Journal · Practices · 4 min read
Two minutes at the bus stop: the STOP practice
Waiting for a lift or a bus, most people reach for their phone. The STOP practice takes about two minutes and fits into those gaps.
Queues, lifts and bus stops fill a Hong Kong day with short waits. Most people spend them on their phones. The time passes, but the body gets no rest.
What STOP is
STOP is a short mindfulness practice often taught alongside Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and in introductory mindfulness classes. Each letter is a step: stop, take a breath, observe, proceed. It takes about two minutes. You can keep your eyes open and stay standing.
The four steps
- Stop. Pause what you are doing and put your phone away.
- Take a breath. Breathe in and out through the nose three times and notice the air at the nostrils.
- Observe. Scan from head to feet: are the shoulders tight, are the feet steady? Then notice what you are thinking, without judging it.
- Proceed. Carry on with what you were doing, keeping some of that awareness.
When to use it
Waiting for transport, standing in a queue, before a meeting or after a tense message all work. Repetition matters more than length. Once or twice a day at the same kind of moment is enough to make noticing the body easier.
If the practice brings up something upsetting, open your eyes and look around, or do only the first two steps. Anyone receiving psychiatric or psychological treatment should talk to their doctor or therapist first.
Start with two minutes
The Practise tab in the ZJ app has short breathing practices of one to three minutes that pair well with STOP. For structured practice in a small group, Mindfulness Foundations meets online one evening a week for six weeks.