Practice
Meditation
Less striving. More returning.
These pages describe traditional and personal practices. They are not medical advice, a diagnosis, or a treatment. Experiences vary. If you are unwell, speak to a GP or another clinician as well as David. Terms of use.
Where it comes from
David came to this path through yoga, meditation, and energy work. The sitting offered here is simple: breath, body, and the Hampshire woods as teacher. No lineage is being sold. You already know how to notice. Practice is remembering.
What it is
Meditation in this house is not about emptying the mind or becoming a better person. It is about coming back — to the breath, to the seat, to what is actually happening — without arguing with it. Stillness is a side-effect, not a score.
Group hapé evenings often close in meditation and sound. You can also sit at home with the timer in this app. Five honest minutes beat an imagined hour.
What to expect
- The mind will wander. That is the practice, not the failure.
- You may feel bored, restless, sad, or nothing. All of it is workable.
- Over time, the gap between trigger and reaction gets a little wider. That is enough.
How to work with it
- 01
Take a seat
Chair or cushion. Sit so the spine can be long without strain. Hands rest. Jaw soft. You are allowed to use a wall.
- 02
Choose an anchor
The breath at the nostrils or the belly is enough. Feel one inhale, one exhale. When you notice you have left, return. That return is the whole path.
- 03
Work with what is loud
If thought is stormy, count breaths to ten and begin again. If the body aches, adjust and resettle — do not heroically suffer. If emotion comes, let it be felt in the body rather than solved.
- 04
Close cleanly
Before you stand, feel the room. Wiggle fingers. Thank yourself the way you would thank a friend who showed up. Then go on with the day — the sit continues there.
Prepare
- Pick a time you can actually keep. Morning before the phone is a gift, not a rule.
- Same seat, same corner, if you can. The body loves cues.
- Start smaller than your ambition. Consistency outruns intensity.
Aftercare
- Do not immediately audit the sit. Let it be unnamed for a minute.
- If you use the journal, write what you felt, not a performance review.
Safety
- If silent sitting consistently floods you with trauma material, practise with a teacher or therapist who knows trauma-sensitive work. Open awareness is not always the right door.
- Meditation is not a replacement for treatment of depression, anxiety, or psychosis.
Use the Sit timer in this app, or join a group evening with David.