Additional Resources

Set a timer for five minutes. Give yourself permission to have no other priorities for the next five minutes other than practicing meditation.

Sit down, on a chair or cushion, with your back straight but not rigid and your hands in your lap or on your knees.

Close your eyes.

Take three deep breaths through your nose. Notice where you feel the physical sensations of breathing most distinctly, typically either in the nose or in the rising and falling of the chest and stomach.

Allow your breath to return to its normal rhythm. As you sit, breathing naturally, simply focus your attention on the sensation of breathing. If it helps, pretend that each breath is your first ever and that you are discovering the sensations for the first time with curiosity.

Thoughts, emotions, and other sensations will appear during these five minutes (as they always do), and that’s OK. When you notice a thought present in the mind, simply return your attention to the breath.

For five minutes, until your timer goes off, continue to be aware of the breath and return to it each time you notice you’ve wandered.

Related posts:

Podcasts are a great way to pass the time while you’re on the road, doing yard work or cracking open a cold one. They can elevate a mundane task into something bearable simply by engaging your brain…

Looking back on my childhood, I could see the signs that my mother was depressed. She would come home from work, get into her nightgown, and sleep until nine or ten at night. Then she would get up…

So RevDrSparky kept her promise and did not spam your email box with too many newsletters, did she? Well, that’s how I’m spinning the fact that I’ve actually been dazed and confused for the past…