Noting meditation for concentration (5 min), in the queue

About this practice

Slow, spoken guidance for concentration. A noting session you can do in the queue. A guided session of about 5 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: concentration

Concentration fails for two reasons: the task is uninteresting, or the body is too activated to hold anything steady. The second one is fixable in minutes.

It tends to show up as:

• Attention sliding off within seconds
• Jumping between tabs
• Feeling physically unable to sit still

Lowering arousal raises the ceiling of what attention can hold. Practice first, then the task.

Doing this in a waiting room

• You can do this with your eyes open and your hands where they are
• Nothing here needs to look like a meditation
• Aim for steadiness rather than calm

Waiting feeds the dread it is meant to relieve. Having something specific to do with the time is the useful part.

How noting works

Noting is a technique from insight practice: when something arises, you give it a single plain label — thinking, hearing, planning — and return to the anchor. The label creates a small distance between you and the content.

• Use one word, not a sentence — explaining means you have joined in
• Label and return; do not follow the thought to see where it goes
• Drop the labelling if it becomes effortful and just follow the breath

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Notice where your body touches the chair. That contact is doing more for you than it looks.
2. 0:15A label is enough. You do not need to follow the thought to see where it goes.
3. 0:30We'll be quiet for a bit longer than usual. Stay with whatever shows up.
4. 0:44Everything that happens in the next few minutes is allowed to happen.
5. 0:57Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
6. 1:10Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
7. 1:24Feel your upper arms hanging. They're heavier than you remember.
8. 1:36Feel the parts of you that have gone quiet.
9. 1:47Notice the backs of your knees, which you feel more than you think.
10. 2:00Keep following the air.
11. 2:09You are the one noticing, not the thing being noticed. Stay on that side of the line.
12. 2:24Notice if you're waiting for something to happen. Nothing is scheduled.
13. 2:36Nothing about the difficulty of staying with one thing has to be explained or justified in this room.
14. 2:52You have been carrying the attention that keeps sliding off for a while. You can set it down for the length of this session and pick it up after.
15. 3:13Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
16. 3:27This is not the last time the urge to check something else will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
17. 3:46Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
18. 3:59Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
19. 4:11Notice the gap between the label and the next thought. That gap is what we are practising.
20. 4:26Let the last of the stillness stay with you for a few more seconds.
21. 4:40Let it be this simple.

Questions people ask

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