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.

Breathing2 min

How to use 4-2-6 breathing for a reset, if you are doing this instead of scrolling

4 · 2 · 6 breathing: a short hold in the middle, a long way out.

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Focus90 min

Focus session for data work: 90 minutes, a library, when you need something unremarkable

90 minutes of data work, with a library and a note on what to do when you drift.

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Breathing2 min

4-7-8 breathing for the hours after people leave, before you go back to something hard

4 · 7 · 8 breathing: in for four, hold for seven, out for eight.

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Breathing2 min

How to use Coherent 6-6 breathing for a cold morning, when you need something unremarkable

6 · 6 breathing: six and six, the slower end of coherent breathing.

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Focus25 min

25-minute editing session with plain quiet and a timer, after a difficult conversation

Sit down, press start, and cut and tighten for 25 minutes. One pomodoro, long enough to get somewhere and short enough to start.

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Breathing2 min

5-7 breathing for a lonely evening, when you want to be left alone

5 · 7 breathing: five in, seven out.

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Breathing3 min

Quick 2-1-2-1 breath (2 · 1 · 2 · 1) for the end of the working day, after a difficult conversation

2 · 1 · 2 · 1 breathing: a brisk rhythm for when you need to be awake.

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Focus50 min

50-minute brainstorming session with forest at dusk and a timer, when you are somewhere noisy

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

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Breathing2 min

2-1-4 breathing: 12 rounds for a hard conversation, if you are new to this

A 2 · 1 · 4 rhythm — short in, short hold, long out — the smallest useful dose.

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Breathing2 min

Uneven box breath (4 · 4 · 6 · 2) for creative work, when you are somewhere noisy

A 4 · 4 · 6 · 2 rhythm — a square with one long side.

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Focus90 min

90-minute research session with birds at dawn and a timer, after a long day

Sit down, press start, and follow one thread for 90 minutes. One full ultradian cycle, for work that needs a long runway.

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Breathing2 min

Double-inhale sigh breathing: 12 rounds for a big decision, when your attention is scattered

A 3 · 8 rhythm — two inhales stacked together, then everything out through the mouth.

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Breathing2 min

4-8 breath (4 · 8) for Monday morning, after a long day

A 4 · 8 rhythm — in for four, out for eight.

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Focus45 min

A 45-minute block for applications and forms, with brown noise, when you are waiting for something

A single 45-minute block for applications and forms — dull but finite.

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Breathing2 min

Beginner box breathing: 12 rounds for being unwell, when you have been meaning to start

A 2 · 2 · 2 · 2 rhythm — the easiest version of the square.

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Breathing2 min

5-2-7 breathing — 5 · 2 · 7 — for heavy days, when you are waiting for something

A 5 · 2 · 7 rhythm — five, a brief hold, then seven out.

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Focus50 min

A 50-minute block for planning, with a stream, when you are too tired to try hard

A single 50-minute block for planning — on paper, so you can see it.

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Breathing3 min

Soft 4-7-8 breathing exercise for a ten-minute window — before something difficult

A 4 · 4 · 8 rhythm — the hold cut short, the long exhale kept.

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Breathing2 min

Coherent 4-4 breathing — 4 · 4 — for a noisy room, when you are too tired to try hard

A 4 · 4 rhythm — four and four, if five feels like a stretch.

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Focus25 min

25-minute focus session for writing with rain on a window, when you are short on time

25 minutes on writing — the first draft, not the good version. One pomodoro, long enough to get somewhere and short enough to start.

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Breathing4 min

7-11 breathing exercise for the early months — when the house is busy

A 7 · 11 rhythm — a long, slow ratio for when you have time.

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Breathing2 min

Box breathing for the morning, when you are short on time

A 4 · 4 · 4 · 4 rhythm — four equal sides, like tracing a square.

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Story4 min read

You don't need to clear your mind to meditate

The single most common reason beginners quit is a misunderstanding of what's supposed to happen. Let's retire it.

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Story5 min read

The 4-7-8 breathing technique, without the hype

It's a good sleep aid and a decent reset button. It is not a miracle cure, and doing it wrong is more common than you'd think. Here's the honest version.

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Story4 min read

Meditation apps are noisy. A quiet website isn't.

Apps are built to keep you opening them. Meditation is built to help you stop needing that. Here's why a plain website might actually suit your practice better.

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Sleep9 min

Rain on the roof

A cabin, a kettle, and weather that has nowhere else to be.

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Sleep12 min

The night train

Somewhere between two cities, in the dark, where nobody needs anything from you.

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Breathing

The physiological sigh

Two inhales, one long exhale. The fastest known way to drop your stress level in the moment.

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Breathing

Extended exhale

The simplest calming breath there is. Exhale longer than you inhale. That's it.

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Breathing

The 4-7-8 breath

A longer exhale than inhale, and a hold in between. Often used at bedtime.

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