5-minute breathing meditation for mindfulness, during the evening wind-down

About this practice

When mindfulness shows up during the evening wind-down, this 5-minute breathing session gives you somewhere to put it down. A guided session of about 5 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 in the evening

• Dim the lights first — bright light works against the point
• Put the phone in another room
• Keep it slow rather than interesting

Something too engaging will wake you up rather than wind you down.

How breathing works

A breathing practice uses the breath as the object of attention and as the control lever. Because exhaling slows the heart through the vagus nerve, it acts on the nervous system directly rather than through thinking.

• Keep the exhale longer than the inhale — that is the active ingredient
• Count the exhales and start again whenever you lose count
• Do not force depth; let the breath find its own level

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Notice whether you're leaning forward. Most people are, slightly, all day.
2. 0:12If the breath feels tight, do not deepen it. Just watch it, and let it find its own depth.
3. 0:28Let your attention settle on the space between your nose and your upper lip, where the air passes.
4. 0:44You can think about other things. When you notice, come back. That's the whole practice.
5. 0:58Notice that you don't have to start a breath. It arrives by itself.
6. 1:11Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
7. 1:22Feel the back of your neck. That's a place that holds a lot.
8. 1:35Notice the backs of your knees, which you feel more than you think.
9. 1:48Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
10. 2:01No need to open your eyes yet.
11. 2:11Keep the exhale a little longer than the inhale. That is the entire technique.
12. 2:25If you've lost track of where we were, you haven't lost anything important.
13. 2:38Let the here-and-now your attention skips be exactly as big as it is, and let your breath be exactly as slow as it is. They can coexist.
14. 2:58Each time your mind hands you the ordinary present tense, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
15. 3:17Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
16. 3:30If the present moment you keep leaving shows up, let it be there without arguing with it. You are not trying to remove it, just to sit beside it.
17. 3:51If you're counting the minutes, that's fine. Count them and come back.
18. 4:04A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
19. 4:15There is no target number here. Only the next breath, and then the one after it.
20. 4:30Notice whether you feel any different. If not, that's also normal.

Questions people ask

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