15-minute breathing meditation for self-criticism, before public speaking

About this practice

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 15 minutes of breathing for self-criticism, before public speaking. A guided session of about 15 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: self-criticism

Self-criticism is a habit of speech, not an accurate report. The same inner voice repeats whether or not the evidence supports it.

It tends to show up as:

• A running commentary on your mistakes
• Harsh words you would never say aloud to someone else
• Reviewing old failures in detail

The practice is not to argue with the voice, but to speak to yourself in a tone that does not require an argument.

Doing this before public speaking

• Do it somewhere private, or in the washroom if needed
• Slow the exhale deliberately and check your speaking pace after
• Warm the voice by reading a line aloud, not by staying silent

Rushing is the tell of nerves. A slower breath now is what sets a slower pace in the room.

How breathing works

A breathing practice uses the breath as the object of attention and as the control lever. Because exhaling slows the heart through the vagus nerve, it acts on the nervous system directly rather than through thinking.

• Keep the exhale longer than the inhale — that is the active ingredient
• Count the exhales and start again whenever you lose count
• Do not force depth; let the breath find its own level

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Unclench your jaw. You were probably holding it without noticing.
2. 0:12There is no target number here. Only the next breath, and then the one after it.
3. 0:27You can let your eyes close now if they weren't already.
4. 0:39Nothing here is a test of concentration. Drifting off is part of it.
5. 0:52Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
6. 1:04Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
7. 1:15Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
8. 1:28Feel the soles of your feet. All the weight of you goes through them.
9. 1:42Notice the backs of your knees, which you feel more than you think.
10. 1:55Feel your heart somewhere in there, doing its work without instructions.
11. 2:07Feel the skin around your eyes. Let the muscles behind them go loose.
12. 2:20When the criticism you would never aim at a friend presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
13. 2:41If you catch yourself fighting the record of your mistakes, that is worth noticing. The fight usually costs more than the feeling.
14. 2:59Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
15. 3:12Nothing about the harsh voice inside has to be explained or justified in this room.
16. 3:26You are allowed to be unimpressed by the criticism you would never aim at a friend. Indifference is a legitimate response.
17. 3:43Feel your palms. Warm or cool, either is fine.
18. 3:54Keep following the air.
19. 4:03Let the breath be shallow if shallow is what your body wants.
20. 4:16Feel your upper back against whatever is behind it.
21. 4:27Stay with it.
22. 4:35Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
23. 4:48Feel your ankles. Let them be loose.
24. 4:58Nothing changes for a moment.
25. 5:07Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
26. 5:23Feel your forearms, from the elbow down to the wrist.
27. 5:35No rush to move on.
28. 5:44Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
29. 5:57Notice your fingers, one by one, starting with the little finger.
30. 6:09No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
31. 6:20If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
32. 6:32Just the breath, still.
33. 6:41Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
34. 6:52Notice if you're waiting for something to happen. Nothing is scheduled.
35. 7:04A short silence. Let it be empty.
36. 7:14Notice your shoulders, one at a time. The left one first.
37. 7:26Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
38. 7:39Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
39. 7:49If you're irritated, that's allowed. Irritation is just weather.
40. 8:00Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
41. 8:11Let the counting do the work. When you lose the count, start again from one — no penalty.
42. 8:27Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
43. 8:40A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
44. 8:51Keep the exhale a little longer than the inhale. That is the entire technique.
45. 9:05If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
46. 9:19Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
47. 9:31Follow the air from the nostrils down to the belly, then back out. One full trip at a time.
48. 9:47Notice how you're sitting. Adjust if you need to. Then settle again.
49. 10:00I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
50. 10:12If the breath feels tight, do not deepen it. Just watch it, and let it find its own depth.
51. 10:28Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
52. 10:40Let the breath get soft, the way it goes when someone is reading beside you.
53. 10:54A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
54. 11:05If the record of your mistakes is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
55. 11:22Picture the harsh voice inside as a weather front passing over. You are not the weather. You are the sky it moves through.
56. 11:40Notice the small pause before your body decides to breathe in again.
57. 11:53Notice where the criticism you would never aim at a friend lives in your body. Chest, throat, stomach. Rest your attention there without trying to change it.
58. 12:13Think of the record of your mistakes as a guest that arrived without knocking. You can let it stand in the hallway.
59. 12:31Notice that you don't have to start a breath. It arrives by itself.
60. 12:44Your mind will leave about a hundred times. Come back about a hundred times.
61. 12:58Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
62. 13:11Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
63. 13:22I'll step back. You stay here.
64. 13:32Your anchor for the next few minutes is the breath itself. Nothing else needs following.
65. 13:46Remain here for a few more breaths.
66. 13:56Notice your feet on the floor. That's where you start from.
67. 14:08When you stand up, do it slowly. There's no reason to hurry.
68. 14:21Let the pause stretch out.

Questions people ask

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