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.

Focus50 min

50-minute drawing session with a washing machine and a timer, when you are short on time

Sit down, press start, and fill the page for 50 minutes. Fifty minutes, the length of a therapy hour, with ten minutes off afterwards.

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Breathing2 min

Soft 4-7-8 breath (4 · 4 · 8) for a long wait, when you are short on time

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

Breathe →
Meditation10 min

10-minute letting go meditation for better sleep, when you are at your limit

10 minutes to meet better sleep with less of a fight. A letting go practice, when you are at your limit.

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Meditation3 min

3-minute breathing meditation for overwhelm, on a Saturday morning

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 3 minutes of breathing for overwhelm, on a Saturday morning.

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Sleep20 min

An attic room, when you have been putting it off — for winding down

Sloping ceiling, rain on the roof a foot above your head.

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Focus25 min

A 25-minute block for reading, with brown noise, on a day that started badly

A single 25-minute block for reading — pages rather than paragraphs.

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Breathing2 min

7-11 breath (7 · 11) for creative work, on a day that started badly

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

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Meditation15 min

15-minute guided gratitude practice for self-criticism — before sleep

15 minutes to meet self-criticism with less of a fight. A gratitude practice, before sleep.

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Meditation7 min

7-minute guided grounding practice for deep work — on a break

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 7 minutes of grounding for deep work, on a break.

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Sleep10 min

Sleep story: a lighthouse at the end of a long day, when the weather has kept you inside — for an overtired night

One light turning, a kettle, and weather you are on the right side of.

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Focus45 min

A 45-minute block for thesis writing, with a library, when you are at home and cannot settle

A single 45-minute block for thesis writing — sections, not the whole thing.

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Breathing2 min

Coherent 5-5 breath (5 · 5) for Monday morning, when you are at home and cannot settle

5 · 5 breathing: five seconds in, five seconds out — about six breaths a minute.

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Meditation3 min

Body scan for physical tension: 3 minutes, on a slow Sunday

3 minutes to meet physical tension with less of a fight. A body scan practice, on a slow Sunday.

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Meditation12 min

Shame: 12-minute letting go meditation, at the airport

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 12 minutes of letting go for shame, at the airport.

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Sleep12 min

A bus at night — a slow story for the end of the day, when you have tried everything else — for jet lag

Upper deck, front seat, a city going past that you do not have to join.

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Focus50 min

A 50-minute block for design work, with plain quiet, after eating too much

A single 50-minute block for design work — rough versions first.

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Breathing2 min

6-2-6-2 breathing — 6 · 2 · 6 · 2 — for heavy days, after eating too much

A 6 · 2 · 6 · 2 rhythm — even and rhythmic, with brief holds on both sides.

Breathe →
Meditation10 min

Softening meditation for test anxiety (10 min), at midday

10 minutes to meet test anxiety with less of a fight. A softening practice, at midday.

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Meditation20 min

20-minute noting meditation for tension headaches, on a train journey

For the times on a train journey when tension headaches takes up more room than you would like — 20 minutes, noting.

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Sleep20 min

A field under snow, if you have done this a hundred times — for a night when you do not want to think

Everything muffled, everything white, and no tracks but yours.

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Focus25 min

25-minute focus session for decluttering with forest at dusk, when you only have a few minutes

25 minutes on decluttering — one surface at a time. One pomodoro, long enough to get somewhere and short enough to start.

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Breathing2 min

Slow box breathing — 5 · 5 · 5 · 5 — for exam nerves, if you are tired of apps

A 5 · 5 · 5 · 5 rhythm — a wider square, once four feels comfortable.

Breathe →
Meditation15 min

Meditation for burnout: 15-minute self-compassion session, in the mid-afternoon

15 minutes to meet burnout with less of a fight. A self-compassion practice, in the mid-afternoon.

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Meditation5 min

Meditation for anticipatory anxiety: 5-minute body scan session, before an interview

For the times before an interview when anticipatory anxiety takes up more room than you would like — 5 minutes, body scan.

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Sleep10 min

Sleep story: a fire dying down, when you feel restless rather than tired — for waking too early

The last hour of a fire, when it stops being a fire and becomes warmth.

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Focus45 min

45-minute focus session for admin and email with birds at dawn, when you want something simple

45 minutes on admin and email — in one pass, without opening new tabs. A single class period, the length most people can hold before the quality drops.

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Breathing2 min

4-6 breathing for the morning, when you want something simple

A 4 · 6 rhythm — in for four, out for six.

Breathe →
Meditation3 min

3-minute noting meditation for waking at 3am, on the way out of work

3 minutes to meet waking at 3am with less of a fight. A noting practice, on the way out of work.

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Meditation10 min

Softening for irritability: 10 minutes, on exam day

For the times on exam day when irritability takes up more room than you would like — 10 minutes, softening.

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Sleep12 min

A library at closing time — a slow story for the end of the day, when you need something unremarkable — for the hours after a late shift

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

Settle in →