5-minute meditation- Rosa Bonheur's 'The Horse Fair' - National Gallery

Let's take five minutes to enjoy a slow look at this painting, The Horse Fair. So starting by sitting in a relaxed but upright posture, dropping your shoulders a little to let go of tension there and feeling the contact of your body against the chair before taking a moment to acknowledge the thoughts in your mind. Is your mind racing or still? And then picturing a horse. Imagine that you're sitting up high, riding, a warm breeze against your cheek, plodding along a road, sensing the rise and fall as you sway back and forth, feeling the warmth of the horse, touching its coat and mane, sensing its smell. And then as we start to look, imagine riding into the horse fair, gently breaking into a trot and then into a canter, taking in all the commotion around you, hearing the thunder of hooves, men shouting, whips cracking, horses neighing, seeing the battles between horse and man, mighty horses galloping or bolting free, rearing up in fright, handlers commanding all their force, fighting for control or gripping tightly to the reins, smelling the dust and dirt kicked up and then enjoying the dance of legs and hooves and the sunlight on the horse's backs, the dappling of their coats, play of light and shade and the crowds gathered to watch on the grassy bank as the horses clatter away. Like the horses, sometimes our minds can feel frenetic, our bodies stressed, but by gently bringing our attention to the sensations in our bodies and to our thoughts and the sights and sounds around us, we can take back the reins and steady ourselves as the commotion of life goes on around us.