| Length | 2:29 |
|---|---|
| Subject | Quick Calm |
| Best time | Right before the thing you are tense about |
| Position | Sitting upright, back straight |
| Style | Two deep breaths, then you leave the breath alone. Music underneath |
Five minutes from wound up to ready. Do it in the car, on the edge of the bed, or at the kitchen table.
About 5 minutes, with wave sounds underneath.
Arms up, big breath in, arms down on the way out. Then two deep ones, held and let go slowly. After that you leave the breath alone and let it find its own rhythm. Your natural state is already the relaxed one. You are only getting out of its way.
Treat me to a coffee, keep the podcast free, and get my Weekly Calm every Sunday. It is all on stevenwebb.uk
Thank you for sitting with me.
Steven
Who this is for
You are wound up and you have about two minutes.
That is genuinely all this asks. Do it in the car, on the edge of the bed, or at the kitchen table before you go back in.
What happens in this meditation
Sit up, chin tucked slightly. Arms straight up over your head, hands together, and a big breath in. Then bring your arms down either side of you as you breathe out, resting your hands on your legs.
Then two deep ones. Right down into the belly, held for a moment, and let go slowly while your shoulders and neck come down with it.
Then you stop working on it. The breath goes back to its own rhythm and you leave it there. Breathing in calm, breathing out relax, with the waves underneath.
How to get the most from it
It runs about two and a half minutes, though the title claims five. Take that as good news rather than a complaint.
Sit up rather than lie back. You are heading back into something, not settling down for the evening.
Do the arms. It feels daft in a car park and it does more than the breathing does, because your body has to change shape before it will change state.
Questions people ask
Can two minutes really change anything?
It changes the state you walk in with, which is the only bit that was ever available to you. A short one you actually do beats a long one you keep meaning to get to.
Do I have to relax on purpose?
No, and trying is what usually stops it. Your natural state is the relaxed one. You are getting out of its way rather than making anything happen.
Where should I use it?
In the car before the appointment. In the loo before the meeting. On the edge of the bed before a day you are dreading. Anywhere two minutes exist and nobody needs you.
