Contentment: 7-minute breathing meditation, between calls

About this practice

A 7-minute breathing session for contentment, between calls. No app, no account — press start. A guided session of about 7 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 between meetings

• Start it in the gap, not after the next one begins
• Write down the open thread from the last meeting first, then let it go
• Two minutes done beats five minutes planned

The back-to-back day is exactly why the gap has to be protected rather than used for one more task.

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. 0:00Let your forehead smooth out. Most of us hold a small frown there all day.
2. 0:14We'll take this slowly, and there's no version of this where you get it wrong.
3. 0:28You can let your eyes close now if they weren't already.
4. 0:40Let your body be exactly as tired as it is.
5. 0:52Notice the first breath of the day versus this one. They're the same mechanism.
6. 1:06Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
7. 1:18Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
8. 1:30Feel the soles of your feet. All the weight of you goes through them.
9. 1:44Let the whole of your right foot be heavy.
10. 1:55the calm of not wanting more this minute may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
11. 2:14Each time your mind hands you the settled feeling after striving, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
12. 2:33Notice your lower back. Let it curve however it curves.
13. 2:45Remain here for a few more breaths.
14. 2:55Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
15. 3:08If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
16. 3:22I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
17. 3:34We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
18. 3:44If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
19. 3:57Let the breath get soft, the way it goes when someone is reading beside you.
20. 4:11Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
21. 4:23Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the enough-ness of right now is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
22. 4:42Feel the weight of the calm of not wanting more this minute somewhere specific, then let the floor take a share of it.
23. 5:00Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
24. 5:13Notice anything you're holding onto from earlier today.
25. 5:24Your mind will leave about a hundred times. Come back about a hundred times.
26. 5:38No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
27. 5:49You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
28. 6:02Before you open your eyes, notice how you feel compared to the start. It might be small.
29. 6:17If you're going straight back to work, take ten seconds at the doorway first.
30. 6:31Stay here a little longer.

Questions people ask

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