10-minute guided body scan practice for tired eyes — between calls

About this practice

10 minutes to meet tired eyes with less of a fight. A body scan practice, between calls. A guided session of about 10 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: tired eyes

Screens reduce blink rate sharply, and the muscles that focus at close range stay contracted. The result is strain, ache and blur by the end of the day.

It tends to show up as:

• Aching, gritty eyes after screen time
• Blurring at the end of the day
• Headaches above the eyes

Closing the eyes is the only real rest they get. A few minutes without visual input is the specific thing your eyes are short of.

Doing this between meetings

• Start it in the gap, not after the next one begins
• Write down the open thread from the last meeting first, then let it go
• Two minutes done beats five minutes planned

The back-to-back day is exactly why the gap has to be protected rather than used for one more task.

How body scan works

A body scan moves attention systematically through the body, region by region. It does not try to change what it finds — it builds a map of what is actually there, which is often different from what you assumed.

• Move slowly, head to feet or feet to head, and do not skip the uncomfortable areas
• Meet each region with plain curiosity rather than a verdict
• Numbness and absence of sensation are findings too

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Let your tongue rest down, away from the roof of your mouth.
2. 0:13We'll take this slowly, and there's no version of this where you get it wrong.
3. 0:27We'll be quiet for a bit longer than usual. Stay with whatever shows up.
4. 0:41There's no correct speed. Slower isn't better. Steadier is the only aim.
5. 0:54Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
6. 1:07Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
7. 1:20Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
8. 1:32Notice your toes, starting with the big one on the left.
9. 1:44Feel your heart somewhere in there, doing its work without instructions.
10. 1:56Feel the parts of you that have gone quiet.
11. 2:07Let the exhale carry a little of the ache of staring too long with it. Not all of it. Just a little, one breath at a time.
12. 2:27You do not have to solve the strained eyes after screens in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
13. 2:46If your mind has wandered, that's not a mistake. Noticing is the practice.
14. 2:59Small efforts are the whole method.
15. 3:09Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
16. 3:20If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
17. 3:33You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
18. 3:46A short silence. Let it be empty.
19. 3:56Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
20. 4:07Nothing here needs to be efficient.
21. 4:17Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
22. 4:28Notice the moment you realise you've drifted. That moment is the whole skill.
23. 4:41Notice your breathing, without changing it.
24. 4:51Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
25. 5:02A few seconds more.
26. 5:11Start at the top of your head. Notice the scalp, which you almost never notice.
27. 5:25Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
28. 5:39Nothing changes for a moment.
29. 5:48Let your whole body be as heavy as it wants to be.
30. 6:01Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
31. 6:14Stay with it.
32. 6:22Notice your shins, which take small knocks all day and never complain.
33. 6:35If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
34. 6:49Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
35. 7:00Let the heavy lids of a screen-lit day be exactly as big as it is, and let your breath be exactly as slow as it is. They can coexist.
36. 7:21If the ache of staring too long starts telling you a story, let the story finish without you adding to it.
37. 7:38Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
38. 7:50You have been carrying the strained eyes after screens for a while. You can set it down for the length of this session and pick it up after.
39. 8:10Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
40. 8:23Notice anything you're holding onto from earlier today.
41. 8:34A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
42. 8:45We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
43. 8:55Let your body keep settling.
44. 9:04Give your hands a stretch before you go back to using them.
45. 9:17Notice your feet on the floor. That's where you start from.
46. 9:29Just the breath, still.

Questions people ask

Meditation is a practice, not a treatment. If you are dealing with ongoing distress, please also reach out to a professional.