Breathe in

SPIRIT · A PRACTICAL GUIDE

How to Meditate

Sit, breathe, notice when the mind wanders and come back. That’s the whole practice. Here is a timer that paces your breath, and below it a guide with the evidence, honestly labelled.

the cube & the cosmosa monk’s breath, measuredall of Spirit

5:006/min · 5 min

guide

1 · START HERE

Your first session, in 5 minutes

  1. 1Sit

    A chair is fine. Feet flat on the floor, back upright but not stiff, hands resting on your thighs. A cushion works too; lying down works if you won't fall asleep.

    THEORY Teaching programmes such as MBSR and the NHS guidance treat the chair as a full posture, not a second-best one. What matters is being upright enough to stay awake and relaxed enough to stay still. 67

  2. 2Eyes

    Close them, or let them rest half-open on a spot on the floor about a metre ahead. If closing them makes you sleepy or uneasy, keep them open.

    THEORY Zen teaches eyes half-open, looking down; most mindfulness courses leave it to you. Neither has been shown to be better. 376

  3. 3Find the breath

    Notice where you feel the breath most clearly: the nostrils, the chest or the belly. Rest your attention there. Don't control it. Just feel one breath in and one breath out.

  4. 4When the mind wanders

    It will, within seconds. When you notice you're thinking, say “thinking” silently, then bring your attention back to the next breath. No scolding. Noticing and coming back is the practice. Each return is one rep, like lifting a weight.

    FACT In a brain-imaging study, meditators pressed a button each time they caught their mind wandering. The scans showed a repeating cycle: wandering, noticing, shifting attention back, staying with the breath. Each step lit up a different brain network. 10

  5. 5End

    When the chime sounds, stay still for one more breath. Notice how your body feels, then open your eyes, move your fingers and get up slowly. That's it. Five minutes counts.

FACT In one large phone-sampling study, people's minds were wandering in about 47% of the moments sampled, and they were less happy when they were. A wandering mind is the normal starting point, not a sign that you are failing. 9

2 · TECHNIQUES

Eight ways in

Try each for a week before deciding. None is the right one. They train slightly different things.

Focused attention: the breathtrains holding attention on one thing, and noticing sooner when it slips

From: Theravāda (ānāpānasati), Zen, MBSR

  1. Sit and settle for three breaths.
  2. Pick one place where the breath is clear: the nostrils, the chest or the belly.
  3. Feel each breath there. Counting helps: 1 on the out-breath, up to 10, then start again.
  4. If you lose count or drift, notice it, then start again at 1.

A short script, read slowly

Feel the air coming in… and going out. Nothing to fix. When a thought pulls you away, notice where you went… and come back to this breath. Again. And again. Each return is the practice.

THEORY Researchers group meditation styles into two kinds. Focused attention holds the mind on one object. Open monitoring watches whatever arises. The two seem to train overlapping but different skills. 11

Body scantrains noticing body sensations without fixing them, and relaxing

From: MBSR (from Burmese vipassanā sweeping)

  1. Sit, or lie on your back.
  2. Bring your attention to the toes of your left foot. Notice warmth, pressure, tingling or nothing at all.
  3. Move slowly: foot, ankle, calf, knee, thigh. Then the right leg, the pelvis, the back, the belly, the chest, the hands, the arms, the shoulders, the neck and the face.
  4. If you find tension, breathe into it and let it be. You don't have to make it go away.

A short script, read slowly

Let your attention rest in the soles of your feet… whatever is here is fine, even numbness. Now the ankles… the lower legs… Breathe into any tightness, and on the out-breath, let it soften a little, or not at all.

THEORY The body scan is a core practice of MBSR, usually done for 30–45 minutes from a recording. Most of the evidence comes from whole MBSR courses, not from the body scan on its own. 336

Open monitoring and notingtrains seeing thoughts and feelings as passing events, not orders

From: Mahāsi vipassanā, MBSR “choiceless awareness”

  1. Start with a few minutes on the breath to settle.
  2. Then widen your attention to whatever is most noticeable: a sound, an itch, a plan, a worry.
  3. Note it gently with one word, about once a second at most: “hearing”, “planning”, “itching”.
  4. Don't follow the content. Note it and let the next thing come.

