BSBM+: A Multi-Anchor Meditation for Executive Control, Attention Regulation, and Emotional Control

Combining Body Scanning, Breathing, Mantra and More

Apr 14, 2026

Having invented and empirically tested a meditation technique designed specifically to facilitate sleep onset—the cognitive shuffle—I have since turned my attention to meditations not intended to induce sleep. This article introduces BSBM+ (Body Scanning, Breath, and Mantra plus an optional terminal phase), a secular, multi-anchor meditation hypothesized to support attentional stability, meta-cognitive control, and positive mood. It includes focused attention components, in which attention is deliberately anchored, and an optional open monitoring phase, in which experience is observed without a fixed object.

Here I describe the motivation behind BSBM+, explain how it is meant to work, and situate it relative to other meditation practices that have received empirical study. While BSBM+ draws on findings from cognitive science and contemplative research, it has not yet been directly tested. My hope is that this article will spur discussion and empirical investigation.

Why Single-Anchor Meditation and Open Monitoring Can Be Difficult

Many people who try meditation, whether or not they have ADHD, find it difficult to remain focused on the object of their meditation. One reason may lie in the structure of the practices themselves. Most commonly taught meditations rely on a single anchor of attention. In breath meditation, the anchor is the breath. In body-scan meditation, the anchor is one body part at a time. In mantra meditation, the anchor is the repeated word or phrase.

According to Baddeley’s influential model of working memory, cognition relies on several interacting subsystems: the phonological loop, the visuospatial sketchpad, the episodic buffer, and the central executive, which coordinates attention, evaluation, and decision-making. Single-anchor meditations tend to engage only a subset of these systems. For example, mantra meditation primarily engages the phonological loop with relatively light executive demand. Breath meditation draws on the central executive and semantic processing of bodily signals. Body-scan meditation relies mainly on visuospatial and somatic representations coordinated by executive control.

When only one subsystem is lightly engaged, substantial unused capacity remains available for mental perturbance — insistent concerns, memories, anticipations, and other forms of task-unrelated thought. This may help explain why many practitioners experience frequent attentional drift despite sustained effort.

Open monitoring meditations, while different in structure, can also be difficult for beginners. Because they impose minimal constraints on working-memory content, they may allow habitual concerns or repetitive thought patterns to dominate awareness, particularly when executive control is already taxed.

Multi-Anchor Meditations and Working Memory

A small number of meditation practices engage multiple working-memory subsystems simultaneously. Two such practices that have received scientific attention are Kirtan Kriya and Vajrayana (Tibetan Buddhist) meditation.

Kirtan Kriya can be described, in working-memory terms, as a practice that keeps the mind gently but broadly occupied. Practitioners repeat a short sequence of sounds (“Sa Ta Na Ma”), engaging the phonological loop; coordinate each syllable with finger movements, engaging visuospatial and somatosensory systems; and often visualize the sounds moving through the body, further loading visual imagery. These coordinated activities place only modest demands on the central executive, but together they leave little free capacity for distracting or repetitive thought. Clinical studies, particularly in aging and dementia-risk populations, suggest benefits for mood, stress regulation, and aspects of cognitive function.

Vajrayana meditation similarly employs multiple coordinated elements, though practices vary widely. These may include mantra, visualization, posture, and controlled breathing. From a design perspective, both Kirtan Kriya and Vajrayana meditation illustrate how distributing attentional demands across multiple subsystems can stabilize attention without excessive executive effort. However, Vajrayana meditation’s explicit embedding in a spiritual and ritual framework may limit its uptake in secular or clinical contexts. Kirtan Kriya, though also originating in a spiritual tradition (Kundalini Yoga), has been more widely adapted for secular research and intervention.

Controlled Breathwork and the Physiological Sigh

Recent research by Melis Yilmaz Balban and colleagues has shown that controlled breathwork—termed “structured respiration” in the original paper—can reduce physiological arousal and improve mood more effectively than simple breath-observation meditation. In particular, the physiological sigh, consisting of a deep inhale followed by a second short inhale and a long exhale, appears to be especially effective. This finding is highly relevant for meditation designs that aim to support emotional regulation and stress reduction.

What Is BSBM+?

BSBM+ is an explicitly secular, multi-anchor meditation that engages working memory more broadly than either Kirtan Kriya or Vajrayana meditation, while also incorporating body scanning and controlled breathwork. I conjecture that, once learned, BSBM+ may allow some practitioners to maintain attentional stability more effectively than single-anchor meditations and possibly more than existing multi-anchor practices. Because it incorporates the physiological sigh, I further hypothesize that it may lead to greater reductions in physiological arousal.

