7-minute guided self-compassion practice for exhaustion — after a long day

About this practice

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 7 minutes of self-compassion for exhaustion, after a long day. A guided session of about 7 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: exhaustion

Exhaustion is what is left after the reserves are gone. The body has stopped asking; it is now insisting.

It tends to show up as:

• Feeling hollow and drained
• Emotionally flat
• Physical heaviness all day

This is not the state to push in. The whole point here is to ask nothing and let the body be heavy.

Doing this after a long day

• Something physical first — shoes off, hands washed, water drunk
• Do not review the day during it
• Keep it short rather than thorough

Replaying the day in the practice just carries the day further into the evening.

How self-compassion works

Self-compassion practice changes the tone of the inner voice rather than the content of the thoughts. It uses the same warmth and steadiness you would offer a friend, applied without requiring you to have earned it.

• Use the words you would actually say to someone you love
• Ask what you need, not what you deserve
• A hand on the chest or belly gives warmth and pressure a place to land

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Notice the temperature of the air on the backs of your hands.
2. 0:13You are allowed to have a hard time without earning it first.
3. 0:26Notice the weight of your arms without moving them.
4. 0:37Let your attention drop to the level of your shoulders and stay there a moment.
5. 0:51Let your breathing find the rhythm it uses when you're almost asleep.
6. 1:04Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
7. 1:18Feel the middle of your back, the part that never gets attention.
8. 1:31Notice your shins, which take small knocks all day and never complain.
9. 1:44Feel your upper arms hanging. They're heavier than you remember.
10. 1:56Feel the weight of the hollow tiredness somewhere specific, then let the floor take a share of it.
11. 2:12Whatever the body asking you to stop is doing right now, your breathing can keep going underneath it.
12. 2:28Feel your heart somewhere in there, doing its work without instructions.
13. 2:40Nothing changes for a moment.
14. 2:49Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
15. 3:00Notice your lower back. Let it curve however it curves.
16. 3:12Whatever you are about to say to yourself, imagine saying it to someone you love. Use those words.
17. 3:28Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
18. 3:39I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
19. 3:51Say it once, plainly: this is hard, and I am allowed to find it hard.
20. 4:05Notice anything you're holding onto from earlier today.
21. 4:16Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
22. 4:27Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
23. 4:38If the drained feeling that rest has not touched is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
24. 4:57If the hollow tiredness has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
25. 5:14If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
26. 5:28Notice the moment you realise you've drifted. That moment is the whole skill.
27. 5:41Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
28. 5:54Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
29. 6:06Put a hand where the feeling is strongest. Warmth and pressure are the oldest kind of reassurance.
30. 6:21Come back slowly. There's no prize for finishing fast.
31. 6:32Stretch whatever feels stiff, then carry on.

Questions people ask

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