12-minute guided gratitude practice for mindfulness — in the air

About this practice

12 minutes to meet mindfulness with less of a fight. A gratitude practice, in the air. A guided session of about 12 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: mindfulness

Attention spends most of its time in the past or the future. Being present is not a state you find, it is a return you keep making.

It tends to show up as:

• Missing conversations while composing replies
• Arriving somewhere with no memory of the walk
• Eating without tasting

Every return to the senses is a repetition of the actual skill. Losing it is part of the practice, not a break in it.

Doing this on a plane

• Use headphones, and keep the seatbelt on
• Bring a layer — being cold works against settling
• Skip alcohol; it makes the alertness worse

Cabin noise is constant and will mask the audio more than you expect. Try the headphones before you settle in.

How gratitude works

Gratitude here is an attention practice, not a demand for a positive mood. Attention defaults to threats because they are urgent, so pleasant and ordinary things get skipped simply for being safe.

• Pick one ordinary thing rather than something impressive
• Stay with it for two breaths — depth beats length of list
• Do not aim at feeling grateful; aim at noticing

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00If you're lying down, let the mattress hold all of you. You can stop holding yourself up.
2. 0:15There is no need to feel grateful. Just look, and see what is actually there.
3. 0:29We'll start broad and narrow down. Nothing sudden is coming.
4. 0:41This is not a performance. Nobody is listening to how well you're doing it.
5. 0:55Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
6. 1:08Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
7. 1:21Notice your lower back. Let it curve however it curves.
8. 1:33Notice your pelvis resting on the surface below you.
9. 1:44Feel your upper back against whatever is behind it.
10. 1:55Now feel both feet at once. That's a lot of contact with the world.
11. 2:09You do not have to win against the here-and-now your attention skips. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
12. 2:27Whatever the ordinary present tense is doing right now, your breathing can keep going underneath it.
13. 2:42Let the breath get soft, the way it goes when someone is reading beside you.
14. 2:56If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
15. 3:09If nothing comes, notice that something did not go wrong. That also counts.
16. 3:22Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
17. 3:33Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
18. 3:45Pick one ordinary thing from today — a warm drink, a dry walk, a message — and let it count.
19. 4:02Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
20. 4:14Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
21. 4:25Let it be unimpressive. Small good things are the most reliable ones.
22. 4:38Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
23. 4:49Notice how quickly your mind labels things: good, bad, boring, nice.
24. 5:01We are not forcing positivity. We are just noticing what went right, however small.
25. 5:15A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
26. 5:26Notice the moment you realise you've drifted. That moment is the whole skill.
27. 5:39Let this one be unhurried.
28. 5:48I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
29. 6:00Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
30. 6:11Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
31. 6:26Let the pause stretch out.
32. 6:35Feel your upper arms hanging. They're heavier than you remember.
33. 6:47Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
34. 7:00Stay here a little longer.
35. 7:09Feel your belly. Let it be soft instead of held in.
36. 7:21Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
37. 7:32A few seconds more.
38. 7:41Let your thumbs rest wherever they landed.
39. 7:51If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
40. 8:05Stay with it.
41. 8:13Notice where your body is still holding something. Leave it alone.
42. 8:25There is a part of you that has handled hard moments before. That part is here now, even if it is quiet.
43. 8:43No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
44. 8:54You are allowed to be unimpressed by the here-and-now your attention skips. Indifference is a legitimate response.
45. 9:09Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
46. 9:20When the ordinary present tense arrives, name it once, quietly, and go back to the breath. Naming is not fixing, and that is fine.
47. 9:39Nothing about the present moment you keep leaving has to be explained or justified in this room.
48. 9:54Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
49. 10:07If you feel numb, that's a valid thing to feel. Nothing to fix.
50. 10:20If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
51. 10:34Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
52. 10:45Stay with it for two breaths. Gratitude deepens by staying, not by listing.
53. 10:58Keep following the air.
54. 11:07Notice if anything has loosened. Even slightly counts.
55. 11:18Before you move, notice one thing that's fine right now.

Questions people ask

Meditation is a practice, not a treatment. If you are dealing with ongoing distress, please also reach out to a professional.