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.

Focus45 min

A 45-minute block for planning, with brown noise, when you are somewhere noisy

A single 45-minute block for planning — on paper, so you can see it.

Start the block →
Breathing2 min

5-7 breathing for physical discomfort, if you are new to this

The pattern is 5 · 7, which is five in, seven out.

Breathe →
Meditation5 min

Agitation: 5-minute self-compassion meditation, after a fight

Slow, spoken guidance for agitation. A self-compassion session you can do after a fight.

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Meditation15 min

Meditation for burnout: 15-minute body scan session, on the way in

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 15 minutes of body scan for burnout, on the way in.

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Focus50 min

A 50-minute block for writing, with a stream, after a long day

A single 50-minute block for writing — the first draft, not the good version.

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Breathing2 min

2-1-4 breathing for exam nerves, when your attention is scattered

The pattern is 2 · 1 · 4, which is short in, short hold, long out — the smallest useful dose.

Breathe →
Meditation10 min

10-minute noting meditation for waking up, after a shock

Slow, spoken guidance for waking up. A noting session you can do after a shock.

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Meditation3 min

3-minute softening meditation for waking at 3am, before work

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 3 minutes of softening for waking at 3am, before work.

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Sleep10 min

Sleep story: a library at closing time, when you are at home and cannot settle — for a night when you do not want to think

The last hour, when the lights go down row by row.

Settle in →
Focus90 min

A 90-minute block for language practice, with plain quiet, when you are waiting for something

A single 90-minute block for language practice — repetition rather than novelty.

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Breathing2 min

How to use 4-8 breathing for a night shift, if you are new to this

4 · 8 breathing: in for four, out for eight.

Breathe →
Breathing2 min

Double-inhale sigh: 10 rounds for the morning, when you have been meaning to start

3 · 8 breathing: two inhales stacked together, then everything out through the mouth.

Breathe →
Meditation15 min

15-minute guided body scan practice for gratitude — after a bad day

Slow, spoken guidance for gratitude. A body scan session you can do after a bad day.

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Meditation7 min

7-minute guided self-compassion practice for exhaustion — after a long day

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 7 minutes of self-compassion for exhaustion, after a long day.

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Sleep15 min

A boat at anchor, when you want to be left alone — for waking too early

A small harbour, a rope that creaks, and a boat that moves about a metre in the night.

Settle in →
Focus45 min

45-minute focus session for studying with a train carriage, when the weather has kept you inside

45 minutes on studying — reading and notes, not highlighting. A single class period, the length most people can hold before the quality drops.

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Breathing2 min

5-2-7 breath (5 · 2 · 7) for a break at work, when your attention is scattered

5 · 2 · 7 breathing: five, a brief hold, then seven out.

Breathe →
Breathing2 min

Beginner box breathing: 10 rounds for coming down after exercise, before something difficult

2 · 2 · 2 · 2 breathing: the easiest version of the square.

Breathe →
Meditation3 min

Letting go for tired eyes: 3 minutes, when it all piles up

Slow, spoken guidance for tired eyes. A letting go session you can do when it all piles up.

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Meditation12 min

A mindful pause: 12-minute breathing meditation, on a Sunday

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 12 minutes of breathing for a mindful pause, on a Sunday.

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Sleep20 min

A hotel room somewhere (a sleep story), when you cannot concentrate on anything else — for the hours after a late shift

A room you did not choose, in a city you do not have to know.

Settle in →
Focus50 min

50-minute focus session for drawing with birds at dawn, when you are short on time

50 minutes on drawing — without correcting anything yet. Fifty minutes, the length of a therapy hour, with ten minutes off afterwards.

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Breathing2 min

Coherent 4-4 breath (4 · 4) for Sunday evening, when you have been meaning to start

4 · 4 breathing: four and four, if five feels like a stretch.

Breathe →
Breathing2 min

Soft 4-7-8 breathing: 8 rounds for a long illness, when the house is busy

4 · 4 · 8 breathing: the hold cut short, the long exhale kept.

Breathe →
Meditation7 min

Gratitude meditation for grief (7 min), on a day off

7 minutes to meet grief with less of a fight. A gratitude practice, on a day off.

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Meditation20 min

20-minute grounding meditation for social anxiety, in the air

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 20 minutes of grounding for social anxiety, in the air.

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Sleep10 min

A garden in the rain — a slow story for the end of the day, if you are fitting this around other people — for a racing mind

Steady rain on leaves, and a chair under an awning that stays dry.

Settle in →
Focus25 min

Deep work timer: 25 minutes of reading (white noise), on a day that started badly

One block of reading with white noise underneath. One pomodoro, long enough to get somewhere and short enough to start.

Start the block →
Breathing2 min

Box breath (4 · 4 · 4 · 4) for the morning after, before something difficult

4 · 4 · 4 · 4 breathing: four equal sides, like tracing a square.

Breathe →
Breathing2 min

7-11 breathing exercise for bedtime — when the weather has kept you inside

7 · 11 breathing: a long, slow ratio for when you have time.

Breathe →