A short script, read slowly

Let the breath be in the background. What is here now? …hearing. …thinking. …tightness. Each one comes and goes. You don't need to keep any of them.

THEORY Open monitoring trains metacognition: noticing what the mind is doing without reacting to it. This is a model built from lab studies of experienced practitioners, not a tested promise for beginners. 11

Loving-kindness (metta)trains warmth and goodwill, towards yourself and others

From: Theravāda Buddhism

  1. Bring to mind someone who easily makes you smile.
  2. Silently offer them phrases: “May you be safe. May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you live with ease.”
  3. Then offer the same phrases to yourself, then to a neutral person, then to someone difficult, then to everyone.
  4. If no warm feeling comes, that's normal. The wishing is the practice, not the feeling.

A short script, read slowly

Picture someone who loves you simply… May you be safe. May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you live with ease. Now turn the same wishes towards yourself… and slowly widen them, further and further out.

FACT In a meta-analysis of 22 trials, kindness-based meditation reduced self-reported depression and increased compassion and positive emotions compared with doing nothing. The studies were mostly small and of low to moderate quality, and results against active controls were inconclusive. 3031

FACT In a field experiment with 139 working adults, starting a loving-kindness practice slowly raised people's daily positive emotions. This in turn predicted more life satisfaction and fewer depressive symptoms. 29

Walking meditationtrains staying present while moving; good when you are restless or sleepy

From: Theravāda, Zen (kinhin), Plum Village

  1. Find a path 5–10 steps long, indoors or out.
  2. Walk slower than usual. Feel each foot lift, move and land.
  3. At the end, stop, stand for a breath, turn round and walk back.
  4. When the mind wanders, come back to the soles of your feet.

A short script, read slowly

Lifting… moving… placing. Feel the ground meet your foot. The other foot lifting… moving… placing. Nowhere to arrive.

FACT In a small randomised trial with 74 distressed adults, four weeks of mindful walking lowered perceived stress compared with a waiting list. There was no active control, so part of the effect may be the walk itself. 34

Paced breathing: resonance, box, 4-7-8trains calming the body directly through the breath

From: biofeedback research; military and clinical stress training; Andrew Weil (4-7-8)

  1. Resonance: breathe in for about 5 seconds and out for about 5 seconds, roughly 6 breaths a minute. Gently, through the nose, into the belly.
  2. Box: in 4, hold 4, out 4, hold 4.
  3. 4-7-8: in through the nose for 4, hold for 7, out through the mouth for 8. Do four rounds, then breathe normally. The timer above does this for you.
  4. Never strain. If you feel dizzy or short of breath, stop and breathe normally.

A short script, read slowly

Follow the light. Breathe in as it grows… and out as it settles. Let the breath be slow, soft and quiet, never forced.

FACT Breathing at about 6 breaths a minute makes the heart rate rise and fall with each breath much more than usual. This is because breathing and the reflex that steadies blood pressure fall into step. Each person's best rate lies roughly between 4.5 and 7 breaths a minute. 2122

FACT A meta-analysis of 24 studies (484 people) found that training with heart-rate-variability biofeedback, which uses this slow breathing, was linked to large drops in self-reported stress and anxiety. More well-controlled trials are needed. 23

FACT In a one-month trial, five minutes a day of box breathing, of cyclic sighing (with long out-breaths), or of mindfulness meditation all improved mood. Cyclic sighing improved mood the most. 26

THEORY Little research has been done on 4-7-8. One small study measured short-term falls in heart rate and blood pressure. The long holds make it a poor choice for anyone with heart or lung disease, or in pregnancy, unless a doctor agrees. 272825

A note on mantra and TMtrains resting attention on a repeated sound instead of the breath

From: Vedic, Transcendental Meditation, Benson's relaxation response

  1. Choose a short, neutral word or sound. Benson's studies used the word “one”.
  2. Repeat it silently and without effort. When you notice you've drifted, return to the word.
  3. TM teaches its own mantra in a paid, trademarked course with a teacher. You don't need that to try mantra practice.

A short script, read slowly

One… (breathe)… one… If thoughts come, let them, and come back to the word.

