Six minutes, four segments. Written to be read aloud to a room of students, so it addresses a group and assumes nobody can leave their chair.
Settling the room
1 min 15[normal teaching voice, calm but audible from the back — not a meditation voice]
We're going to take a few minutes to settle before we start. You don't have to close your eyes — you can look down at the desk instead if you'd rather. Both are completely fine.
Put both feet flat on the floor. Hands on the desk or in your lap. Sit up, but not stiffly. [pause for 10 seconds]
Nothing about this is a test. Nobody is checking whether you're doing it properly.
Feet and hands
1 min 30[physical and concrete — younger students need something to do rather than something to feel]
Press your feet down into the floor. Push hard for five seconds — you should feel it in your legs. [pause for 10 seconds]
And stop. Notice how your legs feel now compared to a moment ago. [pause for 12 seconds]
Now squeeze both hands into fists. Tight. Five seconds. [pause for 10 seconds]
And let them go completely. Let them be heavy. [pause for 15 seconds]
Counting breaths
2 min[give them a countable task — open-ended silence in a classroom becomes fidgeting within seconds]
Now we're going to count five breaths. You don't need to breathe in any special way — just normally, and count them.
Count on the way out. Breathe in, and as you breathe out say one to yourself. [pause for 12 seconds]
Two. [leave 10 seconds between each number]
Three. Four. Five.
If you lost count somewhere, that's completely normal — everyone does, including adults. It isn't a mistake. [pause for 12 seconds]
Back to the room
1 min 15[bring the energy back up — they have a lesson to start, and leaving them sleepy is worse than not doing it]
Have a look around the room. Find three things you can see that you hadn't noticed before you sat down. [pause for 20 seconds]
Roll your shoulders once. Have a stretch if you want one. [pause for 10 seconds]
That's it — about five minutes. You can do the hands and the five breaths on your own any time you need to, and nobody will be able to tell you're doing it. Right, let's begin.