20-minute breathing meditation for being present, before sleep

About this practice

When being present shows up before sleep, this 20-minute breathing session gives you somewhere to put it down. A guided session of about 20 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: being present

Life happens in the present while attention is busy elsewhere. Nothing is missing except the noticing.

It tends to show up as:

• Days blurring together
• Feeling absent from your own week
• Only registering moments in photographs

Sensory attention is the shortest route back. Sound, contact and breath are always in the present.

Doing this before sleep

• Dim the lights and put the phone out of reach
• Do it in bed if that helps you stay there
• Let yourself fall asleep rather than finishing it

Checking anything afterwards undoes most of it. Let this be the last thing.

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. 0:00Put a hand on your chest for a moment if that feels steadying. Or don't. Both are allowed.
2. 0:16Follow the air from the nostrils down to the belly, then back out. One full trip at a time.
3. 0:32We're going to move through the body in order, roughly from top to bottom.
4. 0:46Notice whether your breathing is high in your chest or low in your belly. Just notice. No fixing.
5. 1:02Follow the breath down into your belly and feel it come back up.
6. 1:15Notice the first breath of the day versus this one. They're the same mechanism.
7. 1:29Feel your calves, front and back.
8. 1:39Notice your hands again. Check whether they've loosened on their own.
9. 1:51Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
10. 2:03Feel your belly. Let it be soft instead of held in.
11. 2:15Feel your ankles. Let them be loose.
12. 2:25Nothing about the life happening while you worry has to be explained or justified in this room.
13. 2:40There is a part of you that has handled hard moments before. That part is here now, even if it is quiet.
14. 2:58Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
15. 3:13Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the wandering back to now is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
16. 3:32If the life happening while you worry shows up, let it be there without arguing with it. You are not trying to remove it, just to sit beside it.
17. 3:53Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
18. 4:04Your mind will leave about a hundred times. Come back about a hundred times.
19. 4:18Let the counting do the work. When you lose the count, start again from one — no penalty.
20. 4:34A short silence. Let it be empty.
21. 4:44Notice any part of you that wants this to be over.
22. 4:56There is no target number here. Only the next breath, and then the one after it.
23. 5:11Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
24. 5:22Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
25. 5:33Keep the exhale a little longer than the inhale. That is the entire technique.
26. 5:47Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
27. 5:58If you feel emotional, you don't have to explain it to anyone, including yourself.
28. 6:12Your anchor for the next few minutes is the breath itself. Nothing else needs following.
29. 6:26No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
30. 6:37Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind?
31. 6:49Let the quiet do its work.
32. 6:59Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
33. 7:12Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
34. 7:25Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
35. 7:37You might be planning something. Notice the planning, then come back.
36. 7:49No rush to move on.
37. 7:58Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
38. 8:09Feel your hips. Wide, heavy, and doing nothing.
39. 8:20A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
40. 8:31If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
41. 8:44Take the next breath slowly.
42. 8:53Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
43. 9:08Feel your upper arms hanging. They're heavier than you remember.
44. 9:20I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
45. 9:32Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
46. 9:45Remain here for a few more breaths.
47. 9:55Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
48. 10:06Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
49. 10:18Feel your face. It's probably softer than it was five minutes ago.
50. 10:31Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
51. 10:45Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
52. 10:55If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
53. 11:09I'll step back. You stay here.
54. 11:19Feel your palms. Warm or cool, either is fine.
55. 11:30Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
56. 11:42Let your body keep settling.
57. 11:51Notice if your attention is in the future. Bring it back to the room.
58. 12:05I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
59. 12:18Now feel both feet at once. That's a lot of contact with the world.
60. 12:32Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
61. 12:43Just the breath, still.
62. 12:52Notice your shoulders, one at a time. The left one first.
63. 13:04Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
64. 13:17Let this one be unhurried.
65. 13:26Notice your eyebrows. They're probably doing something small right now.
66. 13:38Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
67. 13:49No need to open your eyes yet.
68. 13:59Feel your forearms, from the elbow down to the wrist.
69. 14:11Feel the pause at the top of the in-breath. It's shorter than you think.
70. 14:25Keep following the air.
71. 14:34Feel the soles of your feet. All the weight of you goes through them.
72. 14:48When the texture of this exact moment presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
73. 15:08Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
74. 15:19Imagine the wandering back to now as a room you can walk out of for a minute. The room will still be there.
75. 15:37Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
76. 15:48Each time your mind hands you the life happening while you worry, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
77. 16:08Say to yourself: this is uncomfortable, and I can stay with it for one more breath. Then take that breath.
78. 16:25Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
79. 16:38Let the exhale carry a little of the wandering back to now with it. Not all of it. Just a little, one breath at a time.
80. 16:57Feel the weight of the life happening while you worry somewhere specific, then let the floor take a share of it.
81. 17:14Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
82. 17:28If your body wants to move, let it move, then come back.
83. 17:41Notice the moment you realise you've drifted. That moment is the whole skill.
84. 17:54Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
85. 18:08Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
86. 18:19If the breath feels tight, do not deepen it. Just watch it, and let it find its own depth.
87. 18:35Let it be this simple.
88. 18:44Give your hands a stretch before you go back to using them.
89. 18:57Let the next breath be the start of the rest of the day.
90. 19:10A few seconds more.

Questions people ask

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