15-minute guided letting go practice for the afternoon slump — at your desk

About this practice

A 15-minute letting go session for the afternoon slump, at your desk. No app, no account — press start. A guided session of about 15 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: the afternoon slump

The post-lunch dip is a normal circadian low, not a failure of willpower. Core temperature and alertness both dip in the early afternoon.

It tends to show up as:

• Heavy, foggy middle of the day
• Struggling to stay with anything
• Reaching for sugar or caffeine

The dip is temporary. A short practice gets you through the low without adding stimulants on top of it.

Doing this at your desk

• Feet flat, back supported, screen away from your eyeline
• You can do this with your eyes open if the office makes closing them awkward
• Unclench the jaw and drop the shoulders first, before anything else

Nobody needs to know you are doing it. Keep it invisible if that makes it possible.

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 the first out-breath be longer than the in-breath. Nothing dramatic, just longer.
2. 0:13With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
3. 0:28Settle into the fact that for the next few minutes, nothing is required of you.
4. 0:42Notice your own pulse somewhere. Wrist, throat, wherever you can find it.
5. 0:55Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
6. 1:06Follow one full breath from the moment it starts to the moment it ends.
7. 1:20Feel your upper back against whatever is behind it.
8. 1:31Notice your toes, starting with the big one on the left.
9. 1:43Feel your hips. Wide, heavy, and doing nothing.
10. 1:54Notice your ribs on both sides. Wide, not squeezed.
11. 2:05Feel your upper arms hanging. They're heavier than you remember.
12. 2:17If the 3pm dip is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
13. 2:33Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the post-lunch fog is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
14. 2:51Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
15. 3:02If the heavy middle of the day has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
16. 3:20Nothing about the 3pm dip has to be explained or justified in this room.
17. 3:34Notice the space between your shoulder blades.
18. 3:44Stay here a little longer.
19. 3:53Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
20. 4:05Feel the outline of yourself, from the top of your head to your heels.
21. 4:19Take the next breath slowly.
22. 4:28Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
23. 4:41Feel your forearms, from the elbow down to the wrist.
24. 4:53No rush to move on.
25. 5:02Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
26. 5:18Feel the middle of your back, the part that never gets attention.
27. 5:31Remain here for a few more breaths.
28. 5:41Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
29. 5:52Notice your hands again. Check whether they've loosened on their own.
30. 6:04A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
31. 6:15Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
32. 6:28Let the quiet do its work.
33. 6:38Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
34. 6:53Your mind will leave about a hundred times. Come back about a hundred times.
35. 7:07I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
36. 7:19Feel your palms. Warm or cool, either is fine.
37. 7:30Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
38. 7:44Let your body keep settling.
39. 7:53Notice whether you're breathing or holding. Start breathing again.
40. 8:04Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
41. 8:16Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
42. 8:32If you feel emotional, you don't have to explain it to anyone, including yourself.
43. 8:46I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
44. 8:59Pick one thing you are gripping — a plan, a worry, a grudge — and loosen a single finger.
45. 9:15Notice anything you're holding onto from earlier today.
46. 9:26Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
47. 9:37You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
48. 9:52If your mind has wandered, that's not a mistake. Noticing is the practice.
49. 10:05I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
50. 10:17Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
51. 10:32If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
52. 10:45Let your breathing find the rhythm it uses when you're almost asleep.
53. 10:58Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
54. 11:09the post-lunch fog may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
55. 11:26You do not have to win against the heavy middle of the day. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
56. 11:44Let the breath be shallow if shallow is what your body wants.
57. 11:57There is a part of you that has handled hard moments before. That part is here now, even if it is quiet.
58. 12:15Give the post-lunch fog a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
59. 12:32Follow the breath down into your belly and feel it come back up.
60. 12:45Notice if you're waiting for something to happen. Nothing is scheduled.
61. 12:57If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
62. 13:11Notice if your attention is in the future. Bring it back to the room.
63. 13:25Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
64. 13:37We are not solving anything in the next few minutes. We are setting it down, temporarily.
65. 13:52Keep following the air.
66. 14:01Stretch whatever feels stiff, then carry on.
67. 14:11Let your jaw, shoulders and hands be loose as you finish.

Questions people ask

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