15-minute guided self-compassion practice for a racing mind — late at night

About this practice

Slow, spoken guidance for a racing mind. A self-compassion session you can do late at night. A guided session of about 15 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: a racing mind

A racing mind is not a thinking problem, it is an arousal problem. When the body is revved up, the brain produces thoughts at the same speed, and each one feels urgent.

It tends to show up as:

• Thoughts arriving faster than you can finish them
• Lying awake running through the day
• Losing your place mid-sentence

Trying to stop the thoughts adds fuel. Narrowing attention to one physical sensation gives the mind a slower thing to hold.

Doing this at night

• Skip the clock — knowing the time rarely helps at night
• Keep the room dark, and use headphones rather than a speaker
• Expect to be awake for a while without treating that as a problem

Any practice at night works better with the display off. Looking at a screen resets the whole thing.

How self-compassion works

Self-compassion practice changes the tone of the inner voice rather than the content of the thoughts. It uses the same warmth and steadiness you would offer a friend, applied without requiring you to have earned it.

• Use the words you would actually say to someone you love
• Ask what you need, not what you deserve
• A hand on the chest or belly gives warmth and pressure a place to land

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Your breathing doesn't have to change yet. Let it be whatever size it currently is.
2. 0:14Say it once, plainly: this is hard, and I am allowed to find it hard.
3. 0:28Notice the pause at the end of each breath. It's short, but it's there.
4. 0:42Notice whether your breathing is high in your chest or low in your belly. Just notice. No fixing.
5. 0:58Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
6. 1:11Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
7. 1:25Let your whole body be as heavy as it wants to be.
8. 1:38Feel the outline of yourself, from the top of your head to your heels.
9. 1:52Feel your knees. They're just hinges, but they've worked hard.
10. 2:04Notice the small movement in your belly when you breathe.
11. 2:16Notice your heels making contact with the floor or the bed.
12. 2:28If the mind running ahead of you shows up, let it be there without arguing with it. You are not trying to remove it, just to sit beside it.
13. 2:49Imagine one thought chasing the next as a room you can walk out of for a minute. The room will still be there.
14. 3:07Notice the small pause before your body decides to breathe in again.
15. 3:20You do not have to like thoughts arriving faster than you can answer them to breathe through it. Liking was never the requirement.
16. 3:38You are allowed to be unimpressed by the mind running ahead of you. Indifference is a legitimate response.
17. 3:54Notice your breathing, without changing it.
18. 4:04Let your body keep settling.
19. 4:13Follow one full breath from the moment it starts to the moment it ends.
20. 4:27Feel your belly. Let it be soft instead of held in.
21. 4:39Keep following the air.
22. 4:48Let the exhale fall out rather than pushing it.
23. 4:59Feel your tongue sitting in the bottom of your mouth.
24. 5:11Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
25. 5:21Let the breath get soft, the way it goes when someone is reading beside you.
26. 5:35Notice your pelvis resting on the surface below you.
27. 5:46Let the pause stretch out.
28. 5:55Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
29. 6:07Feel the soles of your feet. All the weight of you goes through them.
30. 6:21A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
31. 6:32If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
32. 6:47No need to open your eyes yet.
33. 6:57Notice if your breathing is faster than you expected. Don't correct it. Just note it.
34. 7:11I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
35. 7:24Notice your lower back. Let it curve however it curves.
36. 7:36Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
37. 7:52Just the breath, still.
38. 8:01Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
39. 8:13I'll step back. You stay here.
40. 8:23Put a hand where the feeling is strongest. Warmth and pressure are the oldest kind of reassurance.
41. 8:38If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
42. 8:51A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
43. 9:02Notice the tone you are using on yourself. If it would wound a friend, it is not the truth.
44. 9:18If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
45. 9:31I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
46. 9:43The question is not what you deserve. It is what you need, right now, in this moment.
47. 9:58Notice if you're waiting for something to happen. Nothing is scheduled.
48. 10:10A short silence. Let it be empty.
49. 10:20Whatever you are about to say to yourself, imagine saying it to someone you love. Use those words.
50. 10:36Your mind will leave about a hundred times. Come back about a hundred times.
51. 10:50Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
52. 11:02Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
53. 11:12If one thought chasing the next is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
54. 11:29Nothing about thoughts arriving faster than you can answer them has to be explained or justified in this room.
55. 11:45Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
56. 11:58Think of the mind running ahead of you as a guest that arrived without knocking. You can let it stand in the hallway.
57. 12:16You do not have to win against one thought chasing the next. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
58. 12:34Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
59. 12:45Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
60. 12:56Notice how you're sitting. Adjust if you need to. Then settle again.
61. 13:09Notice any part of you that wants this to be over.
62. 13:21A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
63. 13:32You are allowed to have a hard time without earning it first.
64. 13:45Stay with it.
65. 13:53Take one last look at whatever your attention settled on.
66. 14:05Let your breathing be completely ordinary again.
67. 14:15Stay here a little longer.

Questions people ask

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