The Far Edge of Each Breath

Sit easy. Take a slow breath out, longer than usual, as if releasing the day. Do not stop midway. Let it go all the way to its end, until there is nothing left to breathe out. At that far edge, before the body pulls the next breath in, stay. The edge holds a steadiness that does not need effort. It is the same steadiness that does not collapse when, in the next moment, you have to speak, or answer, or carry on.