20-minute guided letting go practice for waking at 3am — on the way in

About this practice

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 20 minutes of letting go for waking at 3am, on the way in. A guided session of about 20 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: waking at 3am

Waking at 3am is common because sleep cycles and body temperature both shift then. The problem is rarely the waking; it is the thinking that starts immediately after.

It tends to show up as:

• Wide awake with the mind running
• Problems feeling enormous in the dark
• Lying there until the alarm

The aim is to stop the mind from attaching to the first thought, so the second sleep cycle can arrive on its own.

Doing this on your commute

• Headphones on, eyes open or closed depending on your comfort
• Keep one part of your attention on your stop
• Do it standing if sitting is not possible — nobody is watching

Commuting time is already dead time. Nothing is being given up.

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. 0:13There's no need to try harder than this.
3. 0:24Bring your attention to the parts of you that are already still.
4. 0:37Settle into the fact that for the next few minutes, nothing is required of you.
5. 0:51Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
6. 1:05Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
7. 1:16Notice your elbows. Odd things to have, but there they are.
8. 1:28Notice your fingers, one by one, starting with the little finger.
9. 1:40Feel your heart somewhere in there, doing its work without instructions.
10. 1:52Feel your calves, front and back.
11. 2:02Notice your ears, which mostly just receive things.
12. 2:13Each time your mind hands you the night that feels endless, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
13. 2:32You have been carrying the 3am brain running its meeting for a while. You can set it down for the length of this session and pick it up after.
14. 2:53Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
15. 3:07Give the thoughts that feel enormous in the dark a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
16. 3:26If you catch yourself fighting the night that feels endless, that is worth noticing. The fight usually costs more than the feeling.
17. 3:44Follow the breath down into your belly and feel it come back up.
18. 3:57If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks.
19. 4:12If you only manage half of it, that's half more than nothing.
20. 4:25No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
21. 4:36Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind?
22. 4:48You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
23. 5:01Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
24. 5:13Notice if you're waiting for something to happen. Nothing is scheduled.
25. 5:25Nothing here needs to be efficient.
26. 5:35Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
27. 5:47Notice if your attention is in the future. Bring it back to the room.
28. 6:01Small efforts are the whole method.
29. 6:11A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
30. 6:22If a worry shows up, name it quietly and let it sit beside you.
31. 6:36Let this be easy, if easy is available.
32. 6:47Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
33. 6:58If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
34. 7:12We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
35. 7:22Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
36. 7:33Notice the moment you realise you've drifted. That moment is the whole skill.
37. 7:46Take the next breath slowly.
38. 7:55Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
39. 8:08Notice your breathing, without changing it.
40. 8:18Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
41. 8:30Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
42. 8:41Nothing changes for a moment.
43. 8:50Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
44. 9:02Feel the middle of your back, the part that never gets attention.
45. 9:15I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
46. 9:28Feel the pause at the top of the in-breath. It's shorter than you think.
47. 9:42No need to open your eyes yet.
48. 9:52If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
49. 10:06Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
50. 10:17Notice the backs of your knees, which you feel more than you think.
51. 10:30Let the breath get soft, the way it goes when someone is reading beside you.
52. 10:44No rush to move on.
53. 10:53Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
54. 11:06A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
55. 11:17Feel your hips. Wide, heavy, and doing nothing.
56. 11:28Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
57. 11:43Let your body keep settling.
58. 11:52Feel your palms. Warm or cool, either is fine.
59. 12:03Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
60. 12:17Let the pause stretch out.
61. 12:26Feel your knees. They're just hinges, but they've worked hard.
62. 12:38Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
63. 12:52A few seconds more.
64. 13:01Notice your pelvis resting on the surface below you.
65. 13:12Notice the first breath of the day versus this one. They're the same mechanism.
66. 13:26Keep following the air.
67. 13:35Feel the tops of your thighs.
68. 13:45Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
69. 13:57Let it be this simple.
70. 14:06Feel the soles of your feet. All the weight of you goes through them.
71. 14:20Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
72. 14:36Let the quiet do its work.
73. 14:46Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
74. 14:57Feel the weight of the 3am brain running its meeting somewhere specific, then let the floor take a share of it.
75. 15:14I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
76. 15:26You do not have to like the thoughts that feel enormous in the dark to breathe through it. Liking was never the requirement.
77. 15:44Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
78. 15:55You do not have to solve the night that feels endless in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
79. 16:14Let the exhale carry a little of the 3am brain running its meeting with it. Not all of it. Just a little, one breath at a time.
80. 16:34Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
81. 16:47Notice how the thoughts that feel enormous in the dark changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
82. 17:05There is no correct amount of the night that feels endless to be feeling right now. Whatever is here is the honest amount.
83. 17:23Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
84. 17:34Notice the difference between a thought and the space around it.
85. 17:46If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
86. 17:59Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
87. 18:12Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
88. 18:24We'll take this slowly, and there's no version of this where you get it wrong.
89. 18:38Remain here for a few more breaths.
90. 18:48Give your hands a stretch before you go back to using them.
91. 19:01When you're ready, look around properly.
92. 19:11Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.

Questions people ask

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