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Practice · mindfulness
One thing after another, and your mind won't stop? Follow the timer, or TreeholeHK's recording (in Cantonese), through three one-minute steps: notice what's here, come back to the breath, then feel your whole body. No need to empty your mind or do it well.
Stuck at any step? Tap the top-right corner and ask ForestSage.The three-minute breathing space is the shortest and most used practice in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), designed by psychologists Zindel Segal, Mark Williams and John Teasdale. Mindfulness means paying attention to this moment and seeing clearly what is happening, without rushing to judge or change it.
It has three steps, shaped like an hourglass: first wide, noticing what is here in your body, mood and mind; then narrow, following only the breath; then wide again, feeling your whole body. It was designed so that, in the middle of a busy day and without a quiet room, you can pause and then choose your next step on purpose.
It's a way to pause, not a relaxation technique, and it doesn't promise you'll feel better. When you go quiet, uncomfortable feelings sometimes get stronger, and that's common; if it's getting worse, open your eyes, look around and stop.
This exercise isn't therapy and doesn't replace professional treatment for depression or anxiety. MBCT itself is an eight-week course, and the breathing space is one part of it. If low mood or anxiety has gone on for a while, working with a counsellor or psychologist will take you further.
The three-minute breathing space comes from mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT), designed by Segal, Williams and Teasdale as a short practice you can use anywhere in daily life.
The before and after ratings and the final "choose one thing to do next" are our additions, so you can compare and take something away; the three minutes keep the original order and method. If you choose the recording, the teacher's voice leads the three steps; the questions and ratings after it are the same.