10-minute letting go meditation for fear of flying, after a long day

About this practice

Slow, spoken guidance for fear of flying. A letting go session you can do after a long day. A guided session of about 10 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: fear of flying

The fear is mostly about containment — being unable to leave. The body stays on alert for the whole flight, monitoring every change in engine pitch and every bump.

It tends to show up as:

• Tensing at each change in engine sound
• Watching the crew for signs of alarm
• Unable to sleep even on a long flight

Vigilance is exhausting but it is also optional. Giving attention a different task — feet on the floor, breath counted — lets the alertness stand down.

Doing this after a long day

• Something physical first — shoes off, hands washed, water drunk
• Do not review the day during it
• Keep it short rather than thorough

Replaying the day in the practice just carries the day further into the evening.

How letting go works

Letting go is about loosening grip rather than dropping things. It works on the effort attached to a problem — the holding, rehearsing and bracing — which is separable from the problem itself.

• Pick one thing you are gripping and loosen a single finger
• Release the effort with the exhale, not the issue
• Set down temporarily; you can pick it up again after

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00If you're sitting, let the chair do the work of holding you upright.
2. 0:13If you only manage half of it, that's half more than nothing.
3. 0:26Now let your attention move from the room into your body, slowly, the way you'd move through a doorway you know well.
4. 0:44Notice the weight of your arms without moving them.
5. 0:55Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
6. 1:06Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
7. 1:19Notice your shoulders, one at a time. The left one first.
8. 1:31Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
9. 1:43Start at the top of your head. Notice the scalp, which you almost never notice.
10. 1:57Feel the back of your neck. That's a place that holds a lot.
11. 2:10Whatever the alertness that will not switch off is doing right now, your breathing can keep going underneath it.
12. 2:26Notice the space around the clench when the engines change note. It is there, even if it is small. Put your attention in that space.
13. 2:45You might be planning something. Notice the planning, then come back.
14. 2:57Nothing here needs to be efficient.
15. 3:07A short silence. Let it be empty.
16. 3:17Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
17. 3:28You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
18. 3:41Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
19. 3:52If you feel emotional, you don't have to explain it to anyone, including yourself.
20. 4:06Let this be easy, if easy is available.
21. 4:17I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
22. 4:30If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
23. 4:42Notice your jaw again. Let your back teeth part slightly.
24. 4:54If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
25. 5:08Take the next breath slowly.
26. 5:17Let your whole body be as heavy as it wants to be.
27. 5:30Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
28. 5:44Remain here for a few more breaths.
29. 5:54Notice your breathing, without changing it.
30. 6:04Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
31. 6:16Keep following the air.
32. 6:25Feel your knees. They're just hinges, but they've worked hard.
33. 6:37Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
34. 6:48Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
35. 6:59You do not have to solve the fear of being trapped up there in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
36. 7:19You are allowed to be unimpressed by the alertness that will not switch off. Indifference is a legitimate response.
37. 7:35Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
38. 7:48the clench when the engines change note may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
39. 8:07If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
40. 8:20Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
41. 8:33A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
42. 8:44We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
43. 8:54Stay here a little longer.
44. 9:03Let your breathing go back to whatever it does when nobody is watching.
45. 9:16Let your breathing be completely ordinary again.
46. 9:26Let it be this simple.

Questions people ask

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