Breathing meditation for burnout (7 min), on a train journey

About this practice

7 minutes to meet burnout with less of a fight. A breathing practice, on a train journey. A guided session of about 7 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: burnout

Burnout is not tiredness you can sleep off. It is a flat, depleted state after prolonged effort, where the usual rewards stop registering.

It tends to show up as:

• Flatness rather than sadness
• Cynicism about work you used to care about
• Rest that does not restore anything

Recovery is not a push. Gentle practices that ask nothing of you are more useful here than anything with a target.

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 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. 0:00Rest your hands somewhere they don't have to do anything.
2. 0:12If the breath feels tight, do not deepen it. Just watch it, and let it find its own depth.
3. 0:28Bring your attention to where your body meets the surface underneath you.
4. 0:41Let your breathing find its own pace. We're only going to watch it.
5. 0:54Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
6. 1:08Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
7. 1:21Notice your eyebrows. They're probably doing something small right now.
8. 1:33Notice your lower back. Let it curve however it curves.
9. 1:45Notice your ribs on both sides. Wide, not squeezed.
10. 1:56You do not have to solve the flatness after pushing too long in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
11. 2:16If the worn-down feeling that coffee cannot fix has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
12. 2:35Notice your whole body as one shape, sitting or lying here.
13. 2:47Let the quiet do its work.
14. 2:57Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
15. 3:10Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
16. 3:23Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
17. 3:35There is no target number here. Only the next breath, and then the one after it.
18. 3:50Your mind will leave about a hundred times. Come back about a hundred times.
19. 4:04If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
20. 4:18A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
21. 4:29Whatever the distance between you and the work you used to love is doing right now, your breathing can keep going underneath it.
22. 4:47You are allowed to be unimpressed by the flatness after pushing too long. Indifference is a legitimate response.
23. 5:03Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
24. 5:15Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
25. 5:26Notice any part of you that wants this to be over.
26. 5:38Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
27. 5:50Your anchor for the next few minutes is the breath itself. Nothing else needs following.
28. 6:04Take one more breath at your own pace, then let your attention come back to the room.
29. 6:19Let the quiet end on its own rather than cutting it off.
30. 6:32Nothing changes for a moment.

Questions people ask

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