12-minute guided letting go practice for physical tension — when it all piles up

About this practice

For the times when it all piles up when physical tension takes up more room than you would like — 12 minutes, letting go. A guided session of about 12 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: physical tension

The body stores effort that the mind has finished with. Tension persists in whichever region carries your particular habit — neck, jaw, back or gut.

It tends to show up as:

• A knot between the shoulders
• A clenched jaw you had not noticed
• Ache that appears after stressful days

Tension needs to be noticed before it can release. Scanning it deliberately is not the same as being told to relax.

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. 0:00Put both feet flat on the floor and let them take some of the weight.
2. 0:14Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
3. 0:30Bring your attention to the parts of you that are already still.
4. 0:43Bring your attention to where your body meets the surface underneath you.
5. 0:56Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
6. 1:09Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
7. 1:25Feel your knees. They're just hinges, but they've worked hard.
8. 1:37Feel the parts of you that have gone quiet.
9. 1:48Notice your jaw again. Let your back teeth part slightly.
10. 2:00Notice your shoulders, one at a time. The left one first.
11. 2:12You have been carrying the body holding the day for a while. You can set it down for the length of this session and pick it up after.
12. 2:32the knot between your shoulders may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
13. 2:50Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
14. 3:01Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind?
15. 3:13You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
16. 3:28Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
17. 3:39If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
18. 3:53Pick one thing you are gripping — a plan, a worry, a grudge — and loosen a single finger.
19. 4:09Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
20. 4:20Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
21. 4:33Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
22. 4:48Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
23. 5:00If you feel emotional, you don't have to explain it to anyone, including yourself.
24. 5:14With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
25. 5:29Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
26. 5:39If you feel numb, that's a valid thing to feel. Nothing to fix.
27. 5:52Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
28. 6:06Stay here a little longer.
29. 6:15Notice your shins, which take small knocks all day and never complain.
30. 6:28Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
31. 6:39Nothing changes for a moment.
32. 6:48Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
33. 7:00Feel the pause at the top of the in-breath. It's shorter than you think.
34. 7:14A few seconds more.
35. 7:23Notice your fingers, one by one, starting with the little finger.
36. 7:35Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
37. 7:50Just the breath, still.
38. 7:59Notice your breathing, without changing it.
39. 8:09This is not the last time the clenched jaw you forgot about will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
40. 8:28No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
41. 8:39Let the body holding the day be exactly as big as it is, and let your breath be exactly as slow as it is. They can coexist.
42. 8:59Let the breath be shallow if shallow is what your body wants.
43. 9:12If the knot between your shoulders is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
44. 9:29Give the clenched jaw you forgot about a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
45. 9:47If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
46. 10:01Notice any part of you that wants this to be over.
47. 10:13Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
48. 10:25A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
49. 10:36We are not solving anything in the next few minutes. We are setting it down, temporarily.
50. 10:51Remain here for a few more breaths.
51. 11:01Before you move, notice one thing that's fine right now.
52. 11:13Take one breath that's a little fuller than the others, and let it out through your mouth.

Questions people ask

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