Back pain and tension: 7-minute letting go meditation, on the road

About this practice

7 minutes to meet back pain and tension with less of a fight. A letting go practice, on the road. A guided session of about 7 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: back pain and tension

Much of daily back discomfort is muscular load rather than structural damage — muscles holding a position long after they should have let go.

It tends to show up as:

• Lower back ache after sitting
• Stiffness on standing
• Pain that improves when moving

Attention moves into the back rather than away from it. Being willing to feel it is usually where release starts.

Doing this on a train

• Pick a window seat if you can and let the view do part of the work
• Set an alarm for your stop
• Keep the bag on your lap rather than unfastening to find it later

The motion can make reading or screens uncomfortable, which is another reason audio works better here.

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. 0:00If you're sitting, let the chair do the work of holding you upright.
2. 0:13Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
3. 0:29You can think about other things. When you notice, come back. That's the whole practice.
4. 0:43Let your attention rest on the out-breath. The in-breath can take care of itself.
5. 0:57Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
6. 1:10Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
7. 1:23Feel your hips. Wide, heavy, and doing nothing.
8. 1:34Feel the outline of yourself, from the top of your head to your heels.
9. 1:48Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
10. 1:59If the muscles holding on all day shows up, let it be there without arguing with it. You are not trying to remove it, just to sit beside it.
11. 2:20There is a part of you that has handled hard moments before. That part is here now, even if it is quiet.
12. 2:38Feel your knees. They're just hinges, but they've worked hard.
13. 2:50Let this one be unhurried.
14. 2:59Notice the first breath of the day versus this one. They're the same mechanism.
15. 3:13Notice anything you're holding onto from earlier today.
16. 3:24I'll step back. You stay here.
17. 3:34Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
18. 3:49If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
19. 4:02Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
20. 4:13Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
21. 4:25When the ache in the lower back presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
22. 4:45Notice where the muscles holding on all day lives in your body. Chest, throat, stomach. Rest your attention there without trying to change it.
23. 5:04Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
24. 5:17If you feel numb, that's a valid thing to feel. Nothing to fix.
25. 5:30If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
26. 5:45Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
27. 5:55You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
28. 6:10Let your shoulders come back up to their usual place, if they want to.
29. 6:24Let your jaw, shoulders and hands be loose as you finish.
30. 6:36A 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.