How I Went From 5-Minute Mantra-Assisted Sessions to 2-Hour Meditation
Summary
I didn’t start out meditating for two hours — I started with five minutes and a mantra, mostly just enjoying a bit of quiet. Over time, and without ever forcing it, those short sessions kept stretching longer, and somewhere along the way I traded my mantra for nature sounds instead. What began as something I did just for fun turned into something I actually wanted to get better at, almost like training my own mind. Here’s how I built up to two-hour meditations, why I made the switch to nature sounds, and what happened the first time I actually made it all the way through one.
Table of Contents
Where I Started: 5-Minute Mantra-Assisted Sessions
I first got into meditation in San Diego, California, and it started almost by accident — I was taking yoga classes regularly, and that eventually led me to look into meditation on the side. My first sessions were short, just 5 to 10 minutes, and honestly more for fun than anything serious. I wasn’t trying to achieve anything; I just enjoyed having those few minutes of quiet. Back then, I used a mantra — breathing out on an “om” — to help anchor myself. Eventually, I switched to nature sounds instead, since focusing on the mantra and my breath at the same time was pulling too much of my attention.
How I Slowly Built Up My Meditation Time
Day by day, I started genuinely enjoying my meditation time, mostly because I could feel myself getting better at calming my mind. Around the same time, something else was shifting in my life — I realized I didn’t want my mind running me anymore; I wanted to run it. That meant training it, and that desire is what pushed me to meditate more often. Slowly, my sessions grew from a few minutes to 15, then eventually 30, still using nature sounds, whether from YouTube or the Calm app.
Why I Switched From Focusing on My Breath to Nature Sounds
As I mentioned earlier in this post, focusing on my breath kept pulling me back into my body — I’d get too aware that I was just sitting in my room, breathing, instead of actually letting go. So I started looking into how other people meditated, and some mentioned using nature sounds instead. That’s when I decided to make the switch. One word of caution, though: not every nature sound track works. Some of the ones I found online were either oddly edited — breaking my focus around the eight-minute mark — or just had something off about the track itself. Take the time to find the one that actually works for you. I hope you find the one that makes you fly.
What I Experienced When My 2-Hour Meditation Ended
Nothing about my meditation practice has stuck with me quite like that first two-hour session. Around the 1-hour-45-minute mark, I dropped into a deep meditative state — almost like I wasn’t there anymore…
Then I felt a different kind of energy start moving around my hips and above. Again, a different kind.
It came on suddenly, almost impossible to notice at first.
This energy wasn’t moving too fast, but it wasn’t slow either.
And then, boom — it felt like that energy dropped all over my body at once, and I froze. Not just still, but frozen, like I was about to break into a million pieces.
I couldn’t stay in my meditative state after this, because I went into a little shock over what had just happened.
