Chapter News

Last time, we introduced three practices that can offer a deliberate pause from the pace of project life: meditation, mindfulness, and restorative yoga. This month, we begin with meditation, and with something that can happen before the first email, stand-up, or stakeholder call of the day.

Meditation is often misunderstood as emptying the mind. It is not. It is a practice of deliberately focusing the mind and creating space for inner stillness, with many ways to practice it. No hour of silence required, nor a perfectly quiet mind. Just a few deliberate minutes, and a willingness to arrive in yourself before the day begins asking things of you. [1] [2]

The Kick-off: How to Sit

Find a comfortable seated position, either on a chair with both feet flat on the floor, or on the floor with your legs crossed. Sit tall without being rigid, rest your hands on your thighs, and lower your gaze or gently close your eyes. [1]

 

Exercise One — Diaphragmatic Breathing

• Place one hand on your belly and the other on your chest.
• Breathe slowly through your nose, directing the breath toward your lower belly.
• Let the belly rise on the inhale and soften on the exhale.
• You can make the exhale longer than the inhale. For example, three seconds in and five to six seconds out. Find your own pace.
• Continue for five to ten minutes, or however long you have. The aim is simply to give your attention somewhere to rest.
• When you are ready, let that attention move from the breath to the rest of your body. [2]

 

Exercise Two — Body Scan

• Once your breath has settled, bring your attention to your body.
• Feel your feet and whatever is supporting them.
• Slowly move upward through your calves, knees, thighs, stomach, chest, shoulders, neck, face, and head.
• Notice what you find without trying to change it. Is your stomach tense? Is your jaw tight? Is your forehead relaxed?
• There is nothing to solve. Simply notice each part of yourself, one at a time, and then finish by noticing your whole body sitting where it is.
• Take a few natural breaths before beginning your day. [3]

 

Integration: Into the Working Day

A few minutes is enough. You can practice at home, in a quiet space at the office, outside on a park bench or patch of grass, or anywhere you can give yourself a few uninterrupted minutes. What matters is creating a deliberate transition from waking, commuting, or preparing for work into the working day ahead. Your inbox will still be there. The backlog will still be there. The stakeholder meeting will still happen. But you do not have to meet all of it before you have met yourself.

Maintenance: How to Sustain

Make the practice easy to return to. Anchor it to something that already happens each morning: your coffee, your commute, or opening your laptop. Some days you may have ten minutes; others, only three. Consistency matters more than duration.

Next month, we move from stillness into awareness: what might mindfulness look like once the working day is already underway?

Have questions or reflections? Connect with Renuka Ayri, or write to us: editor@pmi-nl.nl

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Notes & References:

[1] General information on meditation and its practice was fact-checked against Cleveland Clinic’s medically reviewed guidance on meditation, last updated March 23, 2026.

[2] This series was developed in collaboration with Renuka Ayri, change management professional and Ayurveda practitioner, AyuRA Holistic Health. Exercise one was contributed by Renuka Ayri and is used with permission.

[3] Exercise two draws on Kabat-Zinn, J. (2013), Full Catastrophe Living: Using the Wisdom of Your Body and Mind to Face Stress, Pain, and Illness.