12-minute guided letting go practice for panic — when you are overwhelmed

About this practice

12 minutes to meet panic with less of a fight. A letting go practice, when you are overwhelmed. A guided session of about 12 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: panic

A panic surge is a false alarm firing at full volume. The body floods with adrenaline for about ten minutes, and then the chemistry drains on its own whether or not you do anything.

It tends to show up as:

• Heart pounding out of nowhere
• Feeling you must leave immediately
• Tingling hands or a tight throat

Knowing the surge is time-limited matters more than stopping it. A steady, unhurried voice in the background gives the body something to pace itself against.

Doing this when you are overwhelmed

• Do not decide priorities during it
• Pick the shortest session available here
• When you finish, write down the first physical action on paper

The pile looks less like a pile once the alarm stops ringing. Sort it after, not during.

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. 0:00Let your belly be soft. Not sucked in. Just soft.
2. 0:12With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
3. 0:27Nothing here needs to be pleasant. Neutral is fine. Dull is fine.
4. 0:40If some part of you is resisting this, that resistance is worth noticing too.
5. 0:54Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
6. 1:05Notice that you don't have to start a breath. It arrives by itself.
7. 1:18Notice the space between your shoulder blades.
8. 1:28Feel your tongue sitting in the bottom of your mouth.
9. 1:40Notice your pelvis resting on the surface below you.
10. 1:51Let your throat soften. There's nothing to swallow right now.
11. 2:03Imagine softening the edges of the sudden surge of panic. Not erasing it, just letting the sharp parts go a degree softer.
12. 2:21You do not have to win against the wave rising in your chest. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
13. 2:39Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
14. 2:52You might be planning something. Notice the planning, then come back.
15. 3:04We are not solving anything in the next few minutes. We are setting it down, temporarily.
16. 3:19I'll step back. You stay here.
17. 3:29If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
18. 3:42You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
19. 3:57I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
20. 4:10Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
21. 4:23Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
22. 4:38A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
23. 4:49If a worry shows up, name it quietly and let it sit beside you.
24. 5:03Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
25. 5:19Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
26. 5:30Notice how quickly your mind labels things: good, bad, boring, nice.
27. 5:42Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
28. 5:55No need to open your eyes yet.
29. 6:05Notice your shins, which take small knocks all day and never complain.
30. 6:18Let your breathing find the rhythm it uses when you're almost asleep.
31. 6:31Let your body keep settling.
32. 6:40Feel your belly. Let it be soft instead of held in.
33. 6:52Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
34. 7:05Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
35. 7:15Start at the top of your head. Notice the scalp, which you almost never notice.
36. 7:29Follow the breath down into your belly and feel it come back up.
37. 7:42Take the next breath slowly.
38. 7:51Let your thumbs rest wherever they landed.
39. 8:01You have been carrying the fear that this will not pass for a while. You can set it down for the length of this session and pick it up after.
40. 8:22Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
41. 8:33Think of the sudden surge of panic as a guest that arrived without knocking. You can let it stand in the hallway.
42. 8:51Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
43. 9:05Let the wave rising in your chest be exactly as big as it is, and let your breath be exactly as slow as it is. They can coexist.
44. 9:25When the fear that this will not pass presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
45. 9:45Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
46. 9:58Notice whether you're breathing or holding. Start breathing again.
47. 10:09If you feel emotional, you don't have to explain it to anyone, including yourself.
48. 10:23I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
49. 10:35Pick one thing you are gripping — a plan, a worry, a grudge — and loosen a single finger.
50. 10:51Let the quiet do its work.
51. 11:01Let your eyes open when they're ready, not when the words end.
52. 11:14Let the last of the stillness stay with you for a few more seconds.

Questions people ask

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