Just Five Minutes of Meditation

Before you start your practice, find a relatively quiet place to sit where you will be uninterrupted.

You will also need a timer, set for five minutes. You can use a timer on your phone, an app or a simple kitchen timer. 

Obviously, you cannot read and meditate at the same time. So briefly read through this document before you begin each session.

• • • • •

•Once you have sat down and begun your timer, close your eyes.

Take a deep breath, focus on the air filling your lungs. Exhale, and feel all of the air leaving your body.

Inhale, and zero in on the sensation of the air moving across the skin of your nostrils. Exhale, and feel the air passing through your nostrils.

Inhale and lift your shoulders up toward your ears, stretching your spine up to the sky; grow as tall as possible.

Exhale and gently drop your shoulders down and back to open your chest. Your posture should be tall and open, not forced or strained.

Gently rock your body forward and back until you find a spot that is comfortable. Then, gently rock your body side to side to find your spot. Allow your body, not your mind, to tell you how to sit.

Finally, take another big inhale and push your belly outward in an exaggerated fashion, filling it with air, pushing your abdominal muscles to their limit.

Exhale, and allow your belly to relax into a comfortable resting position.

•For this practice you will be using your awareness to directly experience the physical sensations of your body.

Begin by bringing your awareness to the top of your head, do your best to pay attention to the sensations you feel by experiencing them without labeling them. 

Move your awareness from the top of your head to your face; pay attention to your eyes, the area around your eyes, your lips, your jaw, the back of your head and down your neck.

Follow from your neck to your right shoulder, using your awareness to travel all the way down your arm to your hand. Can you feel the palm of your hand, even your fingers, even your fingertips?  

Travel from your right hand to your left hand, pay attention to the sensations in your fingers, up into your palm and the back of your hand, your wrist, up your forearm, inside your elbow, all the way up to your left shoulder.

Now move down the front of your body to your chest, the area in front of your heart, the front of your rib cage and finally to your belly. Be open to the experience of the sensations as they present themselves.

Bring your awareness back up to your shoulders and your upper back, all around your shoulder blades and in between them; actually feeling the physical sensations that arise in the area you are observing.

It is very common for a label to come to mind without you trying to create one. 

Think of that label as a page in a book that you read just because you found it laying open. Imagine yourself closing the book and gently pushing it aside as you return to the task of experiencing the sensations in your body.

Keep observing your back. Move down to your low back and then to your hips, feeling the pressure on them from sitting. 

Some of the sensations you experience may be uncomfortable or unpleasant. This is also OK, these sensations have no inherent value. They are neither “good” or “bad.” 

Do your best to feel these sensations without judgement. You don’t need to fix anything or change anything, you are simply noticing what you are feeling in this particular moment. 

By holding your attention on one area and allowing yourself to simply watch the sensations that are there. you may notice that it changes and shifts. That is why judgement is not helpful here; everything you feel does and will change.

Follow down your right leg, from hip to thigh to knee to calf to ankle to foot to toes, paying attention to all of the sensations. Can you feel the top of your foot, the sole of your foot, your toes?  

Move from your right foot to the left and travel up this leg: ankle, calf, knee, thigh and back to your hips.

•If you are suddenly surprised that your mind has run away with you and is not only labeling things like mad but perhaps has moved on to things that have nothing to do with meditation, do not despair!  Your mind is just doing the job it is so good at: thinking!  

Instead of getting frustrated, practice re-focusing by taking a deep inhale and exhale, paying attention to the sensations associated with breathing. And then simply return to wherever you left off.

•When the timer runs out, take a deep breath and wiggle your fingers and toes. With your eyes still closed, cast your gaze downward. Slowly exhale and gently open your eyes.

(If the timer runs out before you finish scanning your whole body that is just fine. There is no special magic here outside of the practice of focusing attention on a specific area of your body and doing your best to directly experience the sensations in that area.)