Contentment: 15-minute breathing meditation, in a five-minute break

About this practice

15 minutes to meet contentment with less of a fight. A breathing practice, in a five-minute break. A guided session of about 15 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: contentment

Contentment is the absence of the next want, not the presence of everything. It lasts only as long as the wanting pauses.

It tends to show up as:

• Arriving without enjoying the arrival
• Immediately wanting the next thing
• Rest feeling unearned

Not wanting more for a few minutes is a trainable state, and it is available without acquiring anything.

Doing this on a break

• Leave the room if you can
• Do not start anything else in the same gap
• Set a timer so the break has an end

A break spent half-engaged with a screen is not much of a break. Guard the whole five minutes.

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. 0:00Put a hand on your chest for a moment if that feels steadying. Or don't. Both are allowed.
2. 0:16If you only manage half of it, that's half more than nothing.
3. 0:29We're going to let the body lead and the mind follow for a while.
4. 0:43Let your attention settle on the space between your nose and your upper lip, where the air passes.
5. 0:59Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
6. 1:12Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
7. 1:24Feel the outline of yourself, from the top of your head to your heels.
8. 1:38Now feel both feet at once. That's a lot of contact with the world.
9. 1:52Let the whole of your right foot be heavy.
10. 2:03Notice your heels making contact with the floor or the bed.
11. 2:15Feel your ankles. Let them be loose.
12. 2:25Imagine softening the edges of the enough-ness of right now. Not erasing it, just letting the sharp parts go a degree softer.
13. 2:43Feel the weight of the calm of not wanting more this minute somewhere specific, then let the floor take a share of it.
14. 3:01Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
15. 3:12Give the settled feeling after striving a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
16. 3:30This is not the last time the enough-ness of right now will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
17. 3:49Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
18. 4:01No need to open your eyes yet.
19. 4:11Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
20. 4:24Notice where your body is still holding something. Leave it alone.
21. 4:36Nothing changes for a moment.
22. 4:45Let the breath be shallow if shallow is what your body wants.
23. 4:58Notice your fingers, one by one, starting with the little finger.
24. 5:10Let your body keep settling.
25. 5:19Feel the pause at the top of the in-breath. It's shorter than you think.
26. 5:33Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
27. 5:45Let it be this simple.
28. 5:54Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
29. 6:08Notice your ribs on both sides. Wide, not squeezed.
30. 6:19Take the next breath slowly.
31. 6:28Notice if your breathing is faster than you expected. Don't correct it. Just note it.
32. 6:42Feel your calves, front and back.
33. 6:52Let this one be unhurried.
34. 7:01Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
35. 7:12A short silence. Let it be empty.
36. 7:22There's no need to try harder than this.
37. 7:33Notice the difference between a thought and the space around it.
38. 7:45Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
39. 7:55We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
40. 8:05Notice any part of you that wants this to be over.
41. 8:17I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
42. 8:30You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
43. 8:43You might be planning something. Notice the planning, then come back.
44. 8:55Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
45. 9:06Nothing here needs to be efficient.
46. 9:16If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
47. 9:30I'll step back. You stay here.
48. 9:40We'll take this slowly, and there's no version of this where you get it wrong.
49. 9:54Notice whether you're breathing or holding. Start breathing again.
50. 10:05I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
51. 10:17Let this be easy, if easy is available.
52. 10:28Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind?
53. 10:40Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
54. 10:53Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
55. 11:04Notice how the calm of not wanting more this minute changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
56. 11:22There is no correct amount of the settled feeling after striving to be feeling right now. Whatever is here is the honest amount.
57. 11:40Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
58. 11:53Imagine the enough-ness of right now as a room you can walk out of for a minute. The room will still be there.
59. 12:11Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the calm of not wanting more this minute is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
60. 12:31Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
61. 12:46Notice if you're waiting for something to happen. Nothing is scheduled.
62. 12:58Your mind will leave about a hundred times. Come back about a hundred times.
63. 13:12Notice if your attention is in the future. Bring it back to the room.
64. 13:26Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
65. 13:37Small efforts are the whole method.
66. 13:47Stay with it.
67. 13:55Notice if anything has loosened. Even slightly counts.
68. 14:06Start to notice the edges of your body again, and the surface you're on.
69. 14:20Let the quiet do its work.

Questions people ask

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