Take Three Easy Breaths While Waiting for the Traindaily

The display says the train is a few minutes away. You reach for your phone almost before you've finished reading it. If you'd like, leave the screen alone for three ordinary breaths instead.

Stand well back from the platform edge, behind the marked safety line, and clear of doors, stairs, and other passengers. Keep your eyes open and remain aware of announcements, staff instructions, and approaching trains.

Don't make it a breathing test

Let the first breath arrive normally. Notice the second. By the third, you may simply be ready to look up and wait. You don't need to inhale for a count, hold your breath, or make it deeper.

When the train approaches, stop the exercise and pay attention to boarding. If you're anxious, dizzy, uncomfortable, or in a crowded place, skip it. Looking around attentively is just as valid a pause.

A platform is first a transport space, not somewhere to withdraw from your surroundings. The small change is that one moment of waiting can stay a moment of waiting, without turning into another thing to read.