It’s week 4 of the 10-week Fall Joy List, and today’s prompt falls in the “so, so, ridiculously-easy” designation. It takes all of 30 seconds. Ready for it?

1. Sit or lay in a comfortable position and close your eyes.

2. Take a deep breath in and out, and think about the smell of a freshly-baked pumpkin pie. (If you don’t like pumpkin pie, feel free to sub in an apple pie or chocolate chip cookies or a loaf of sourdough bread coming out of a wood-fired oven….you get the idea.)

3. Take another breath in and out and imagine sinking your teeth into a crisp, juicy apple. (I can just hear the satisfying crack of the skin and feel the juice dribbling onto my chin.)

4. Take a final breath in and out and imagine the sound of walking on crunchy leaves. (Or jumping in a pile, I’m not judging!)

Slowly open your eyes when you’re ready. How do you feel? You might be reading this and thinking it sounds way too simple to make a real difference, but taking a pause for a visioning exercise like this promotes relaxation which lowers your heart rate and blood pressure, and improves other symptoms caused by stress, like headaches. All by thinking about pumpkin pie. Brings a new meaning to “easy as pie” doesn’t it? So, why not take 30 seconds to try it? Then reply to let me know how it goes. See you next week for Week 5 of the Fall Joy List!