5-minute letting go meditation for frustration, on a meeting break

About this practice

5 minutes to meet frustration with less of a fight. A letting go practice, on a meeting break. A guided session of about 5 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: frustration

Frustration is blocked progress, repeated. Each small obstruction adds to a background irritation that eventually has nothing to do with the original cause.

It tends to show up as:

Sighing more than usual
Everything feeling slightly too slow
A short fuse over minor things

Releasing some physical tension interrupts the accumulation. Frustration is often held in the jaw and hands more than it is thought about.

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 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

0:00Your breathing doesn't have to change yet. Let it be whatever size it currently is.
0:14We are not solving anything in the next few minutes. We are setting it down, temporarily.
0:29If it helps, imagine your attention is a torch beam. Right now it's wide and soft.
0:44Let your breathing find its own pace. We're only going to watch it.
0:57Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
1:08Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
1:22Feel the tops of your thighs.
1:32Feel your face. It's probably softer than it was five minutes ago.
1:45Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
1:57A few seconds more.
2:06Pick one thing you are gripping — a plan, a worry, a grudge — and loosen a single finger.
2:22If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
2:36Feel the weight of the annoyance that will not settle somewhere specific, then let the floor take a share of it.
2:53You have been carrying the repeated small irritations for a while. You can set it down for the length of this session and pick it up after.
3:13Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
3:27Give the jaw tight with frustration a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
3:45If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
3:58Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
4:10Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
4:25Come back slowly. There's no prize for finishing fast.
4:36Let the pause stretch out.

Questions people ask

What does this session help with?

Frustration is blocked progress, repeated. Each small obstruction adds to a background irritation that eventually has nothing to do with the original cause. Releasing some physical tension interrupts the accumulation. Frustration is often held in the jaw and hands more than it is thought about.

Where and when should I do this one?

Start it in the gap, not after the next one begins. The back-to-back day is exactly why the gap has to be protected rather than used for one more task.

What actually happens during the 5 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.