BREATH COUNT TO TEN

Count your breaths from one to ten. On the exhale: 'one.' Next exhale: 'two.' At ten, start over at one. If your mind wanders and you lose count, don't berate yourself — just start over at one.

The practice is brutal in its simplicity. There's no story to tell about how it's going. Either you make it to ten or you don't. Most people, on the first attempt, lose count by four. The not-losing isn't the point. The noticing-you-lost is the point. That's the moment of training: the gap between distraction and return.

1. 1.Sit upright but not tense. Hands wherever they rest naturally. Soft gaze or closed eyes.
2. 2.Let breathing happen naturally. Don't control it.
3. 3.On the exhale, count 'one' silently. Next exhale: 'two.' Continue to ten.
4. 4.If you reach ten, start over at one.
5. 5.If you lose count, start over at one. Do not judge the losing.
6. 6.Continue for the time you set. End with one slow breath without counting.