This is a foundational meditation you can use regularly. It starts with six quick points to prep your mind and body, then moves through a four-step transition to settle your attention on the breath.

Basic Meditation Practice

5 min to 5 days

This is a foundational meditation you can use regularly. It starts with six quick points to prep your mind and body, then moves through a four-step transition to settle your attention on the breath.

🪵 The Six-Point Preparation

Review these six points at the start of each session:

Motivation – Remind yourself why you're meditating. It could be to feel more grounded, sharpen your focus, or just reset your day. No need to judge it—just name it.
Intentions – Choose a simple goal for this sit. Example: "Be patient when my mind wanders."
Set Expectations Lightly – Hold your goals loosely. Progress isn't linear. There's no such thing as a bad meditation.
Commit to Diligence and Joy – Commit to showing up fully. If resistance comes up, keep going gently.
Distractions – Do a quick scan. Any worries, stress, or stories in your head? Acknowledge them. Set the intention to let them pass.
Posture – Sit comfortably. Align your spine, relax your shoulders, rest your hands. Breathe naturally. Let your body be stable and relaxed, like soft clay.

🌲 Four-Step Transition to Breath Focus

Move through these steps gradually. Emphasize ease, not effort.

Step 1: Open Awareness

Close your eyes. Notice everything in your experience—sounds, sensations, thoughts. Just stay present. If something pulls your attention, let it be, then gently return to here and now.

Step 2: Body Awareness

Now shift your focus just to physical sensations in your body. Pressure, warmth, movement, breath. If your mind drifts, come back to the body.

Step 3: Breath Awareness (Whole Body)

Let your attention move to any breath-related sensations—belly rising, chest expanding, or air moving in and out of your nose. Let your breath be natural. No control needed. Just feel what's already happening.

Step 4: Breath at the Nose

Now gently rest your attention on the sensations of the breath at your nostrils. This is your home base. Stay here. You can count 5–10 breaths to help stabilize your focus. If you get distracted, just start again. No judgment.

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Note: This whole process might take your full session—and that's fine. As your practice deepens, you'll move through the setup more smoothly and land in focused attention more quickly.

From here on out: Stay with the breath. Let the sensations at the nose be your anchor for the rest of the session. When your mind drifts (and it will), gently and joyfully come back—again and again. That's the practice.

Adapted from The Mind Illuminated by Culadasa (John Yates, PhD and Matthew Immergut, PhD)
Reference: Culadasa, et al. The Mind Illuminated : A Complete Meditation Guide Integrating Buddhist Wisdom and Brain Science for Greater Mindfulness. Hay House, 2017.