Breathing for back pain and tension: 15 minutes, before work

About this practice

For the times before work when back pain and tension takes up more room than you would like — 15 minutes, breathing. A guided session of about 15 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 before a busy day

• Do it before the first message or notification
• Aim for steadiness rather than energy
• Decide the first task afterwards, not during

The point is to begin without already being behind, not to prepare for every possibility.

How breathing works

A breathing practice uses the breath as the object of attention and as the control lever. Because exhaling slows the heart through the vagus nerve, it acts on the nervous system directly rather than through thinking.

• Keep the exhale longer than the inhale — that is the active ingredient
• Count the exhales and start again whenever you lose count
• Do not force depth; let the breath find its own level

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00If you're tired, you can let that be true. Tired is allowed here.
2. 0:13Let this be easy, if easy is available.
3. 0:24Nothing here needs to be pleasant. Neutral is fine. Dull is fine.
4. 0:37Let your breathing find its own pace. We're only going to watch it.
5. 0:50Feel the pause at the top of the in-breath. It's shorter than you think.
6. 1:04Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
7. 1:17Notice your breathing, without changing it.
8. 1:27Feel your knees. They're just hinges, but they've worked hard.
9. 1:39Feel your upper arms hanging. They're heavier than you remember.
10. 1:51Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
11. 2:03Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
12. 2:16Notice how the muscles holding on all day changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
13. 2:33If the stiffness from sitting starts telling you a story, let the story finish without you adding to it.
14. 2:49Let the exhale fall out rather than pushing it.
15. 3:00Nothing about the ache in the lower back has to be explained or justified in this room.
16. 3:15You are allowed to be unimpressed by the muscles holding on all day. Indifference is a legitimate response.
17. 3:31Notice your hands again. Check whether they've loosened on their own.
18. 3:43Stay with it.
19. 3:51Let your breathing find the rhythm it uses when you're almost asleep.
20. 4:04Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
21. 4:15Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
22. 4:25Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
23. 4:38Feel your heart somewhere in there, doing its work without instructions.
24. 4:50Keep following the air.
25. 4:59Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
26. 5:12Notice your eyebrows. They're probably doing something small right now.
27. 5:24Take the next breath slowly.
28. 5:33Notice that you don't have to start a breath. It arrives by itself.
29. 5:46Feel your hips. Wide, heavy, and doing nothing.
30. 5:57Let it be this simple.
31. 6:06Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
32. 6:19Now the right shoulder. Let it be a centimetre lower than it was.
33. 6:32No need to open your eyes yet.
34. 6:42Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
35. 6:53If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks.
36. 7:08I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
37. 7:20Nothing here needs to be efficient.
38. 7:30If nothing much is happening, that's not a problem. Nothing much is often the point.
39. 7:44Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
40. 7:56Small efforts are the whole method.
41. 8:06Notice how quickly your mind labels things: good, bad, boring, nice.
42. 8:18A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
43. 8:29If you only manage half of it, that's half more than nothing.
44. 8:42If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
45. 8:56Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
46. 9:06We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
47. 9:16If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
48. 9:30Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
49. 9:41You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
50. 9:54If you feel numb, that's a valid thing to feel. Nothing to fix.
51. 10:07Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
52. 10:18We'll take this slowly, and there's no version of this where you get it wrong.
53. 10:32Notice anything you're holding onto from earlier today.
54. 10:43Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
55. 10:56I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
56. 11:08If the stiffness from sitting shows up, let it be there without arguing with it. You are not trying to remove it, just to sit beside it.
57. 11:28Let the ache in the lower back be exactly as big as it is, and let your breath be exactly as slow as it is. They can coexist.
58. 11:48Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
59. 12:01If the muscles holding on all day is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
60. 12:19If the stiffness from sitting has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
61. 12:36Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
62. 12:52Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
63. 13:03Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
64. 13:15If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
65. 13:29Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
66. 13:41There's no need to try harder than this.
67. 13:52Let this one be unhurried.
68. 14:01Roll your neck once, slowly, in whichever direction feels good.
69. 14:13Take one breath that's a little fuller than the others, and let it out through your mouth.

Questions people ask

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