5-minute guided breathing practice for falling asleep — on a meeting break

About this practice

When falling asleep shows up on a meeting break, this 5-minute breathing session gives you somewhere to put it down. A guided session of about 5 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: falling asleep

Falling asleep is a passive process. The harder you aim at it, the further it moves, because the effort itself is arousal.

It tends to show up as:

• Watching the clock
• Getting frustrated at being awake
• Sleep only arriving after giving up

Attention on something boring and continuous is the oldest trick there is. That is all a sleep story is doing.

Doing this between meetings

• Start it in the gap, not after the next one begins
• Write down the open thread from the last meeting first, then let it go
• Two minutes done beats five minutes planned

The back-to-back day is exactly why the gap has to be protected rather than used for one more task.

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. 0:00Part of you is still in the last conversation you had. That's fine. It can sit here too.
2. 0:16There's no need to try harder than this.
3. 0:27There's no correct speed. Slower isn't better. Steadier is the only aim.
4. 0:40We'll be quiet for a bit longer than usual. Stay with whatever shows up.
5. 0:54Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
6. 1:05If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
7. 1:19Now the right shoulder. Let it be a centimetre lower than it was.
8. 1:32Feel your forearms, from the elbow down to the wrist.
9. 1:44Feel your ankles. Let them be loose.
10. 1:54No need to open your eyes yet.
11. 2:04I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
12. 2:16Small efforts are the whole method.
13. 2:26If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
14. 2:40Feel the weight of the surrender at the end of the day somewhere specific, then let the floor take a share of it.
15. 2:58the slow drift toward sleep may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
16. 3:16Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
17. 3:29If the thoughts that keep the light on has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
18. 3:48If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
19. 4:00Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
20. 4:12You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
21. 4:25Come back to your body first, and the rest of the day second.
22. 4:38Let it be this simple.

Questions people ask

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