7-minute guided letting go practice for concentration — in the evening

About this practice

Slow, spoken guidance for concentration. A letting go session you can do in the evening. A guided session of about 7 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: concentration

Concentration fails for two reasons: the task is uninteresting, or the body is too activated to hold anything steady. The second one is fixable in minutes.

It tends to show up as:

• Attention sliding off within seconds
• Jumping between tabs
• Feeling physically unable to sit still

Lowering arousal raises the ceiling of what attention can hold. Practice first, then the task.

Doing this in the evening

• Dim the lights first — bright light works against the point
• Put the phone in another room
• Keep it slow rather than interesting

Something too engaging will wake you up rather than wind you down.

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. 0:00Start by hearing the furthest sound you can find.
2. 0:11You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
3. 0:26Let the breath get a little quieter, as if you were trying not to wake someone sleeping nearby.
4. 0:42If it helps, imagine your attention is a torch beam. Right now it's wide and soft.
5. 0:57Follow one full breath from the moment it starts to the moment it ends.
6. 1:11Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
7. 1:24Feel the tops of your thighs.
8. 1:34Feel your heart somewhere in there, doing its work without instructions.
9. 1:46Feel the back of your neck. That's a place that holds a lot.
10. 1:59There is a part of you that has handled hard moments before. That part is here now, even if it is quiet.
11. 2:17When the difficulty of staying with one thing arrives, name it once, quietly, and go back to the breath. Naming is not fixing, and that is fine.
12. 2:37Notice your lower back. Let it curve however it curves.
13. 2:49No need to open your eyes yet.
14. 2:59Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
15. 3:13If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
16. 3:26I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
17. 3:38Pick one thing you are gripping — a plan, a worry, a grudge — and loosen a single finger.
18. 3:54Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
19. 4:05Notice if your breathing is faster than you expected. Don't correct it. Just note it.
20. 4:19Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
21. 4:31You have been carrying the attention that keeps sliding off for a while. You can set it down for the length of this session and pick it up after.
22. 4:52You are allowed to be unimpressed by the urge to check something else. Indifference is a legitimate response.
23. 5:08Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
24. 5:19Notice any part of you that wants this to be over.
25. 5:31If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
26. 5:45A short silence. Let it be empty.
27. 5:55With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
28. 6:10Notice the quiet you made, and let it close gently.
29. 6:22Take one more breath at your own pace, then let your attention come back to the room.
30. 6:37A few seconds more.

Questions people ask

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