30 DAYS.
FIVE MINUTES.
Thirty days. Five minutes a day. Same chair, same time, before the phone. Everything is on this page, so you can start today.
How to sit
Sit in the same chair. Set a timer for five minutes. Close your eyes or soften your gaze. When your mind wanders, that is not the failure. Coming back is the practice. If you miss a day, sit the next day. There is nothing to catch up on.
Week one
Breath
Five minutes, same chair, before the phone. Watch the breath come in and go out. Do not count and do not force it. Five minutes is small enough that you cannot argue with it, which is the point.
Week two
Presence
Keep the five-minute sit. Add three anchors during the day: your commute, your inbox, your doorway. At each one, stop for a single slow breath and notice where you are.
Week three
Peace
Some days it will feel like nothing is happening. Sit anyway. Keep the same chair, the same time, the same five minutes. Showing up is the whole task for this week.
Week four
SO HAM
Read What SO HAM actually means, then sit your five minutes the way the paragraph that begins ‘Try this for a week’ describes. On day thirty, decide for yourself whether to keep five minutes or sit longer. Carry whichever of the four words stayed with you.
Being straight with you
Anyone promising transformation in thirty days is selling you something. This is a simple habit, not therapy and not medical advice.
Want the reminder somewhere you can see it? Browse Circle of Meaning.