Mini-meditations are a way to foster peace of mind at work
[October 04, 2025]
By CATHY BUSSEWITZ
NEW YORK (AP) — 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’s 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 your 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 behave towards others, she said. Some intention examples are,
“Today I’m going to be productive, but I’m also going to 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.
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(AP Illustration / Peter Hamlin)
 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 do 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 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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