7-minute body scan meditation for the inner critic, after a bad day

About this practice

For the times after a bad day when the inner critic takes up more room than you would like — 7 minutes, body scan. A guided session of about 7 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: the inner critic

The inner critic often formed as a protective strategy, keeping you small to keep you safe. It is loudest where you feel most exposed.

It tends to show up as:

• A judge commenting on everything
• Anticipating criticism before it comes
• Difficulty accepting praise

You can notice the voice without obeying it. Distance between the voice and the response is the whole gain.

Doing this after a bad day

• Do not review the day during it — that is what tomorrow is for
• Something physical first, then this
• Keep it short and end it deliberately

A bad day does not need a verdict. Closing it without a post-mortem is allowed.

How body scan works

A body scan moves attention systematically through the body, region by region. It does not try to change what it finds — it builds a map of what is actually there, which is often different from what you assumed.

• Move slowly, head to feet or feet to head, and do not skip the uncomfortable areas
• Meet each region with plain curiosity rather than a verdict
• Numbness and absence of sensation are findings too

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Nothing needs to be decided in the next few minutes. Park the decisions.
2. 0:13Move at the speed of your attention, not the speed of a checklist. There is no schedule to keep.
3. 0:29Imagine your thoughts as traffic on a road you're standing beside. You don't have to flag any of it down.
4. 0:46Bring your attention to where your body meets the surface underneath you.
5. 0:59Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
6. 1:11Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
7. 1:25Notice your elbows. Odd things to have, but there they are.
8. 1:37Notice where your body is still holding something. Leave it alone.
9. 1:49Feel your palms. Warm or cool, either is fine.
10. 2:00Imagine softening the edges of the voice that grades everything. Not erasing it, just letting the sharp parts go a degree softer.
11. 2:18the judge in your head may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
12. 2:36Feel the parts of you that have gone quiet.
13. 2:47Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
14. 2:57Let your breathing find the rhythm it uses when you're almost asleep.
15. 3:10If you're irritated, that's allowed. Irritation is just weather.
16. 3:21I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
17. 3:34We will travel down through the body, one region at a time, and leave each one softer than we found it.
18. 3:51If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
19. 4:04Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
20. 4:17Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
21. 4:28You do not have to solve the running commentary on your flaws in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
22. 4:48If the voice that grades everything is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
23. 5:05Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
24. 5:16If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
25. 5:28If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
26. 5:42Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
27. 5:54Start at the crown of the head and move down slowly. Do not skip to the parts that hurt.
28. 6:10Before you move, notice one thing that's fine right now.
29. 6:22Take your time opening your eyes. Nothing is waiting urgently.
30. 6:34Just the breath, still.

Questions people ask

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