12-minute guided letting go practice for financial

About this practice

12 minutes to meet financial stress with less of a fight. A letting go practice, on your commute. A guided session of about 12 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: financial stress

Money worry runs at night, when there is nothing to do about it. The lack of any available action keeps the nervous system activated for hours.

It tends to show up as:

Lying awake doing arithmetic
A clenched stomach opening the bank app
Irritability about small spending

At 2am there is no decision to make, only a night to get through. That is the whole job of this practice.

Doing this on your commute

Headphones on, eyes open or closed depending on your comfort
Keep one part of your attention on your stop
Do it standing if sitting is not possible — nobody is watching

Commuting time is already dead time. Nothing is being given up.

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

0:00There is nothing to get right here. Nothing is being scored.
0:12Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
0:28Nothing here needs to be pleasant. Neutral is fine. Dull is fine.
0:41We'll work through this slowly. If you lose the thread, the thread will wait.
0:55Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
1:09Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
1:22Feel the skin around your eyes. Let the muscles behind them go loose.
1:35Let your throat soften. There's nothing to swallow right now.
1:47Feel your upper arms hanging. They're heavier than you remember.
1:59Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
2:10If the arithmetic that will not balance starts telling you a story, let the story finish without you adding to it.
2:27If the worry that follows the bills is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
2:45Notice the small pause before your body decides to breathe in again.
2:58Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
3:09Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
3:24I'll step back. You stay here.
3:34Your mind will leave about a hundred times. Come back about a hundred times.
3:48You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
4:03A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
4:14Notice how quickly your mind labels things: good, bad, boring, nice.
4:26With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
4:41Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
4:53If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
5:08Pick one thing you are gripping — a plan, a worry, a grudge — and loosen a single finger.
5:24I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
5:37Follow one full breath from the moment it starts to the moment it ends.
5:51Remain here for a few more breaths.
6:01Feel your heart somewhere in there, doing its work without instructions.
6:13Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
6:29No rush to move on.
6:38Notice your ribs on both sides. Wide, not squeezed.
6:49Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
7:00Let your body keep settling.
7:09Feel your forearms, from the elbow down to the wrist.
7:21Follow the breath down into your belly and feel it come back up.
7:34Let the pause stretch out.
7:43Notice where your body is still holding something. Leave it alone.
7:55Let the fear about money in the night be exactly as big as it is, and let your breath be exactly as slow as it is. They can coexist.
8:16I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
8:28When the arithmetic that will not balance arrives, name it once, quietly, and go back to the breath. Naming is not fixing, and that is fine.
8:47Notice if your breathing is faster than you expected. Don't correct it. Just note it.
9:01If the worry that follows the bills has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
9:19If the fear about money in the night shows up, let it be there without arguing with it. You are not trying to remove it, just to sit beside it.
9:40Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
9:56If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
10:10Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
10:23No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
10:34We are not solving anything in the next few minutes. We are setting it down, temporarily.
10:49A few seconds more.
10:58When you stand up, do it slowly. There's no reason to hurry.
11:11When you're ready, look around properly.
11:21Take the next breath slowly.

Questions people ask

What does this session help with?

Money worry runs at night, when there is nothing to do about it. The lack of any available action keeps the nervous system activated for hours. At 2am there is no decision to make, only a night to get through. That is the whole job of this practice.

Where and when should I do this one?

Headphones on, eyes open or closed depending on your comfort. Commuting time is already dead time. Nothing is being given up.

What actually happens during the 12 minutes?

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.

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