Mindfulness Techniques Guide

Prefer to listen? Check out the audio recording of this lesson.

We’ve listed some common breathwork and meditation techniques below, and have also shared several apps where you’ll find even more.

Don’t feel like you need to limit yourself to our list. If meditation and breathwork aren’t your thing—or if you’re already doing something that works—that’s totally fine. Any activity that keeps you in the present and that slows your breathing, your heart rate, and your thoughts will count as mindfulness.

Importantly, while TV, social media, and even reading a book may feel relaxing (and they can be!), they’re still pummelling your brain with too much information to reliably get your mind and body fully in the present.

Lastly, while it’s possible to practice mindfulness anywhere, if you’re able, try to find a quiet room and take a few minutes to just shift gears and relax before getting started. You can do all of these techniques sitting down—though if lying down is more comfortable, feel free to do that as well.

BREATHING

By regulating your breath, these exercises provide a direct path to slowing your heart rate, which (in turn) reduces the pace at which stress hormones fly through your system.

Technique 1: Focused Exhale

One of the simplest techniques for relaxation is to focus on your exhale more than your inhale. Take 5-15 breaths where you bring fuller attention to your exhale, letting your breath go as completely as possible. Allow your inhale do whatever it wants to do; most people find that their inhale automatically gets deeper and fuller by ignoring it this way.

Technique 2: Centered Breathing

Breathing through your nose has a soothing effect on the nervous system, different from breathing through your mouth. For best results, imagine you’re pulling your breath back into one spot—this stimulates your pineal gland, for even more clarity and calm. As you try this technique, think of breathing in and straight back into the center of your head, and then breathing out from the center of your head. Take 5-15 nasal breaths with this focus.

Apps to try*:

Breathing Zone (Apple/Android): Choose a background sound on the app, then pace your breathing to a slowly expanding and contracting circle. Or opt for a guided breath session—all under 5 minutes. Cost: $3.99

Breathe2Relax (Apple/Android): Learn to relax as you monitor your breath with this app that syncs with your Apple Watch, Fitbit, etc. Cost: Free

*All of the meditation apps we recommend also offer breath exercises.

MEDITATION

By focusing your attention on a single thought or idea while allowing yourself to calmly observe (but not react to) whatever else passes through your head, meditation effectively cancels out the stimuli that get your breathing and heart rate going—and your fight-or-flight response triggered.

Technique 1: Stress Less Meditation

Developed by Calibrate’s Sleep and Emotional Health Expert Emily Fletcher, this ~12 minute meditation was specifically designed to combat stress.

Technique 2: Progressive Muscle Relaxation

If you’ve done the Level 2 Sleep class, you might already be familiar with this technique. Close your eyes, and starting with your feet, tense and release the muscles in each part of your body moving gradually toward the crown of your head and then down into your arms and fingers. Move gradually and deliberately and allow your attention to focus only on your body, thinking about how it feels when it’s tense and when it’s relaxed. If you begin to notice your mind wandering, gently bring it back to the muscle you are working on. Keep breathing throughout.

Technique 3: Breath-Focused Meditation

Close your eyes and take a moment to notice your body and how it feels. Notice any tension and know that you’re here to relax that. Now, tune into your breath, focusing on the sensation of how it moves in and out of your body. When your breath moves in, all you need to do is observe that—and when it moves out, observe that, too. If your mind starts to wander, don’t worry. Just notice that it’s wandered and bring it back to your breath. You can even say “thinking” in your head softly. And then gently redirect your attention right back to the breathing.

If you’re new to this technique, start with five minutes and as you get comfortable with that amount, see if you can build to ten (you can set an alarm to help you keep time). If things are going well and you want to deepen your practice over the coming weeks and months, twenty minutes is often considered the gold standard for a meditation session, but consistency is more important than length, so stick with what’s realistic and doable for you.

Technique 4: Word-Focused Meditation

Choose a word that you’d like to focus on—it can be something with meaning, like “calm” or “peace,” or just a sound you like (if you can’t think of anything in particular, Emily recommends using “one,” which is an easy sound to repeat in your mind). Begin this meditation as you would the breath-focused one, but instead of tuning into your breath, attend to the word you’ve chosen. Repeat it silently in your mind at a pace that you, personally, find calming and relaxing. If your mind starts to wander, don’t worry. Just notice that it’s wandered and bring it back to the word.

Apps to try:

For an even wider selection of choices as well as guided versions of all of the above, download any of these apps.

Calm (Apple/Android): Try walking meditations, body scans, masterclasses, and Sleep Stories (some with celebrity narrators). Cost: $70 annually, with a 7-day free trial.
Headspace (Apple/Android): Billed as “your gym membership for the mind,” you’ll find a wide variety of guided meditations to choose from. Cost: $13 monthly with a 7-day free trial.

Aura (Apple/Android): Experiment with a wide range of options, including a collection of three-minute sessions and 30-second anxiety busters. Cost: Free for basic membership and $12 monthly for premium.

Insight Timer (Apple/Android): Access 30,000 meditations from leading meditation teachers. Cost: Free