15-minute guided letting go practice for fatigue — after a horrible day

About this practice

When fatigue shows up after a horrible day, this 15-minute letting go session gives you somewhere to put it down. A guided session of about 15 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: fatigue

Fatigue is deep tiredness of the kind that sleep does not fully clear, usually after a stretch of sustained demand.

It tends to show up as:

Tired behind the eyes all day
Heavy limbs
Rest that does not refresh

Here the practice should be restful rather than stimulating. Quiet and unambitious is the right dose.

Doing this after a bad day

Do not review the day during it — that is what tomorrow is for
Something physical first, then this
Keep it short and end it deliberately

A bad day does not need a verdict. Closing it without a post-mortem is allowed.

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

0:00You don't have to empty your mind. Nobody has ever managed that, including the people who wrote the instructions.
0:16Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
0:31Let your attention rest on the out-breath. The in-breath can take care of itself.
0:45Settle into the fact that for the next few minutes, nothing is required of you.
0:59Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
1:14Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
1:27Notice your whole body as one shape, sitting or lying here.
1:39Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
1:50Feel the skin around your eyes. Let the muscles behind them go loose.
2:03Now the right shoulder. Let it be a centimetre lower than it was.
2:16Notice where your body is still holding something. Leave it alone.
2:28You have been carrying the heaviness behind your eyes for a while. You can set it down for the length of this session and pick it up after.
2:48Feel the weight of the end of the reserves somewhere specific, then let the floor take a share of it.
3:05Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
3:18You do not have to solve the bone-deep tiredness in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
3:37Whatever the heaviness behind your eyes is doing right now, your breathing can keep going underneath it.
3:52Feel your ankles. Let them be loose.
4:02Nothing changes for a moment.
4:11Notice that you don't have to start a breath. It arrives by itself.
4:24Let the whole of your right foot be heavy.
4:35No rush to move on.
4:44Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
4:56Notice your eyebrows. They're probably doing something small right now.
5:08No need to open your eyes yet.
5:18Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
5:31Feel your tongue sitting in the bottom of your mouth.
5:43A few seconds more.
5:52Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
6:05Notice your heels making contact with the floor or the bed.
6:17Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
6:27If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
6:41Keep following the air.
6:50Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
7:04If your mind has wandered, that's not a mistake. Noticing is the practice.
7:17A short silence. Let it be empty.
7:27Feel your upper arms hanging. They're heavier than you remember.
7:39Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
7:53Stay with it.
8:01If you feel emotional, you don't have to explain it to anyone, including yourself.
8:15Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
8:26We are not solving anything in the next few minutes. We are setting it down, temporarily.
8:41If a worry shows up, name it quietly and let it sit beside you.
8:55Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
9:06With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
9:21If you're irritated, that's allowed. Irritation is just weather.
9:32Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
9:44Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
10:00Notice how quickly your mind labels things: good, bad, boring, nice.
10:12A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
10:23You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
10:38Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
10:51Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
11:02Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
11:14Notice how the end of the reserves changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
11:31Nothing about the bone-deep tiredness has to be explained or justified in this room.
11:45Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
11:56the heaviness behind your eyes may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
12:14Say to yourself: this is uncomfortable, and I can stay with it for one more breath. Then take that breath.
12:31Notice the small pause before your body decides to breathe in again.
12:44If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
12:57Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
13:08If your body wants to move, let it move, then come back.
13:21A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
13:32Pick one thing you are gripping — a plan, a worry, a grudge — and loosen a single finger.
13:48Let the quiet do its work.
13:58Let your shoulders come back up to their usual place, if they want to.
14:12Start to notice the edges of your body again, and the surface you're on.

Questions people ask

What does this session help with?

Fatigue is deep tiredness of the kind that sleep does not fully clear, usually after a stretch of sustained demand. Here the practice should be restful rather than stimulating. Quiet and unambitious is the right dose.

Where and when should I do this one?

Do not review the day during it — that is what tomorrow is for. A bad day does not need a verdict. Closing it without a post-mortem is allowed.

What actually happens during the 15 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.