Everything, 30 at a time

Every meditation, breathing exercise, sleep story, focus session, guide and essay on SoftlyStill — 6,878 pieces, newest first, 30 to a page.

Story4 min read

How Long Until Meditation Does Something

An honest timeline, including the long stretch where nothing seems to happen at all.

Read →
Story4 min read

When Meditation Is Not The Answer

There are problems a breathing exercise will not touch, and pretending otherwise is not kindness.

Read →
Story3 min read

Meditating On The Bus

Commutes are the most underrated practice slot you have. Here is how to use them.

Read →
Story4 min read

Breathing For A Racing Heart

What breathwork can do for a pounding chest, and the point at which it is not the right tool.

Read →
Story4 min read

What Progress In Meditation Actually Looks Like

Not bliss, not silence. Something smaller, duller and more useful.

Read →
Story3 min read

Meditation After A Hard Conversation

Do not sit down to process it. Sit down to let the body settle first.

Read →
Story4 min read

Why 3am Is Not The Time To Solve Anything

The night mind is a bad adviser. Here is what to do instead of working through it.

Read →
Story4 min read

Sleep Stories Or Silence: Which One Actually Helps

Some people need something to listen to. Some need the opposite. Neither is more advanced.

Read →
Story4 min read

Counting The Breath Without Getting It Wrong

Counting is the simplest meditation there is, and the easiest one to turn into a maths test.

Read →
Story3 min read

Meditating With Your Eyes Open

Closed eyes are a convention, not a rule. Some people do better the other way.

Read →
Story4 min read

How To Meditate In A Loud House

Flatmates, children, traffic, a washing machine. You can still practise — differently.

Read →
Story3 min read

Meditation For People Who Hate Mornings

You do not have to become a 5am person. The timing advice is mostly wrong for you.

Read →
Story4 min read

Why You Fall Asleep During Meditation

Usually tiredness. Sometimes something else. Here is how to tell which.

Read →
Story4 min read

Why Nose Breathing Matters More Than You Think

A small mechanical detail that changes how most breathing exercises feel.

Read →
Story3 min read

What To Do About An Itch During Meditation

The smallest instruction in the practice, and the one most beginners are secretly stuck on.

Read →
Story3 min read

The Two-Minute Meditation That Actually Sticks

Long sessions fail for a boring reason. Here is the short version that survives real weeks.

Read →
Story4 min read

Meditating When You Cannot Sit Still

If stillness makes you restless, the answer is not more discipline. It is a different instruction.

Read →
Story4 min read

Why Meditation Feels Worse Before It Feels Better

The first fortnight is often louder, not calmer. Here is what is actually happening.

Read →
Focus90 min

90-minute language practice session with birds at dawn and a timer, when your attention is scattered

Sit down, press start, and practise out loud for 90 minutes. One full ultradian cycle, for work that needs a long runway.

Start the block →
Breathing2 min

Coherent 5-5 breathing — 5 · 5 — for a lonely evening, when you want to be left alone

Rounds of 5 · 5, with the counting done for you.

Breathe →
Meditation3 min

Gratitude for contentment: 3 minutes, early on

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 3 minutes of gratitude for contentment, early on.

Begin →
Meditation10 min

Self-doubt: 10-minute body scan meditation, on the road

Slow, spoken guidance for self-doubt. A body scan session you can do on the road.

Begin →
Focus45 min

A 45-minute block for studying, with white noise, when you have been meaning to start

A single 45-minute block for studying — reading and notes, not highlighting.

Start the block →
Breathing3 min

6-2-6-2 breathing for a hard conversation, when you are not in the mood

Rounds of 6 · 2 · 6 · 2, with the counting done for you.

Breathe →
Meditation7 min

Breathing meditation for a racing mind (7 min), in the afternoon slump

For the times in the afternoon slump when a racing mind takes up more room than you would like — 7 minutes, breathing.

Begin →
Meditation15 min

15-minute letting go meditation for tight shoulders and neck, before an appointment

Slow, spoken guidance for tight shoulders and neck. A letting go session you can do before an appointment.

Begin →
Focus50 min

A 50-minute block for drawing, with a stream, before something difficult

A single 50-minute block for drawing — without correcting anything yet.

Start the block →
Breathing4 min

Slow box breathing for a noisy room, when you are somewhere unfamiliar

Rounds of 5 · 5 · 5 · 5, with the counting done for you.

Breathe →
Meditation12 min

Meditation for heartbreak: 12-minute grounding session, after work

For the times after work when heartbreak takes up more room than you would like — 12 minutes, grounding.

Begin →
Meditation3 min

Meditation for public speaking fear: 3-minute gratitude session, before an exam

Slow, spoken guidance for public speaking fear. A gratitude session you can do before an exam.

Begin →