Breathing meditation for exhaustion (15 min), in the hour before an interview

About this practice

For the times in the hour before an interview when exhaustion 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: 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 before an interview

• Do it where you will not be interrupted, even if that is a stairwell
• Have the first sentence of your answer ready afterwards
• Keep it short — there is no time for a long session

Nerves before an interview are normal and not something to eliminate. You need access to what you know, nothing more.

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. 0:00Let the floor take your weight through your feet, and stop holding yourself up for a second.
2. 0:15Let the counting do the work. When you lose the count, start again from one — no penalty.
3. 0:31Nothing here needs to be pleasant. Neutral is fine. Dull is fine.
4. 0:44For the next few minutes, the only job is to notice what's already happening.
5. 0:58Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
6. 1:14Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
7. 1:28Notice your eyebrows. They're probably doing something small right now.
8. 1:40Feel the tops of your thighs.
9. 1:50Notice your toes, starting with the big one on the left.
10. 2:02Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
11. 2:13Notice the small movement in your belly when you breathe.
12. 2:25Each time your mind hands you the body asking you to stop, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
13. 2:45You do not have to win against the drained feeling that rest has not touched. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
14. 3:04Notice the first breath of the day versus this one. They're the same mechanism.
15. 3:18You have been carrying the hollow tiredness for a while. You can set it down for the length of this session and pick it up after.
16. 3:37If the body asking you to stop is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
17. 3:55Feel your upper back against whatever is behind it.
18. 4:06No rush to move on.
19. 4:15Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
20. 4:28Feel your forearms, from the elbow down to the wrist.
21. 4:40Just the breath, still.
22. 4:49Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
23. 5:03Notice your whole body as one shape, sitting or lying here.
24. 5:15Let your body keep settling.
25. 5:24Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
26. 5:35Notice your lower back. Let it curve however it curves.
27. 5:47Let the pause stretch out.
28. 5:56Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
29. 6:09Notice your breathing, without changing it.
30. 6:19Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
31. 6:29Notice if you're waiting for something to happen. Nothing is scheduled.
32. 6:41Let it be this simple.
33. 6:50Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
34. 7:02Notice your pelvis resting on the surface below you.
35. 7:13Let the breath be shallow if shallow is what your body wants.
36. 7:26Take the next breath slowly.
37. 7:35If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
38. 7:48I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
39. 8:00Keep the exhale a little longer than the inhale. That is the entire technique.
40. 8:14If your mind has wandered, that's not a mistake. Noticing is the practice.
41. 8:27A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
42. 8:38If the breath feels tight, do not deepen it. Just watch it, and let it find its own depth.
43. 8:54If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
44. 9:07Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
45. 9:18Your anchor for the next few minutes is the breath itself. Nothing else needs following.
46. 9:32If you feel numb, that's a valid thing to feel. Nothing to fix.
47. 9:45Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
48. 9:56Follow the air from the nostrils down to the belly, then back out. One full trip at a time.
49. 10:12If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
50. 10:27Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
51. 10:40A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
52. 10:51the drained feeling that rest has not touched may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
53. 11:10Think of the hollow tiredness as a guest that arrived without knocking. You can let it stand in the hallway.
54. 11:27Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
55. 11:39Notice how the body asking you to stop changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
56. 11:56If the drained feeling that rest has not touched shows up, let it be there without arguing with it. You are not trying to remove it, just to sit beside it.
57. 12:18Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
58. 12:32If you're counting the minutes, that's fine. Count them and come back.
59. 12:45If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
60. 12:59If you've lost track of where we were, you haven't lost anything important.
61. 13:12Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
62. 13:24There is no target number here. Only the next breath, and then the one after it.
63. 13:39Stay here a little longer.
64. 13:48Before you open your eyes, notice how you feel compared to the start. It might be small.
65. 14:03Start to notice the edges of your body again, and the surface you're on.
66. 14:17Let the quiet do its work.

Questions people ask

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