FACT Benson described a calm bodily state, the “relaxation response”, that he found came with simple mantra repetition. In it, oxygen use and heart rate fell. 35

THEORY An American Heart Association statement said TM “may be considered” for lowering blood pressure. That is a weak recommendation, based on limited evidence. 36

A note on Zen and zazentrains just sitting, with no object at all

From: Sōtō and Rinzai Zen

  1. Sit facing a wall, upright, with your hands in your lap. Rest the left hand on the right, thumbs lightly touching.
  2. Eyes half-open, gaze lowered. Count breaths from 1 to 10 at first.
  3. Later, shikantaza: “just sitting”. No object, no goal. Let thoughts come and go without chasing them.

A short script, read slowly

Sit. Breathe. Thoughts come. Thoughts go. Return to sitting.

SPECULATION In Zen, zazen is not a technique for a benefit. It is described as itself the expression of awakening. That is a religious teaching, not something research can test. 37

3 · WHEN IT’S HARD

Common problems

“I can't stop thinking.”

You're not meant to. The aim is to notice the thinking and come back to the breath. A session with a hundred returns is a good session. Short labels help (“planning”, “worrying”), and so does counting breaths.

FACT Brain scans show the mind wandering and coming back as a repeating cycle, which a meditation session trains. 10

Sleepiness

Sit more upright, open your eyes, practise earlier in the day or after a glass of water, and choose a brighter room. Or switch to walking meditation for a while. If you fall asleep every time, you may simply need more sleep. That's worth knowing too.

Restlessness

Make the session shorter, not tougher. Try walking meditation, or paced breathing with long out-breaths (the 4-7-8 or resonance pattern in the timer). Name it: “restless, restless”. Watching it rise and fall is itself the practice.

Pain or discomfort

Use a chair and adjust it. You don't have to sit through sharp pain. Move mindfully: notice the urge, then move slowly. For a dull ache, try exploring it with curiosity for a few breaths, then return to the breath. Pain that is new or getting worse needs a doctor, not meditation.

Boredom

Boredom is a mental state like any other: notice it, label it, feel where it sits in the body. Then try something else for a week: loving-kindness, walking or a guided recording from the list below. Rotating between them is fine.

“Am I doing it right?”

If you sat down, paid attention and came back when you drifted, yes. There's no special feeling to reach. Calm sessions and busy sessions both count. Judge the practice over weeks, not by one sitting.

FACT In one trial, 13 minutes a day began to show measurable effects on mood and attention after 8 weeks, but not after 4. Change is slow and often hard to notice from one day to the next. 16

4 · THE HABIT

A 4-week beginner plan

  1. Week 15 min a day

    Breath focus, the first session above, every day.

    Same time, same place. Missing a day is fine; missing two in a row is when habits slip.

  2. Week 25–10 min

    Alternate breath focus with one body scan every other day.

    Notice one moment a day outside practice: the first sip of coffee, washing your hands.

  3. Week 310 min

    Add one loving-kindness or walking session a week.

    On a bad day, do one minute. One minute keeps the chain going.

  4. Week 410–15 min

    Choose the practice that suits you; try one 20-minute sit.

    Review your log. Keep the time of day that worked best.

Anchor it, track it

Tie the sit to something you already do every day: after brushing your teeth, after the first coffee, when you park the car. Use the same cue, the same place and the same time. The timer above keeps a count and a streak in this browser. Look at it at the end of each week, not every day.

FACT In a study of 96 people building new daily habits, it took a median of 66 days for a habit to feel automatic, with a range of 18 to 254 days. Missing a single day did not undo progress. 42

FACT Making a specific “when X, then I do Y” plan (an implementation intention) had a medium-to-large effect on reaching goals in a meta-analysis of 94 studies. For example: “After I make my morning coffee, I sit for 5 minutes.” 43

5 · THE EVIDENCE

What the research says

Meditation helps some things a little, reliably. It isn’t a cure-all, and the brain-scan headlines run ahead of the data.

