Keep It Simple: 7-Minute Breath For Stress Relief

A simple 7-minute breathing meditation to help you pause, settle, and reconnect with the present moment. This gentle practice guides you to notice your breath and use a simple count on each outbreath, supporting relaxation, grounding, and a calmer state of mind.

Part of the Keep It Simple series — short, accessible practices designed to help you create moments of mindfulness in everyday life. Suitable for beginners or anyone looking for a few minutes of calm, clarity, and steady breathing.

Transcript

Keep it simple. We can begin by settling into this meditation practice. And welcoming the outer world. Welcoming all and any sounds around. Maybe there are some periods of silence welcoming that receiving and welcoming the temperature of the air. And your fragrances. All welcome. Receiving the support beneath the body. Its softness or hardness. Allowing the body to feel rested and supported. Allowing the body to be just as it is. Nothing is changing right now. And connecting with the inner world. Noticing what's happening in the bodhi. On the surface and deep inside. Maybe some sensations are pleasant. Some are unpleasant. And many, Many neutral sensations. Just notice that. And perhaps noticing sensations of breathing. And if being with the breath is not comfortable for whatever reason. It can always make sensations. In your hands. Or the feet connected with the ground. Or even sounds. To be your home base, A home base for your awareness to rest on. And if experience of breathing is welcomed. See if you can notice how the breath effortlessly flows in and out of the body. Perhaps even tracing the journey of the breath all the way in. And then all the way out. And we're now going to introduce some counting. And we will be counting each out breath. So keeping the rhythm of the breath Just as it is, Nothing needs to be changed. Letting the body do its job. We simply notice the breath and at the end of each out-breath. As in the counts. And we will be counting from 1 to 10. And then starting with one again. I will do this for a few minutes, So it will be a few rounds. So let's begin. Breathing in, Breathing out. Breathing in, Breathing out. Two. Breathing in Breathing out. Three. And just continue at your own pace. It's very likely at some point the mind will get distracted by thinking. Or listening to sounds. That's what all minds do, That's perfectly normal. So notice that. Label that as thinking or listening or hearing. And then take yourself back to feeling the breath and adding the count. And now letting go of all the effort. And letting the mind be free. And you can bring this practice to a close. Or continue sitting here in silence.