The idea of meditating can be intimidating. Beginners may imagine sitting uncomfortably in silence while breathing deeply and scrubbing all thoughts from their minds. The prospect of trying those techniques at work may feel embarrassing.
But there are ways to bring short, inconspicuous sessions into the workday if you want to see if meditation can help you deal with challenging customers or reduce anxiety while preparing for a presentation. And experienced practitioners say there’s no right or wrong way to do it.
“Meditation is quite easy, as a matter of fact. I think there’s a stigma around it, that you have to be in complete silence, and you have to have some room setup, or do some chanting, or some serious breathing,” said Michelle Beyer, a wellness coach who owns the Brooklyn women’s gym Alana Life & Fitness. “There are one-minute meditations you can do to make yourself feel great. Nobody will even know you’re doing them.”
While there are different meditation techniques, many traditions encourage focusing on breathing to help calm the mind. When thoughts pop up, imagine letting them go. Practitioners say meditating before or at work helps them maintain focus, sit still, and reduce stress.
“There is a calm that I am definitely missing when I have forgotten to do it for a few days,” said Brianna Healy, who meditates for 10 minutes daily before starting her job as assistant director of strategic initiatives and data solutions at Naropa University, a college in Boulder, Colorado, that is inspired by Buddhist principles. “I can always tell the difference in my demeanor.”
If you feel pressed for time, try fitting meditation sessions into breaks. You can set a timer and focus on breathing while sitting at a desk, in a restroom, inside a vehicle, or outside, Beyer said.
Here are some easy mini-meditations to try out on the job.
A pre-work pause
Commuters can consider getting to work a little early and taking a pause in their cars or a quiet location to decompress from getting out the door and to their destination, said Kathryn Remati, a meditation teacher and author of Befriend Yourself. If you only have a minute or two, that’s still enough time to try Remati’s instructions for a quick reset.
Close your eyes and take a long, slow, deep breath to fill your tummy and lungs with air, she said. Hold the breath for a second, and then slowly breathe out like you’re blowing out a candle. “You’ll immediately feel a shift, and you’ll feel like a human again,” Remati said.
While repeating that process, consider setting a positive intention, or goal, for the day. Instead of focusing on a to-do list, think about how you want to behave toward others, she said. Some intention examples are, “Today I’m going to be productive, but I’m also going to be a good listener” or “I want to have a positive attitude,” she said.
Picture your bliss
Visualization is another technique that experienced meditators use. Picture yourself succeeding at the challenges you’ll encounter that day. If there’s an upcoming deadline, envision yourself finishing the task 10 minutes early. Jumping for joy. Get specific like a movie director and imagine the colors in the room or the feeling of wind on your face, Remati said.
Throughout the day, “you can bring up that image anytime you need it to refocus,” she said.
You can also use visualization to reframe your perspective on colleagues or clients. A technique Remati recommends putting into practice before meetings may seem quirky: Envision a white light over the meeting room’s doorway that showers the people entering with brightness. Remati says it may help you imagine them in a better light. “You can even put some sort of pink bubble around people,” she added.
Body scan
Another short meditation that can be done almost anywhere involves breathing deeply and mentally scanning your body for sensations, a technique popularized in the U.S. by mindfulness practitioner Jon Kabat-Zinn. Depending on your location and comfort level, you can keep your eyes open or closed.
Inhale through the nose and out through the mouth. Start with your feet and work your way up, noticing any areas with pain, tightness, tingling, warmth, or other sensations. Think about relaxing the muscles of any spots where there’s tension.
“You’re intentionally scanning your body,” Beyer said. “You’re thinking about how your feet feel in your shoes. How do your ankles feel? Knees, hips, ribs, shoulders, neck, head. And by the time you know it, you’ve checked in with every part of your body.”
Finger and thumb
Another discreet meditation technique is breathing deeply and joining your pointer finger to your thumb to form a circle. You can do this if you feel your stress level rising. “Say to yourself, whenever I put my finger and thumb together, I will be able to be peaceful and open-minded,” Remati said.
If you’re in a meeting and start to feel resentful or left out, you can do it under the table, and no one will know, she added. Remati does this herself if she notices she’s becoming judgmental or short-tempered. “You just do the finger and thumb, take a nice deep breath, get grounded, and then get back into the meeting and feeling positive,” she said.
Inhaling in and humming out
One of Beyer’s favorite techniques is best done when there aren’t a lot of people nearby. Truck drivers can do it in traffic. You inhale, and then when you’re breathing out, you hum with your lips closed, she said.
“It’s going to immediately take down stress levels in the body and even in the mind,” Beyer said. “When you inhale and you focus on humming, then your brain is focused on that, not the ‘what ifs’ or the worries that like to take over when we feel stressed.”
If you feel self-conscious about humming in a quiet office, you can step outside or head to a noisier place.
Shoulder and jaw release
The shoulder and jaw release technique also may help relax the bodies of train passengers or drivers or stuck in traffic, Beyer said. To start, inhale through the nose and exhale through the mouth. Repeat that, and then on the third exhale, roll your shoulders back. Inhale a fourth time, and then on the next exhale, relax your tongue and jaw, Beyer said. Finally, inhale again, bring your attention to your hands, and just let them hang heavy, she said. Then breathe in and out a sixth time.
Mantras and affirmations
Another technique Remati encourages is saying mantras or affirmations, which are positive statements or slogans you repeat to yourself. You can write them down and say them in your head or out loud while breathing deeply, before a meeting or at any point throughout the day.
Some phrases you might say: “I am calm.” Deep breath. “I am confident.” Deep breath. “I am ready for success,” Remati suggested. “I speak my truth. I am patient. I am here for the highest good of all.”
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Send your workplace questions and story ideas to cbussewitz@ap.org. Follow AP’s Be Well coverage, focusing on wellness, fitness, diet and mental health at apnews.com/hub/be-well.
—By Cathy Bussewitz, Associated Press