Basic 6-Minute Meditation

The meditation itself is only six minutes long, so it's perfect during a lunch break or coffee break or any time of the day when you have a few minutes to spare. This meditation can be done wearing headphones or listening on your speakers. You'll have a different experience depending on how you listen, so try both. Before we begin, here are some basics to help you get the most out of the next few minutes. First, find a place where you're unlikely to be disturbed for the next few minutes.

Turn off your phone, your PGA, or any device that can interrupt you. Now, tradition recommends that you remove anything that can conduct electricity, but at the very least, take off and put away any modern technology likely to cause interruption. Have a seat either in a chair or on the floor. Whatever you choose, your hips should be slightly higher than your knees. If you sit on a chair, maybe scoot to the edge of the chair.

If you sit on the floor, a firm pillow under your seat is enough to elevate your hips. Keep your eyes mostly closed, just enough to let a little light in. Fully closing your eyes could accidentally put you to sleep, so just let a thin sliver of light in. Sit with your back straight, but not rigid. Here's an easy way to do this.

Right now, take a very deep breath and hold it. Push the air down into your belly. Now let that deep breath expand around your ribs a little and naturally straighten your spine like a balloon inflating. Keep holding it for just a second longer, feeling your body settle in around the breath. Gently and slowly release it, and your back will be naturally straight.

Now let's get started. Take a deep breath and release it. Let it spill out of you. So hurried are we that in today's times, we often forget the simple pleasure of a breath of fresh air. There's no hurry, no place to be, no thing to do, no schedule to keep, just breathing fully, deeply, in and letting the air flow out of you like a slow moving stream.

As you continue to breathe, begin to pay attention to your senses. When we close our eyes, we naturally pay attention to sound. What do you hear in the background? Slow melodies on a flute. Rain falling.

Do you hear other sounds in the background? Perhaps even in the next room. Breathe deeply. Our sense of touch is all too often relegated merely to our hands when we can feel with our whole body. As you breathe, capture the feeling of the room you are in.

Is the air still or moving? Warm or cool? How does your clothing feel against your skin? Can you relax some tense muscles as you breathe? Pay attention to how you feel right now, and remember this feeling by saying out loud, home.

Home, I'm all good, vibrant, shining. Slowly and gently open your eyes, take an extra deep breath, perhaps even reach up to stretch and slowly move in whatever way feels naturally good. One last deep breath. If you have a friend, family member, or co-worker who would benefit from this, please share it with my blessing.