5-Minute Guided Meditation With Pranayama For Stress & Anxiety Relief

This is a simple 5-minute meditation with breath retention that is ideal for beginners who never tried meditation before or those who think that they are "not good" at meditating. It can be done as a morning or evening meditation. Once you get comfortable with the technique, you can practice it on the go and even increase the length if needed. It's easy, quick, and so effective in relieving any kind of stress, anxiety, or tension. This is one of Kim's favorite meditations.

Transcript

Welcome to this short meditation for stress and anxiety relief.

Come to a comfortable seat,

Maybe sit up on a block or a meditation cushion.

Rest your hands on your thighs with the palms facing down or up.

Take a moment to consciously close your eyes as you turn your attention to your inner self.

Now focus on your breath,

The air moving in and out through your nose.

And simply take notice of how you're feeling right now in this moment without any judgement.

If you find that your thoughts are still wandering,

Bring your awareness back to your breath.

Notice what it feels like when you inhale through the nose,

Sending the breath all the way down to your low belly.

And letting that breath exhale the same way.

Now I will guide you through a breathing exercise with an inhale for a slow count of 4,

A hold for a count of 2 and an exhale for a count of 6.

If you don't feel comfortable with these counts,

Please feel free to adapt it how it's most suitable for you.

I will count the breaths for you for the first few rounds and then you can continue on your own.

So we start by sighing out the mouth,

Exhale let all the breath out.

And then let's begin.

Inhaling for 1,

2,

3,

4,

Hold,

1,

2,

Exhale,

1,

2,

3,

4,

5,

6,

Inhale,

1,

2,

3,

4,

5,

6.

Inhale,

1,

2,

3,

4,

Hold,

1,

2,

Exhale,

1,

2,

3,

4,

5,

6.

Again,

Inhale,

1,

2,

3,

4,

Hold,

1,

2,

Exhale,

1,

2,

3,

4,

5,

6.

Now continue on your own a few more rounds.

Relax your neck and shoulders as you breathe.

Sit bones grounding even further down into the floor or the chair.

Take your last round.

Slowly come back to your natural flow of breath.

Release the breathing pattern.

Notice if you feel any different now as opposed to when you first started this short meditation.

You may feel more calm,

Relaxed or simply just more at peace.

And maybe not and that's fine too.

Palms come together in front of the heart.

Dip the chin slightly.

Take one last big breath in.

And when you're ready you can open your eyes again.

Namaste.

Reviews

Helpful to get centered to start the day

Short but very helpful, thank you 🙏 sending blessings and peace ☮️🙏🙏

Great, quick release. Namaste

Thank you so much for this pranayama. Namaste

I remain in awe of how calming a simple pranayama practice can be—thank you!

Perfect short calming

Great short practice! Helpful! Thank you and Blessings. 🕊💖🌲