October,” breathe together, and explore how slowness can soften time as the season turns. We reflect on impermanence and the wish to let beauty linger without trying to hold it still.Next Saturday, we will explore the poem Autumn by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe guide a gentle nighttime practice to ease anxiety with small movements, longer exhales, and calming imagery that signals safety to the nervous system. Through a river metaphor, belly breathing, and starry-night visualization, we help you let go and drift toward rest.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailSupport the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe step into an autumn landscape to discover how trees teach us to release with grace, finding calm and renewal in the seasonal changes around us.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe take a journey through a soothing rainy day meditation where you're invited to imagine yourself wrapped in a warm blanket, holding a steaming mug, watching raindrops trace their path down a window. This visualization creates a safe space to release worries and find calm in the steady rhythm of rainfall.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe guide you through a calming breath meditation designed to help you find stillness even in the midst of a busy world. This practice combines breath awareness with a peaceful lake visualization to help you reconnect with your inner calm.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailIn this meditation, we explore the process of getting a tattoo as a mindful journey of presence, transformation, and meaning. The inspiration for this practice comes from many conversations I’ve had with clients who shared how deeply significant their tattoos are, not just as images on skin, but as stories of resilience, remembrance, and healing. For many, the tattooing process itself became part of their healing journey. This meditation invites you to breathe, reflect, and connect with the marks we carry, both visible and invisible, and the ways they shape our stories.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailThe autumn forest invites us to walk a woodland path of golden light, crunching leaves, and quiet reflection. We journey through a sensory meditation experience that grounds us in nature's seasonal wisdom.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailThis short Labor Day meditation provides a gentle reminder to step away from constant doing and honor the sacred nature of rest alongside our work.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailThis guided meditation helps you unwind at the end of your day through a gentle body scan that prepares your entire body for sleep. We move methodically from toes to crown, inviting each body part to soften and release the tensions of the day.To access a companion worksheet for today's episode, Creating Your Healthy Nighttime Routine, visit therapywithmaryannlmsw.com, click on the printables tab at the top, and then make your way to the Breathe and Be logo on the page.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe explore the quiet beauty of the night sky while reflecting on how winter's shorter days offer us the unexpected gift of more time to gaze at the stars. Through guided relaxation and celestial visualization, we connect with the cosmos and find serenity in seasonal darkness.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe journey through a cozy breadmaking meditation designed to help release burdens and create space for new growth. This sensory-rich guided visualization takes you step-by-step through mixing, kneading, and baking, using each movement as an opportunity to let go of what no longer serves you.If you would like to make a request of your own, I'd love to hear from you. Just send me an email at [email protected]. Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailA gentle meditation practice set by the sea helps listeners work with ruminating thoughts by visualizing them drifting away with the tide.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe take a gentle journey through a sunlit field at dusk, using mindful awareness to release what we no longer need and make space for the season ahead. The meditation guides us through a multisensory experience of nature's transition from day to evening.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailA gentle guided meditation invites you to welcome the close of summer through stillness, reflection, and an imagined swim across a quiet lake. This practice offers a moment to consider what you're carrying forward and what you're ready to release as seasons change.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailExplore the quiet power of self-esteem and discover how confidence grows through action, not just belief. This guided meditation offers a gentle path to recognizing your inherent worth and practical ways to strengthen your self-esteem like a muscle.Visit therapywithmaryannlmsw.com and click on the Printables tab, then the Breathe and Be logo to access a free companion resource featuring journal prompts, a building confidence tip sheet, and a printable tracker to track your growth over time.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailThis episode is a quiet space for a mid-year reflection to honor your journey and reconnect with what nourishes your spirit in 2025. This guided meditation uses forest path visualization to help you acknowledge growth, challenges, and resilience.To access the companion worksheet for today's reflection, visit therapywithmaryannlmsw.com, go to the printables tab at the top, and click on the Breathe and Be logo.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWe step into a quiet, reflective space where this meditation guides us through seeing all parts of ourselves with gentleness, including those we might not always like. Through breathwork and visualization, we explore a powerful journey of self-acceptance and wholeness.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailTry the Candle Flame breathing technique to help slow down, relax, and settle. Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailWhether you're struggling with anxiety, seeking a peaceful night's sleep, or simply craving a moment of stillness, this 9-minute journey offers a sanctuary for your busy mind. Take this time to breathe, be, and discover the quiet strength that has been within you all along.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailStep away from the noise and hustle of everyday life as we settle beside a crackling campfire under a summer night sky. This guided meditation creates a sanctuary for your mind through rich sensory details—the rhythmic songs of crickets, the magical glow of fireflies, and the comforting scent of pine and woodsmoke.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailFeeling scattered, overwhelmed, or disconnected? You're not alone. Those moments when your mind races and calm feels impossibly far away are universal human experiences—and exactly what today's episode addresses with gentle, practical solutions.Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected] 

Send us Fan MailThe cool mist clings to your skin as wooden planks creak beneath your feet. Welcome to a nighttime walk through a foggy seaside town, where time slows and the weight of your day gradually melts away with each mindful step.Whether you're struggling with stress, having trouble sleeping, or simply seeking a quiet moment in a busy day, this meditation offers a sanctuary. The journey concludes with a gentle return to awareness, bringing you back to your present surroundings while preserving the sense of calm you've cultivated. Support the showHave a meditation idea you'd love to hear? I’d be delighted to bring it to life! Feel free to share your thoughts by emailing me at [email protected]