Meditation for appreciation: 20-minute breathing session, before public speaking

About this practice

Slow, spoken guidance for appreciation. A breathing session you can do before public speaking. A guided session of about 20 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: appreciation

Appreciation deepens by staying, not by listing. A moment held for two breaths registers differently from a moment catalogued.

It tends to show up as:

Rushing past small kindnesses
Not noticing ordinary comforts
Thank-yous left unsaid

Slowing down for a moment is what turns something pleasant into something that stays with you.

Doing this before public speaking

Do it somewhere private, or in the washroom if needed
Slow the exhale deliberately and check your speaking pace after
Warm the voice by reading a line aloud, not by staying silent

Rushing is the tell of nerves. A slower breath now is what sets a slower pace in the room.

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

0:00Take one breath that is slightly slower than the last one. That is enough to start.
0:15Follow the air from the nostrils down to the belly, then back out. One full trip at a time.
0:31There's no correct speed. Slower isn't better. Steadier is the only aim.
0:44We'll start broad and narrow down. Nothing sudden is coming.
0:56Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
1:10Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
1:23Notice your fingers, one by one, starting with the little finger.
1:35Feel your upper back against whatever is behind it.
1:46Notice your elbows. Odd things to have, but there they are.
1:58Feel your hips. Wide, heavy, and doing nothing.
2:09Feel the back of your neck. That's a place that holds a lot.
2:22If the ordinary moments worth savoring shows up, let it be there without arguing with it. You are not trying to remove it, just to sit beside it.
2:42Imagine the thank-you waiting to be said as a room you can walk out of for a minute. The room will still be there.
3:01Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
3:12Think of the overlooked kindnesses as a guest that arrived without knocking. You can let it stand in the hallway.
3:29This is not the last time the ordinary moments worth savoring will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
3:48Let the breath be shallow if shallow is what your body wants.
4:01If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
4:15If the breath feels tight, do not deepen it. Just watch it, and let it find its own depth.
4:31Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
4:43If nothing much is happening, that's not a problem. Nothing much is often the point.
4:57There is no target number here. Only the next breath, and then the one after it.
5:12No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
5:23If you feel numb, that's a valid thing to feel. Nothing to fix.
5:36Your anchor for the next few minutes is the breath itself. Nothing else needs following.
5:50A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
6:01Notice if you're waiting for something to happen. Nothing is scheduled.
6:13Let the counting do the work. When you lose the count, start again from one — no penalty.
6:29Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
6:40If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks.
6:55Let this one be unhurried.
7:04Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
7:16Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
7:29Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
7:40If you feel emotional, you don't have to explain it to anyone, including yourself.
7:54A few seconds more.
8:03Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
8:15Start at the top of your head. Notice the scalp, which you almost never notice.
8:29Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
8:41Notice anything you're holding onto from earlier today.
8:52Stay with it.
9:00Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
9:11Now feel both feet at once. That's a lot of contact with the world.
9:25I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
9:37Notice the difference between a thought and the space around it.
9:49Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
10:00Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
10:16Keep following the air.
10:25Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
10:36Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
10:47Feel your calves, front and back.
10:57Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
11:09Just the breath, still.
11:18Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
11:29Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
11:41Let the whole of your right foot be heavy.
11:52Follow one full breath from the moment it starts to the moment it ends.
12:06Remain here for a few more breaths.
12:16Notice whether you're breathing or holding. Start breathing again.
12:27Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
12:37Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
12:49Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
13:00No rush to move on.
13:09Feel your knees. They're just hinges, but they've worked hard.
13:21Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
13:34Let your body keep settling.
13:43Notice your ribs on both sides. Wide, not squeezed.
13:54Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
14:07Let it be this simple.
14:16Feel the outline of yourself, from the top of your head to your heels.
14:30Let your breathing find the rhythm it uses when you're almost asleep.
14:43Let the quiet do its work.
14:53Let your whole body be as heavy as it wants to be.
15:06If the thank-you waiting to be said starts telling you a story, let the story finish without you adding to it.
15:23Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
15:35You do not have to win against the overlooked kindnesses. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
15:52Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
16:05If the ordinary moments worth savoring is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
16:22You do not have to solve the thank-you waiting to be said in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
16:42Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
16:56You do not have to like the overlooked kindnesses to breathe through it. Liking was never the requirement.
17:12Whatever the ordinary moments worth savoring is doing right now, your breathing can keep going underneath it.
17:27Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
17:40Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
17:52If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
18:05You might be planning something. Notice the planning, then come back.
18:17A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
18:28Keep the exhale a little longer than the inhale. That is the entire technique.
18:42Let the pause stretch out.
18:51Notice your feet on the floor. That's where you start from.
19:03Roll your neck once, slowly, in whichever direction feels good.

Questions people ask

What does this session help with?

Appreciation deepens by staying, not by listing. A moment held for two breaths registers differently from a moment catalogued. Slowing down for a moment is what turns something pleasant into something that stays with you.

Where and when should I do this one?

Do it somewhere private, or in the washroom if needed. Rushing is the tell of nerves. A slower breath now is what sets a slower pace in the room.

What actually happens during the 20 minutes?

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