How to meditate, starting with five quiet minutes
To meditate, sit comfortably, let your breath move on its own, rest your attention on it, and each time you notice your mind has wandered, bring it back without scolding yourself. Start with five minutes a day at a regular time; the returning, not a blank mind, is the practice.
Meditation sounds bigger than it is. You do not need a retreat, an app or an empty mind. You need a place to sit, a few minutes, and the willingness to notice where your attention goes and bring it back, again and again.
This guide covers how to sit, a five-minute practice written out in full, what a wandering mind means, and how to keep going on a busy Manila day. If stress is the reason you are here, a few quiet minutes on your own is a good start, and it is also where I often begin with students in private yoga for stress and burnout.
One note before anything else. Meditation can sometimes bring up difficult feelings or memories. If it does, stop, open your eyes, look around the room and move. If you live with trauma, severe anxiety or depression, practise with the guidance of your doctor or therapist.
What is meditation, in plain words?
Meditation is the practice of resting your attention on one thing, noticing when it drifts, and returning. The NHS describes mindfulness meditation in much the same way: sitting quietly, paying attention to the breath, sounds or the body, and bringing your attention back whenever the mind wanders.
The breath is the easiest place to start: it is always with you, and it changes a little from moment to moment, which gives your attention something to follow. Some traditions use a silently repeated mantra instead, such as the Tibetan om mani padme hum.
It is not the same as thinking about nothing, which almost no one can do. It is closer to training: small, repeated returns, like lifting a light weight many times. The Yoga Sutras call where it leads samadhi, complete absorption; you do not need it as a goal.
How should you sit?
Comfort first. A posture you can hold still for five minutes without pain is the right posture.
- On a cushion. Sit on the front edge of a firm cushion or folded blanket so your hips are a little higher than your knees. Easy Pose, the simple cross-legged seat, is the classic shape, with a block or rolled towel under each knee if they float.
- On a chair. Sit near the front of the seat, feet flat on the floor, hands resting on your thighs. Let the back of the chair catch you if you tire.
- Against a wall. Sit on a cushion with your back to a wall. This is the kind choice for a stiff or sore back.
Whichever you choose, let your spine be long but not rigid, your shoulders heavy, your jaw loose.
A five-minute practice to start with
Set a gentle timer for five minutes so you are not checking the clock.
- Arrive. Sit, close your eyes or lower your gaze, and notice three things you can feel: your weight on the seat, your feet, your hands.
- Find the breath. Notice where you feel it most clearly: the nostrils, the chest or the belly. Do not change it. Let it breathe itself.
- Rest there. Keep your attention lightly on that one place, breath after breath. If it helps, silently say “in” and “out”.
- Notice the drift. At some point you will realise you are planning dinner or replaying a meeting. That moment of noticing is the practice working.
- Come back. Without commentary, return to the breath. Do this as many times as you need.
- Close. When the timer sounds, take one fuller breath, open your eyes, and notice how you feel before you pick up your phone.
What do you do when your mind wanders?
You come back. That is the whole instruction, and it is harder than it sounds only because we tend to add a lecture to it: “I’m bad at this.” Leave the lecture out.
A wandering mind is not a sign that you are doing it wrong. If you return a hundred times in five minutes, you have practised a hundred times. Some days the mind is loud and some days it is quieter. Both count.
If the breath becomes a source of worry, move your attention to something outside you instead: the sounds in the room, or your feet on the floor. For more structured ways of working with the breath, box breathing, 4-7-8 and the long exhale are written out step by step, with their safety notes.
How long, how often, and what time of day?
Five minutes a day is a real practice. It is better than thirty minutes once a week, because the point is the habit of returning, and habits are built by repetition.
Pick a time you already keep. Many people sit straight after waking, before the condo or the house gets busy. Others sit in the car before walking into the office, or when they get home and before they open the laptop again. A quiet morning is lovely if you can find one, and it is why some students near the CBD choose an early lesson at home in Salcedo Village or a morning practice in Legaspi Village before the day starts.
Manila has its own obstacles. If it is hot, sit near a fan. If there is construction or traffic noise, let it be one of the sounds you notice instead of an interruption. After a week or two, add a minute if you want to.
Ten days of silence
In 2024 I completed a 10-day Vipassana silent meditation retreat. I mention it so you know that my own sitting practice is real, not something read in a book. The technique taught there belongs to that course, and I do not teach it in my lessons; how a 10-day Vipassana course runs explains the format.
What I teach is simpler: how to sit comfortably, rest the attention and come back without judging yourself. You do not need ten days to start.
When meditation is not the right tool
Meditation is not a treatment for a mental health condition, and the NHS itself notes that it is not right for everyone and can make some people feel worse. Stop if it leaves you more anxious, low or unsettled, and try gentle movement instead.
Please speak to a doctor, psychologist or psychiatrist if low mood, worry or poor sleep has lasted for weeks or is affecting your daily life.
If you need help right now, because you are in crisis or thinking about hurting yourself, please reach out today. In the Philippines, the National Center for Mental Health crisis hotline is 1553. Outside the Philippines, your local crisis line or emergency number is the place to start.
Where to go next
Once five minutes feels familiar, try a guided body scan from feet to head, which gives the attention a slow path through the body. If what you want is deep rest lying down, yoga nidra, guided rest is the next step.