Multi-Stage Meditation: My 15-Minute Practice

Meditation is becoming one of those habits that we all know is good for us, but we have trouble actually doing it on a consistent basis.

When I first learned about meditation and tried it out, it was about 10 years ago. Since then my practice has been very sporadic. I enjoyed it and could see its benefits afterward, but I could never transform it into a steady habit.

However, meditation is now becoming as essential to my routine as exercise, diet, and sleep. I’ve been able to meditate at least twice per week over the past year – using a habit tracker and measuring progress has been a huge help in staying motivated and holding myself accountable.

Since I’ve been meditating more frequently, I’ve started to develop my own “personal routine” when it comes to my meditation practice.

The main purpose of this post is to share that routine with you. I call it a “Multi-Stage Meditation” because it’s a combination of multiple techniques, including “Breathing,” “Sensory Scan,” “Visualization,” “Metta (Loving-Kindness),” and “Mindful Movement.”

That sounds like a lot, but the whole routine takes just about 15 minutes total. Here’s a breakdown of how it looks.

My Multi-Stage Meditation Practice

Here’s a complete summary of my “Multi-Stage Meditation” practice. While there are many parts to it, it’s very simple and takes only 15 minutes overall.

Keep in mind: I don’t use any mobile apps, or music, or external devices (besides a timer). While I think these can be helpful when starting meditation, at the end of the day the most important thing is learning how to sit with your mind without needing constant stimulation.

Sometimes I set a timer on my phone for 15 minutes, but because this meditation practice is so structured, it’s not necessary.

1. Breathing

The first stage of my meditation practice is a simple “Breathing Meditation,” specifically a 100 Breaths Meditation, which is one of the first meditations I’ve ever tried.

All I do is take slow deep breaths, and countdown on each exhale (from “100” → “99” → “98”… → “0.”)

One of the reasons this is a great beginner’s meditation is because using the internal dialogue of “counting down” helps you to sustain focus on just your breathing (and not have your mind drift to other thoughts).

Another thing I enjoy about the counting down is that it becomes a self-timer. You know this stage of the meditation is over once you reach “0,” so you don’t find yourself thinking, “How much time do I have left?”

This is the longest stage of the “Multi-Stage Meditation,” but it’s also one of the most important for getting my mind into a more focused and relaxed state, which augments the later stages of the meditation.

Benefits: Focus. Relaxation.

2. Sensory Scan

Once I complete the “Breathing” stage, I transition into a “Sensory Scan.”

A sensory scan is simply paying attention to the raw physical sensations of your experience: touch, sound, smell, taste, and vision.

• I begin by focusing on the “touch” aspects of my experience: any sensations I feel on my skin, any tension in my muscles or joints, the position of my body, the pressure of gravity while sitting, etc.
• Then I move my focus to the “sound” aspects of my experience: anything that enters my awareness, whether it’s the humming of a refrigerator, birds chirping, a door shutting, cars passing by, etc.
• Then I move my focus to the “smell” aspects of my experience: usually a few deep breaths through my nose to see what odors I can detect, such as something cooking, fresh air, a scent from outside my window, etc.
• Then I move my focus to the “taste” aspects of my experience: usually I move my tongue around my mouth a little and see what tastes I can sense, such as something I ate recently, minty breath after I brush my teeth, or a hint of coffee from earlier.
• I finish by focusing on the “vision” aspects of my experience: usually I’ll just look at the “light specks” on my eyelids, but occasionally I slowly open my eyes and observe what is in my immediate line of sight.

A quick “sensory scan” such as this is a great way to ground yourself in the present and connect with your experiences as they unfold.

Benefits: Presence. Grounding. Awareness.

3. Visualization

Once I finish the “Sensory Scan” I transition right into a “Visualization” I created. The visualization is simple, but it’s evolved quite a lot since I’ve started practicing it.

I call this specific visualization, “Burning Light.”

I start off by imagining myself as a huge bonfire in a cave by the beach. In my mind, the fire is a symbol for energy, motivation, and passion.

