Being present: 15-minute breathing meditation, at lunch

About this practice

Slow, spoken guidance for being present. A breathing session you can do at lunch. A guided session of about 15 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: being present

Life happens in the present while attention is busy elsewhere. Nothing is missing except the noticing.

It tends to show up as:

Days blurring together
Feeling absent from your own week
Only registering moments in photographs

Sensory attention is the shortest route back. Sound, contact and breath are always in the present.

Doing this at lunch

Do it before eating rather than after, so you are not working against digestion
Leaving the desk matters more than the session length
Take the headphones off afterwards so the break registers

A break that happens at the same desk is only half a break.

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

0:00Let your tongue rest down, away from the roof of your mouth.
0:13If the breath feels tight, do not deepen it. Just watch it, and let it find its own depth.
0:29Notice the pause at the end of each breath. It's short, but it's there.
0:43Feel the small movements your body makes to keep you upright. They're happening without you.
0:57Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
1:10Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
1:23Feel the skin around your eyes. Let the muscles behind them go loose.
1:36Feel the soles of your feet. All the weight of you goes through them.
1:50Notice your hands again. Check whether they've loosened on their own.
2:02Feel your forearms, from the elbow down to the wrist.
2:14Notice your pelvis resting on the surface below you.
2:25You do not have to like the wandering back to now to breathe through it. Liking was never the requirement.
2:42Imagine the life happening while you worry as a room you can walk out of for a minute. The room will still be there.
3:01Notice the first breath of the day versus this one. They're the same mechanism.
3:15This is not the last time the texture of this exact moment will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
3:34Imagine softening the edges of the wandering back to now. Not erasing it, just letting the sharp parts go a degree softer.
3:52Start at the top of your head. Notice the scalp, which you almost never notice.
4:06A few seconds more.
4:15Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
4:29Feel the outline of yourself, from the top of your head to your heels.
4:43Keep following the air.
4:52Follow the breath down into your belly and feel it come back up.
5:05Notice your heels making contact with the floor or the bed.
5:17Let the pause stretch out.
5:26Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
5:42Let your thumbs rest wherever they landed.
5:52No rush to move on.
6:01Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
6:14Notice your whole body as one shape, sitting or lying here.
6:26I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
6:38Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
6:49Just the breath, still.
6:58Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
7:10Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
7:22Feel the middle of your back, the part that never gets attention.
7:35Follow one full breath from the moment it starts to the moment it ends.
7:49Let the quiet do its work.
7:59If you've lost track of where we were, you haven't lost anything important.
8:12Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
8:23Keep the exhale a little longer than the inhale. That is the entire technique.
8:37If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
8:51A short silence. Let it be empty.
9:01There is no target number here. Only the next breath, and then the one after it.
9:16Notice anything you're holding onto from earlier today.
9:27Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
9:38Your anchor for the next few minutes is the breath itself. Nothing else needs following.
9:52If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
10:05Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
10:17Let the counting do the work. When you lose the count, start again from one — no penalty.
10:33If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks.
10:48Notice that you don't have to start a breath. It arrives by itself.
11:01I'll step back. You stay here.
11:11If the life happening while you worry has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
11:29Say to yourself: this is uncomfortable, and I can stay with it for one more breath. Then take that breath.
11:46Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
11:57Notice where the wandering back to now lives in your body. Chest, throat, stomach. Rest your attention there without trying to change it.
12:15You do not have to win against the life happening while you worry. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
12:33Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
12:44If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
12:57If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
13:11Notice any part of you that wants this to be over.
13:23A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
13:34Follow the air from the nostrils down to the belly, then back out. One full trip at a time.
13:50Let this one be unhurried.
13:59Give your hands a stretch before you go back to using them.
14:12Come back at your own speed. The room will wait.

Questions people ask

What does this session help with?

Life happens in the present while attention is busy elsewhere. Nothing is missing except the noticing. Sensory attention is the shortest route back. Sound, contact and breath are always in the present.

Where and when should I do this one?

Do it before eating rather than after, so you are not working against digestion. A break that happens at the same desk is only half a break.

What actually happens during the 15 minutes?

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