I started meditating around 14.

My grandfather was Buddhist and had died a few years earlier. Before then I knew he had many different routines and practices he followed, but never had much insight into the ‘whys’ and ‘hows’.

At his funeral, I gained some insight into these practices, and through stories my father, aunts, uncles, and grandmother gave I learned more and more about how great of a person he was and the things he did.

Meditation specifically caught my awareness and from that point on I was interested in learning about it and how it would help me become a great person like my grandfather.

I dabbled here and there, but nothing stuck and I never figured out how to do it.

But, one night I remember trying to fall asleep and my mind running wild with thoughts.

At some point I recalled meditation. So I went to YouTube and searched, “How to meditate”.

I watched the video. Funnily enough before starting the meditation, he recommended not lying in bed so you don’t fall asleep.

Anywho, it worked and I drifted off to sleep.

From there I started to meditate more and more. Both to fall asleep and in the mornings to start my day.

I would feel great after every session. But there was a problem.

It’s a problem many people face.

The post-meditation glow feeling never stuck, and when I needed to practice mindfulness the most I couldn’t.

You can’t close your eyes, cross your legs, and make the room quiet mid-chemistry lecture. And even if you could you don’t have the time for it.

I tried different things, like setting the intention at the end of each practice to try and hold this feeling for as long as possible.

But that comes from a place of fear and if meditation is about easing suffering then indulging in fear is a cause of suffering. It just doesn’t make sense.

Eventually, I came to the idea of quick resets.

Think of these like micro-sessions that allow you to recenter, calm down, and focus.

That doesn’t require any crisscross-apple-saucing either.

There’s a little to it, but don’t worry it’s quite simple.

Also please note just like your classic meditations you’ll get better at them with time. And may not feel any benefits at the beginning.

Flexing your Awareness Muscle

To make the most out of these micro-sessions I had to remember a key element of meditation.

It’s the idea of flexing your awareness muscle.

The best way to explain this is to give an example of a mediation session.

Let’s use conscious breathing as the meditation. This is when you focus on your breaths, from nose to throat, to belly, and reverse.

Now at some point, your brain is going to drift and if you're a beginner it’s going to drift a lot. Probably to whatever you have to do later, a rude comment someone said yesterday, or that embarrassing thing you did 5 years ago.

Flexing your awareness muscle is realizing that your mind drifted then bringing your awareness back to your breath.

And what is not always understood is that action is how you become more yogi-like. Through the correction, your brain starts to learn what it should be focusing on at that moment. And eventually, it will start to hold its awareness on the 'right' things for longer.

So back to the micro-reset.

Step one is realizing your brain is wandering, stressing, and distracted. To become aware.

Recentering yourself

Recentering yourself is the second step.

You brought awareness to the fact your brain is focusing on the wrong things, now you have to give it something worthwhile to focus on.

First, take 1-3 conscious deep breaths.

As you do that think of something you’re grateful for.

A smile a stranger gave, your morning coffee, the A/C hitting your face, your loved ones…

Then simply give a little smile and continue with your day.

Try these out

There are 2 other things you can do to maximize the reset:

1. Physiological Sigh

This involves taking a deep breath through the nose.

Directly after taking another quick deep inhale through the nose to fill the lungs.

Followed by a loud sigh out of the mouth.

This is a science-backed protocol I learned from Andrew Huberman that quickly calms your nervous system.

2. Pre Gratitude

It might be hard to find gratitude in the moment of the reset. Especially if it’s in a hectic environment

One thing you can do is add a gratitude practice to your morning where you’ll be able to sit and feel the feeling of gratitude.

And in the moments of the reset, you can recall the same things you were grateful for in the morning.

Recap

1. Realize you need a reset

2. Take 1-3 deep breaths through the nose, and think of something you are grateful for

3. Give a little smile and continue with your day

Bonus:

1. Use the physiological sigh

2. Practice gratitude in the calm of the morning and recall those feelings and thoughts during the reset.

I hope this can benefit you as much as it did me.

-Xan