I don’t want to discourage anyone from trying longer meditations, but I also know how my own practice progressed when I discovered moments to meditate throughout my day. I found this practice works well on its own or as a lead into a longer meditation session.
Picture a volume dial in your mind turned up to 10, but with every exhale you count down, the breath taking the dial down to 0. I like the idea of volume here because that “volume” can be anything that you want to carry out on the exhale, and that will be different things on different days.
This is a very basic technique, you’ll find that the less effort behind it the more effective it becomes. When I am trying too hard, thinking too much, mentally overstimulated, my brain will start to count up instead of down. This doesn’t mean the meditation isn’t working, but rather a reason to continue to practice especially when I’m not in mental chaos.