Inside the cave is a whole machine designed to feed wood into the fire. As I visualize this process, I imagine the fire getting brighter and stronger, and I begin to feel more energized and motivated.

The fire also serves as a way for me to gauge my energy levels in a more intuitive way. Sometimes when I visit the cave, the fire is smaller and weaker. That usually tells me I’ve had a stressful day and need more rest. When that happens, I imagine the machine feeding wood into the fire at a faster rate, helping it grow stronger again.

Often I’ll include a few super quick affirmations while I imagine myself as the fire, such as “I’m light,” “I’m energy,” “I’m warmth,” “I’m passion,” etc. (I improvise this part depending on what words come into my mind, sometimes it turns into a free association exercise).

At times, I’ll also imagine empowering music playing, as if my visualization is an inspiring scene from a movie. I’ll also switch viewpoints to see the fire/cave/beach setting from a different perspective (such as a view outside the cave where I imagine a big cloud of smoke rising out the top, almost like a volcano).

There’s a lot more to it, but I’ll leave it at that for now. In general, using our imagination can be a really great way to change our mindset on a deeper level. During this stage of the meditation, I’ll try to get as creative as possible and play with new ideas as they come to me.

Benefits: Motivation. Creativity. Energy.

4. Metta / “Loving-Kindness”

Once my “Visualization” is over, I shift right into a “Metta (or Loving-Kindness) Meditation.”

The basic idea behind a Loving-Kindness Meditation is to send good intentions toward everyone in your life.

I often start with family and friends, and then I’ll move toward daily acquaintances, people I work with, people from my past, and people from my future (including people I haven’t met yet or may never meet).

With each person, I say their name in my mind, and then imagine good outcomes in their lives. I wish them well and imagine myself sending them positive energy (sometimes I visualize a “yellow energy” connecting me to them, which I see as a symbol for platonic love, gratitude, and appreciation).

When I extend the practice to strangers or people I may never meet, I usually see it as a group of random people that I’m connected to through this web of “yellow energy.”

It may seem a bit cheesy, but as someone who has struggled with cynicism and pessimism toward others, the “Loving-Kindness Meditation” has helped me greatly to shift my perspective in a healthier direction.

This is one of my favorite stages of the “Multi-Stage Meditation,” and probably the most important one.

Benefits: Gratitude. Relationships. Connectedness.

5. Return to Breathing

Once I complete the “Metta (or Loving Kindness)” stage, I re-visit my Breathing Meditation. Usually, I start with another 20 breaths — a shorter version of my “100 Breaths Meditation.” I may also choose to continue to sit with my breath for an indefinite amount of time afterward, just “riding out” the meditation.

6. Slow Motion Exit

The final stage of the practice is what I call a “Slow Motion Exit.”

Once I’ve completed the previous stages, I don’t immediately jump up and rush into the next thing. It’s easy to fall right back into “busy mode.” Instead, I move slowly and deliberately, almost as if I’m performing each action in slow motion.

I slowly open my eyes. I slowly look around the room. Then I stand up carefully, paying attention to the feeling of my feet on the floor, the movement in my legs, the shift in my posture, and the small adjustments in my body as I return to the day. Sometimes I exaggerate these movements to an almost comical degree, moving much slower than my normal pace just to see how long I can stretch out a simple action.

This helps me carry the mindset of meditation with me, instead of leaving it behind the moment the session ends.

Benefits: Mindful Movement. Patience. Integration.

Conclusion

That’s my “Multi-Stage Meditation” practice. I imagine I’ll be making small adjustments to it over time, but for now I’m really enjoying it.

Being able to cycle through different stages while meditating often keeps me more engaged and makes the experience more powerful overall. I also get to cultivate multiple attributes in one session: focus, awareness, creativity, gratitude, etc.

Feel free to adopt any ideas you like into your own practice. And feel free to experiment with different types of meditation or visualization. The ultimate goal is to create a routine that works best for you.

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