Meditation doesn’t have to be as mysterious, time consuming, or impossible as it sometimes seems. Here’s a practical meditation for beginners that’ll help you calm down when you need it most. It only takes 16 seconds. You can do that.

“Sometimes the most important thing in a whole day is the rest we take between two deep breaths.” – Etty Hillesum

A Short Meditation for Beginners, and Everyone Else

This meditation is inspired by davidji, internationally renowned meditation teacher, author, and speaker. When you start to notice your stress response kicking in, practice the following exercise to help you calm down and sink into the present moment.

1. Think of something or someone that has been causing you stress or consuming your thoughts.
2. Close your eyes.
3. Take a long, slow deep breath in.
4. Visualize it coming in and through your mouth, down your throat, and filling your stomach. Watch it there. Feel it there.
5. Hold your breath for four seconds. Feel the stillness of the space between your inhale and exhale.
6. Breath out and visualize it coming back up and out your nose.
7. Watch it dissipate into the air and dissolve into the ether.

This meditation for beginners is really for everyone. It reads simple and that's why it's so great: it *is* simple. But recognizing your stress allows it to be seen, which is what it wants. Then you give it room to breathe... and then you let it go.

In order to breathe it out, and release it, you must first breathe it in, and accept it.

Keep practicing. Keep breathing. Keep trusting that there's a part of you that can't be touched by the stress or the worry. That's the deepest truth of you.

. . .

Tell me:

How do you want your life to feel? (... 16 seconds at a time)

Tell me in the comments. I read every single one, and I’d love to know!

With love,

Jen

P.S. Need to clear your mind of worries at night? Get my book Sleep Affirmations for a breath of fresh air... for your head. For more at-home practices like this one, get my book Sleep Rituals. You’ll feel better, and then you'll sleep better.