Time: 20 minutes Now you’re getting the hang of it! Start each session with a few deep breaths to center yourself. Then spend a few minutes working with metta. Always start with generating compassion for yourself, then spread that compassion out to the rest of the world. There’s no need to look at your timer, instead when you feel you’ve been doing metta for about five minutes, gently move back to the breath. Breathing in, breathing out, until the timer rings.

The secret to a strong sitting practice is staying mindful throughout the day. Take a few minutes to reflect on your day. Were you mindful or distracted? When things got stressful did you return to the breath, your source of inner calm, or did you become reactive? Celebrate your successes at mindfulness and build on them tomorrow!