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It’s a classic Catch-22: The more overwhelmed we are, the more stress relief we need—but then taking time to de-stress can often lead to more overwhelm. It’s an exhausting cycle, especially when the typical advice that’s given is “try yoga!” or “go on vacation!” or “take the day off!” All great in theory, but not necessarily possible if you have a demanding job or if you’re a full-time caregiver.
So what do you do? You take the advice, and you shrink it into bite-size moments of calm—i.e., micro-meditations. No, a few tiny breaks throughout your day won’t feel the same as a week-long yoga retreat off the grid, but we’re not aiming for “big” here; we’re aiming for tiny, buildable moments that can help relieve stress no matter how packed your schedule is, without requiring you to block out time on your calendar.
What are micro-meditations, and how do they differ from longer meditations?
Micro-meditations are basically just shorter meditation sequences. They range in type and can include breathwork, visual meditations, or any mindfulness practice you enjoy—just fun-size. In general, micro-meditations range from about one-to-five-minutes long, and they’re a great way to get better acquainted with meditation, especially if you haven’t found a method that works best for you yet.
“There’s not just one type of meditation out there,” says Susan Chen, founder of Susan Chen Vedic Meditation in New York, “and these micro-meditations are a really great way to begin.” But when we say micro, we’re not talking about diminished benefits here. There are many well-established physical and psychological benefits of meditation, and even a few minutes of meditating can be enough to bust stress and boost calm.
You also don’t need to be a meditation expert to reap the benefits. A 2019 study published in Behavioural Brain Research found that adults—who weren’t experience meditators—reported being in a better mood and feeling more attentive after four weeks of 13-minute guided mindfulness meditations. The study also found that “relatively short” meditation practices had similar benefits to longer, more intensive meditations.
But adding one more thing into your day is easier said than done, so how do you go about fitting a micro-meditation into a busy schedule? It’s going to sound annoyingly simple, but experts recommend trying a quick meditation whenever you have a few spare minutes to focus. Really—that’s it.
“The key here is quality, not quantity,” says licensed professional counselor Viktoriya Karakcheyeva, MD, behavioral services director at the Resiliency and Well-Being Center at George Washington University’s School of Medicine & Health Sciences. “You can meditate for a long time, and it may not produce results if you’re not really invested,” says Dr. Karakcheyeva, “but if you take just a little time and fully invest your attention, it would be more beneficial.”
5 types of micro-meditations to try
Realistically, any amount of dedicated, focused breathing can help soothe your nervous system. But if “just breathing” feels too unstructured, experiment with one of these micro-meditations:
1. Alternate nostril breathing
Chen says she recommends this meditation to her students because it’s easy and fast. Also known as nadi shodhana, alternate nostril breathing relies on a yoga principle called pranayama to manage breath by covering one nostril at a time and breathing. “It’s literally moving the breath away from the left to the right nostril in a systematic way,” says Chen.
With your lips closed and your tongue pressed against the roof of your mouth, use your thumb and pointer finger to gently pinch your nose shut. To start, close your right nostril and slowly inhale through the left, then close the left nostril and slowly exhale through the right. Then inhale through the right, and exhale through the left. Slowly repeat this alternating pattern as many times as you have time for.
2. Staircase meditation
Breathwork meditations can help calm your nervous system, and Dr. Karakcheyeva has a short one for you to try that she calls “staircase meditation.” Imagine stacking your breaths on top of one another—which she likens to climbing a staircase: Inhale for one count, then exhale for one count. Next, inhale for two counts, then exhale for two counts. After that is—you guessed it—inhale for three counts, exhale for three counts.
You can continue “climbing” the staircase with your breaths for as long as you want. Don’t strain yourself with this, though; go slowly and for as long as you feel comfortable. When you reach the top of your staircase (a good starting point is 10 counts), head back down by reducing the length of each inhale and exhale by a count until you get back to one.
3. Resonant breathing
This easy breathing technique has been shown to improve mood and lessen anxiety by decreasing your heart rate. It’s also almost comically simple to do: “The only requirement is exhaling for more seconds than you’re inhaling,” says Chen. To start, try inhaling for two seconds and exhaling for four seconds, or inhaling for three seconds and exhaling for five. Repeat as many times as you want.
4. Visualization
This is a simple exercise that Dr. Karakcheyeva says pretty much anyone can do. Visual meditations are all about picturing pleasant situations and images. One way Dr. Karakcheyeva practices this herself is to assign visuals—like colors, shapes, temperatures, and textures—to the physical and mental sensations she’s feeling when stressed.
For example, let’s say you find yourself feeling uneasy and notice that your shoulders feel tense and tight. Try to assign some imagery to the tension in your back, which will help you better focus on and manipulate the physical sensation, says Dr. Karakcheyeva. “You can say, ‘that tension in my shoulder looks like a red pulsating ball, and I’m going to try to change that color to something less intense, like purple.’” She recommends really focusing on these images to redirect your brain away from the stress.
5. Say a helpful mantra
Use positive words of affirmation to put your mind at ease. Come up with a simple phrase that resonates with you, like, “May I be well, may I be healthy, may I be happy.” When you need to ground yourself during the day, simply take a few (slow) deep breaths, and repeat your phrase as you breathe—either in your head our out loud. “Maybe you’re having a tough day and you’re not sure when it’s going to be over,” says Dr. Karakcheyeva. “You can pause, notice what’s going on, and say that mantra to give something good to yourself.”
Try testing out all of the above mini-meditation methods to find which one is right for you. If you’ve never meditated before, don’t expect immediate miracles; part of meditation can require “teaching” your body that resting and breathing is safe (especially if you’ve been living in a state of fight or flight). And remember: You don’t need to wait until you’re overly stressed to use these techniques—taking a few moments out of your day to practice mindfulness can help set you up for success later.