Almost everyone who tries meditation stops in the third week. The reasons are consistent and fixable: the session was too long, there was no fixed time for it, it was scheduled at the one point in the day that was always going to get taken, and nobody explained that a wandering mind is the practice rather than a sign of failing at it.
So the version we suggest is deliberately small. Five to ten minutes. Attached to something that already happens every day — after brushing your teeth, before the first coffee, in the car before going inside. Guided rather than silent to begin with, because silence is harder. And a specific expectation: your mind will wander many times in ten minutes, and noticing that and coming back is the entire exercise.
What it is reasonable to expect. Over weeks, most people report being slightly less reactive and finding it easier to get to sleep. There is decent evidence for structured mindfulness programmes in stress, chronic pain and relapse prevention in depression. There is no good evidence that meditation treats a disease, and we do not suggest it does.
One caution worth stating. For some people, particularly with a trauma history, long periods of inward attention increase distress. That is a recognised effect, not a failure. If it happens, stop and talk to a psychologist or a trauma-informed teacher. We are in Lane Cove, five minutes from the village, and we will happily point you to the structured programmes rather than keeping you here.