Anxiety, depression, pain

FACT The largest early review (47 trials, 3,515 people) found moderate evidence that mindfulness programmes ease anxiety, depression and pain. The effects were small to moderate (effect sizes about 0.2–0.4). Meditation was no better than other active treatments such as drugs, exercise or therapy. 1

FACT In a 2023 trial with 276 adults with anxiety disorders, the 8-week MBSR course worked as well as the antidepressant escitalopram. 4

FACT MBSR began in 1979 as an 8-week class for patients with chronic pain at the University of Massachusetts. 5

Depression relapse: MBCT

FACT Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is MBSR combined with cognitive therapy, for people who have had depression before. Pooling data from 1,258 patients in 9 trials, MBCT cut the risk of relapse over 60 weeks by about 31% compared with no MBCT (HR 0.69). It also beat other active treatments (HR 0.79). 23

Attention

FACT Several trials found gains in lab tests of attention: after an 8-week MBSR course or a 1-month retreat, after a 3-month retreat, and after 2 weeks of training. The 2-week training also improved reading-test scores and reduced mind wandering. 131415

THEORY The overall picture is mixed. Goyal's review rated the evidence on attention as low or insufficient. A broader meta-analysis found effects of about medium size on attention, but it had to exclude almost three-quarters of the studies it found because of their methods. How long the gains last, and whether they matter in daily life, is not settled. 117

Brain-imaging claims are often overstated

FACT Early small studies reported grey-matter changes after MBSR. In 2022, the largest and most rigorous test so far (218 people, active and waiting-list controls) found no structural brain change from MBSR. 19

THEORY A meta-analysis of 21 imaging studies (about 300 meditators) found medium-sized differences in eight brain regions. Its authors called publication bias and weak methods “strong concerns”. Experts have also criticised “mindfulness hype” in the media. 2018

FACT In one study, experienced meditators showed less activity in the default-mode network, the brain's “mind-wandering” network. That is a difference between groups, not proof that meditation caused it. The Long Zoom's meditation road follows this study. 12

Speculation

SPECULATION “Raising consciousness”, “raising your vibration” and enlightenment as a state of the universe are religious or philosophical ideas. Nobody has measured them. 18

SPECULATION TM groups have claimed that large numbers of meditators lower crime in a whole city (the “Maharishi effect”). The main study was published by the movement's own researchers and has not been independently replicated. 38

To see the slow-breathing heart and the quieter default-mode network drawn from real data, fall down the Long Zoom’s meditation road. For the traditions’ own pictures (chakras, auras, Metatron’s Cube, all marked as belief), see the cube and the cosmos.

6 · SAFETY

It isn’t always calm

FACT Interviews with 60 Western Buddhist meditators and teachers recorded 59 kinds of challenging experience: fear, panic, feeling unreal, reliving trauma, insomnia, involuntary movements. Some were brief; some were severe and lasted a long time. 39

FACT In a careful study of an 8-week MBCT course, 58% reported at least one unpleasant meditation-related effect. 37% said such an effect had affected their daily life, and 6–14% had lasting bad effects. That is a similar rate to other psychological treatments. 40

FACT A systematic review of 83 studies found adverse events in about 8% of participants overall, most often anxiety and depression. They sometimes occurred in people with no history of mental illness. 41

  • Start short. 5–10 minutes is plenty. Intensive retreats carry more risk than daily short practice.
  • If the breath makes you anxious, anchor somewhere neutral instead: your feet, your hands, or sounds in the room. Keep your eyes open.
  • You can always stop. Open your eyes, look around, name five things you can see, move.
  • Take care, and talk to a professional before you start, if you live with trauma or PTSD, psychosis or bipolar disorder, severe depression or thoughts of suicide, or a dissociative condition. Mindfulness can still help, but with a trained teacher (look for a trauma-sensitive one).
  • Paced breathing with long holds (4-7-8, box) is not for anyone who gets dizzy, or has heart or lung disease, or is pregnant, unless a doctor agrees.
  • If meditation leaves you distressed for more than a few days, stop and get help. Cheetah House (founded by researcher Willoughby Britton) supports meditators in difficulty.

Education only. Education only, not medical advice. Meditation is not a replacement for treatment of any physical or mental illness. If you are in crisis, contact local emergency services or a crisis line now.

7 · FREE, AND GOOD

Free resources

Meditatethe cube and the cosmosMeditation, measureda monk’s breath, heart and brainSpiritualitywhat is known, what is believed

SOURCES

Sources

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