20-minute letting go meditation for the afternoon slump, on a train

About this practice

A 20-minute letting go session for the afternoon slump, on a train. No app, no account — press start. A guided session of about 20 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 on a train

Pick a window seat if you can and let the view do part of the work
Set an alarm for your stop
Keep the bag on your lap rather than unfastening to find it later

The motion can make reading or screens uncomfortable, which is another reason audio works better here.

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 where your body touches the chair. That contact is doing more for you than it looks.
0:15With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
0:30Notice whether your breathing is high in your chest or low in your belly. Just notice. No fixing.
0:46This is not a performance. Nobody is listening to how well you're doing it.
1:00Notice the small pause before your body decides to breathe in again.
1:13Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
1:25Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
1:38Notice the space between your shoulder blades.
1:48Notice your whole body as one shape, sitting or lying here.
2:00Notice where your body is still holding something. Leave it alone.
2:12Start at the top of your head. Notice the scalp, which you almost never notice.
2:26Notice where the post-lunch fog lives in your body. Chest, throat, stomach. Rest your attention there without trying to change it.
2:43You have been carrying the heavy middle of the day for a while. You can set it down for the length of this session and pick it up after.
3:04Let the breath be shallow if shallow is what your body wants.
3:17You are allowed to be unimpressed by the 3pm dip. Indifference is a legitimate response.
3:31You do not have to solve the post-lunch fog in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
3:50Follow the breath down into your belly and feel it come back up.
4:03If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
4:15Pick one thing you are gripping — a plan, a worry, a grudge — and loosen a single finger.
4:31Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
4:42If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
4:57Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
5:13A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
5:24If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
5:38You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
5:53I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
6:05If you feel numb, that's a valid thing to feel. Nothing to fix.
6:18Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
6:33I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
6:45If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
6:58Let the pause stretch out.
7:07Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
7:18Notice your eyebrows. They're probably doing something small right now.
7:30A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
7:41Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
7:54Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
8:04Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
8:18Feel your tongue sitting in the bottom of your mouth.
8:30Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
8:42If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks.
8:57Just the breath, still.
9:06Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
9:19Notice your shins, which take small knocks all day and never complain.
9:32I'll step back. You stay here.
9:42Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
9:57Let it be this simple.
10:06Notice the moment you realise you've drifted. That moment is the whole skill.
10:19A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
10:30Feel your belly. Let it be soft instead of held in.
10:42Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
10:54Let the quiet do its work.
11:04Notice anything you're holding onto from earlier today.
11:15A short silence. Let it be empty.
11:25Notice your elbows. Odd things to have, but there they are.
11:37Notice if your breathing is faster than you expected. Don't correct it. Just note it.
11:51No need to open your eyes yet.
12:01If nothing much is happening, that's not a problem. Nothing much is often the point.
12:15Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
12:25Feel your ankles. Let them be loose.
12:35Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
12:48Remain here for a few more breaths.
12:58Feel your palms. Warm or cool, either is fine.
13:09Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
13:22Let your body keep settling.
13:31Feel your heart somewhere in there, doing its work without instructions.
13:43Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
13:57A few seconds more.
14:06Feel your forearms, from the elbow down to the wrist.
14:18Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
14:34Take the next breath slowly.
14:43Notice your shoulders, one at a time. The left one first.
14:55Picture the heavy middle of the day as a weather front passing over. You are not the weather. You are the sky it moves through.
15:14I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
15:27You do not have to win against the 3pm dip. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
15:44Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
15:56There is a part of you that has handled hard moments before. That part is here now, even if it is quiet.
16:14the heavy middle of the day may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
16:32Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
16:45If you catch yourself fighting the 3pm dip, that is worth noticing. The fight usually costs more than the feeling.
17:02Think of the post-lunch fog as a guest that arrived without knocking. You can let it stand in the hallway.
17:19Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
17:30Notice if your attention is in the future. Bring it back to the room.
17:44If your body wants to move, let it move, then come back.
17:57Notice any part of you that wants this to be over.
18:09No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
18:20We are not solving anything in the next few minutes. We are setting it down, temporarily.
18:35Stay with it.
18:43Take one more breath at your own pace, then let your attention come back to the room.
18:58Stretch whatever feels stiff, then carry on.
19:08Let this one be unhurried.

Questions people ask

What does this session help with?

The post-lunch dip is a normal circadian low, not a failure of willpower. Core temperature and alertness both dip in the early afternoon. The dip is temporary. A short practice gets you through the low without adding stimulants on top of it.

Where and when should I do this one?

Pick a window seat if you can and let the view do part of the work. The motion can make reading or screens uncomfortable, which is another reason audio works better here.

What actually happens during the 20 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.