15-minute letting go meditation for waking up

About this practice

For the times first thing when waking up takes up more room than you would like — 15 minutes, letting go. A guided session of about 15 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: waking up

On waking, the brain passes through a slow transition rather than switching on. Rushing it leaves you foggy for the first hour.

It tends to show up as:

Needing a long time to feel awake
Foggy, irritable mornings
The day starting before you are ready

Giving the body a few unhurried minutes at the start changes the tone of everything that follows.

Doing this in the morning

Do it before checking your phone — the first minutes set the tone for the rest
Sitting up is better than lying down, or you will drift back to sleep
Light on your face helps more than any practice

Mornings can become a performance of productive habits. This one does not need to be done well.

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

0:00Notice the heaviest part of your body right now. Let it be heavy.
0:13With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
0:28Nothing here needs to be pleasant. Neutral is fine. Dull is fine.
0:41You can think about other things. When you notice, come back. That's the whole practice.
0:55If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
1:09Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
1:24Feel your upper arms hanging. They're heavier than you remember.
1:36Let the whole of your right foot be heavy.
1:47Notice your heels making contact with the floor or the bed.
1:59Notice your pelvis resting on the surface below you.
2:10Let your thumbs rest wherever they landed.
2:20There is no correct amount of the slow start of the day to be feeling right now. Whatever is here is the honest amount.
2:39You do not have to like the fog of just-woken to breathe through it. Liking was never the requirement.
2:55Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
3:08Notice how the morning body that needs a moment changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
3:26Notice the space around the slow start of the day. It is there, even if it is small. Put your attention in that space.
3:45Notice your whole body as one shape, sitting or lying here.
3:57Take the next breath slowly.
4:06Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
4:21Notice the backs of your knees, which you feel more than you think.
4:34Stay with it.
4:42Let the breath be shallow if shallow is what your body wants.
4:55Now feel both feet at once. That's a lot of contact with the world.
5:09Keep following the air.
5:18Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
5:31Notice the space between your shoulder blades.
5:41Let this one be unhurried.
5:50Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
6:03Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
6:15Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
6:26Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind?
6:38A few seconds more.
6:47Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
7:00A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
7:11Feel your face. It's probably softer than it was five minutes ago.
7:24Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
7:36Let it be this simple.
7:45If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
7:59I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
8:11Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
8:27Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
8:40Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
8:50We are not solving anything in the next few minutes. We are setting it down, temporarily.
9:05If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
9:18I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
9:31Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
9:46Your mind will leave about a hundred times. Come back about a hundred times.
10:00A short silence. Let it be empty.
10:10You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
10:25Notice the difference between a thought and the space around it.
10:37Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
10:53I'll step back. You stay here.
11:03Let the exhale carry a little of the fog of just-woken with it. Not all of it. Just a little, one breath at a time.
11:22You do not have to solve the morning body that needs a moment in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
11:42Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
11:53There is a part of you that has handled hard moments before. That part is here now, even if it is quiet.
12:11You are allowed to be unimpressed by the fog of just-woken. Indifference is a legitimate response.
12:26Follow one full breath from the moment it starts to the moment it ends.
12:40You might be planning something. Notice the planning, then come back.
12:52If your mind has wandered, that's not a mistake. Noticing is the practice.
13:05If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
13:18Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
13:29Pick one thing you are gripping — a plan, a worry, a grudge — and loosen a single finger.
13:45No need to open your eyes yet.
13:55When you're ready, look around properly.
14:05Let your eyes open when they're ready, not when the words end.
14:18Remain here for a few more breaths.

Questions people ask

What does this session help with?

On waking, the brain passes through a slow transition rather than switching on. Rushing it leaves you foggy for the first hour. Giving the body a few unhurried minutes at the start changes the tone of everything that follows.

Where and when should I do this one?

Do it before checking your phone — the first minutes set the tone for the rest. Mornings can become a performance of productive habits. This one does not need to be done well.

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.