The breadth of engagement in BSBM+ is, however, a double-edged sword. Individuals with reduced working-memory capacity, or those experiencing intense stress, may initially find the full practice demanding. For this reason, BSBM+ is intentionally flexible: components can be simplified or omitted. The practice also typically requires more training than the other forms of meditation reviewed here.

The BSBM+ Practice

BSBM+ begins with a set of five physiological sighs. Additional sets of physiological sighs are interspersed between body-scan phases and after the final scan.

Following the initial sighs, the practitioner begins a body scan starting with the head and shoulders. During the scan, one simultaneously engages breath awareness and controlled breathing, along with mantra repetition. The mantra is typically a single syllable and is timed rhythmically to the breath, with one word repeated on the inhale (for example, “in”) and another on the exhale (for example, “out”). Practitioners are encouraged to breathe through the nose.

If the practitioner knows a second language, even superficially, the mantra terms are ideally drawn from that language. This choice is based on the hypothesis that habitual inner speech tends to occur in one’s first language, and that switching languages may help quiet verbal mental chatter.

The body scan proceeds in sections:

head, shoulders, arms, and hands, followed by a set of physiological sighs
torso, followed by a set of physiological sighs
pelvic area, legs, and feet, followed by a final set of physiological sighs

Throughout the practice, mantra repetition continues during both scanning and sighing.

As in Kirtan Kriya, finger movements are also used, though not continuously. In BSBM+, fingers may be used to count breaths during the physiological sighs or to attend to sensations while scanning them, such as pressing each finger on an armrest or leg while scanning it. This adds further load to working-memory subsystems, including kinesthetic representations plausibly associated with the episodic buffer.

The “+” Phase: Flexible Phase

We have now covered the “BSBM” portion of BSBM+. The “+” refers to an optional final phase of meditation that is flexible, typically lasting two to five minutes. In this phase, practitioners may choose among unstructured open monitoring practices such as:

reflective meditation, in which one allows the mind to wander while observing one’s thinking (see Jason Siff’s Thoughts Are Not the Enemy and The Skill of Effortless Meditation)
an objectless open monitoring meditation, such as Shikantaza

Alternatively, practitioners may choose a further focused attention, structured meditation, such as:

mantra repetition
detailed scanning of a single body region
transfer-appropriate self-regulation rehearsal, such as mentally rehearsing how one might respond through counteractive construals to a temptation (for example, overeating), or to worry (for example, by thinking “worry is the thief of joy”)

I hypothesize that rehearsing self-regulation scripts during this post-meditation phase may be especially effective, because brief mindfulness practices can acutely strengthen attention and inhibitory control. However, this specific post-meditation rehearsal advantage has not yet been directly tested.

Ideally, the type of meditation used in the “+” phase is chosen at the beginning of the BSBM+ session, allowing one to flow smoothly into it with minimal additional executive demand.

After the “+” phase, one may optionally perform one or more physiological sighs to terminate the practice.

To save time, practitioners may replace sets of five physiological sighs with single sighs, or omit the “+” phase entirely.

Conclusion

BSBM+ can be understood as a design-oriented experiment in meditation architecture rather than as a refinement of any single contemplative tradition. By deliberately engaging multiple working-memory subsystems while incorporating empirically supported controlled breathwork, it aims to stabilize attention, reduce physiological arousal, and strengthen meta-cognitive control. Its flexibility allows adaptation to individual capacities and goals, while its richness places greater demands on learning and practice. While BSBM+ may initially seem complex, with practice it should become increasingly familiar and automatic.

It is hoped and hypothesized that repeated practice of the BSBM portion of BSBM+—by placing coordinated demands on working memory and executive functions—will support the development of more robust focused attention. This may help prepare the mind for a possible open, unstructured “+” phase, consistent with the common sequencing in contemplative science from focused attention practices to open monitoring, while still allowing practitioners to choose focused attention meditation in the “+” phase if they prefer.

Although BSBM+ has not yet been empirically evaluated as a complete intervention, its components are grounded in established cognitive and contemplative science. Systematic empirical testing—particularly comparisons with single-anchor and existing multi-anchor practices—would be a valuable next step. For readers interested in meditation as a form of cognitive training rather than solely a contemplative practice, BSBM+ offers a testable design hypothesis.

NB

this is my second Substack article on this subject. This is an update to my previous “update”

Luc Beaudoin: CogZest

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