Breathing meditation for low energy (10 min), during a break

About this practice

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 10 minutes of breathing for low energy, during a break. A guided session of about 10 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: low energy

Low energy is a flat battery, not laziness. Pushing through it further drains reserves and produces worse work, faster.

It tends to show up as:

• Everything feeling like an effort
• Procrastinating on simple tasks
• Tiredness sitting deep in the body

A short practice will not restore the reserve, but it removes some of the tension that is draining it.

Doing this on a break

• Leave the room if you can
• Do not start anything else in the same gap
• Set a timer so the break has an end

A break spent half-engaged with a screen is not much of a break. Guard the whole five minutes.

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. 0:00Then find the nearest sound. It's probably your own breathing.
2. 0:12We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
3. 0:22Feel the small movements your body makes to keep you upright. They're happening without you.
4. 0:36There's no correct speed. Slower isn't better. Steadier is the only aim.
5. 0:49Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
6. 1:01If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
7. 1:15Feel your tongue sitting in the bottom of your mouth.
8. 1:27Let the whole of your right foot be heavy.
9. 1:38Notice your toes, starting with the big one on the left.
10. 1:50Feel your palms. Warm or cool, either is fine.
11. 2:01Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the tiredness that sits in the bones is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
12. 2:21Picture the effort everything takes as a weather front passing over. You are not the weather. You are the sky it moves through.
13. 2:39Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
14. 2:51Small efforts are the whole method.
15. 3:01Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
16. 3:12Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
17. 3:26Nothing here needs to be efficient.
18. 3:36Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
19. 3:48Notice the difference between a thought and the space around it.
20. 4:00If you only manage half of it, that's half more than nothing.
21. 4:13I'll step back. You stay here.
22. 4:23If a worry shows up, name it quietly and let it sit beside you.
23. 4:37Feel the pause at the top of the in-breath. It's shorter than you think.
24. 4:51Remain here for a few more breaths.
25. 5:01Feel your belly. Let it be soft instead of held in.
26. 5:13Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
27. 5:27Let your body keep settling.
28. 5:36Notice your eyebrows. They're probably doing something small right now.
29. 5:48Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
30. 6:02Let the quiet do its work.
31. 6:12Now the right shoulder. Let it be a centimetre lower than it was.
32. 6:25Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
33. 6:38A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
34. 6:49When the flat battery feeling presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
35. 7:08You do not have to solve the tiredness that sits in the bones in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
36. 7:28Follow the breath down into your belly and feel it come back up.
37. 7:41Notice where the effort everything takes lives in your body. Chest, throat, stomach. Rest your attention there without trying to change it.
38. 7:59Notice any part of you that wants this to be over.
39. 8:11Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
40. 8:24Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
41. 8:36We'll take this slowly, and there's no version of this where you get it wrong.
42. 8:50Keep following the air.
43. 8:59Take one more breath at your own pace, then let your attention come back to the room.
44. 9:14Notice whether you feel any different. If not, that's also normal.
45. 9:26Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.

Questions people ask

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