Recorded meditations are revolutionary, introducing the potent practice to throngs of people who would otherwise not know its tremendous benefit. I love recording and sharing my own on Spotify. My kids listen to them to down regulate. My husband uses them to lull himself back to sleep at 3AM. In summary, this is not a knock on app-based meditation, and power to you if you’ve established a routine. Rather, this is a next-step guide for those who want to expand their meditation practice with technology-free, accessible, time-proven techniques.

Have you ever been away from your cell phone for longer than five minutes? The silence and the lack of distraction force you to be with yourself and your surroundings. It’s presence. If we’re not present with life, are we really living it? I am convinced much of yoga’s modern-day benefits accrue from the cell phone-free mat zone. And it’s the same with meditation. We are not historically designed to be around a distraction machine 24/7. So leave your magic rectangular box in the other room (or turn it off altogether). Make yourself extremely comfortable with a bolster, blanket, creating a nest to indulge inside. Then, let’s try these meditation techniques I deem suitable and enjoyable for those practicing on their own for the first time.

• Mantra Meditation
  • Is there a short prayer that means something to you? Is there a positive, succinct statement that you need to hear? Repeating these things over and over again for 10 minutes can have a positive impact on your state of mind. What you practice you become, so choose a mantra wisely. Make sure it feels authentic. For example, if you feel anxious and sad, choosing the mantra “I am joyful” may be too extreme. “I am grateful” or “my feelings are fluid” would better suit that state. Here are some examples of mantras my students created for themselves in the past:
  • “I am safe. I am loved.”
  • “I am not my emotions.”
  • “I am capable and strong.”
  • “There is nowhere to be. There is nothing I must do.”

• Tratak Meditation
  • Nothing entertains me more than this single-pointed focus on an earth element. Light a candle flame, sit outside and stare at a blade of grass, or even observe rain on your window. If it is of nature, be with itfor ten minutes. Try to stare at it and only it. You may observe its physical properties, its ephemeral qualities, it’s movement, it’s color… there is no limit to what you can deduce from this muse. Feel yourself open to absorbing everything it has to teach you. Then, allow yourself to become one with the object, sensing the oneness in you and nature.

• Gratitude Meditation
  • This is one of my favorite antidotes to anxiety and stress. Once you’ve grounded down in stillness, close your eyes. On your inhale complete the sentence “I am grateful for…”, and on your exhale complete that same sentence again, filling in the end with something else you feel grateful for. You will not only amaze yourself at the embarrassment of riches you have in life, but by how quickly you can turn that feeling of lack into abundance.

• Open monitoring
  • In this meditation, you do not have a single-pointed focus. You are practicing open receptivity and monitoring. As you lay or sit in stillness, you become an open vessel ready to receive any outside stimuli in your present moment experience. Let resistance to outside stimuli fade away. Notice without judgement all you can receive through your five senses. If at any time you feel yourself becoming tense or closed off or resistant, take a full, soothing breath and relax once more into receptivity.

• Breath Observation
  • Though this might seem too simple to entertain you for 10 whole minutes, its repetitive nature is very soothing. Behind closed eyes, tap into your internal experience. Do not try to manipulate the breath in any way. Watch each breath like a unique snowflake. Where does the breath like to go? Is it the same each time? Are the inhales as long as the exhales? Is it warm? Where do I feel it? There are no right or wrong answers to these questions. There is only observation.

• Live Guided Mediation
  • Power life and Mini other Studios offer guided meditation classes. Letting a teacher hold space for you takes the pressure off of keeping time. You are also in a community of other people cultivating a meditation practice, which can be huge for accountability and support.

You may wonder, “How am I to keep track of time without technology?”. You will learn. I’ve realized through practice that my breathing rate means 50 breaths equals about 10 minutes. After years of trying to meditate at least 10 minutes a day, I can now sense the time even without counting breaths. Let it be trial and error. See what you think 10 minutes is. If you check your watch and it’s only been five minutes, drop back into meditation and guess again. Overtime, your body and mind’s response to the meditation will let you know where your sweet spot lies.