Exhaustion: 7-minute grounding meditation, between meetings

About this practice

7 minutes to meet exhaustion with less of a fight. A grounding practice, between meetings. A guided session of about 7 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 between meetings

• Start it in the gap, not after the next one begins
• Write down the open thread from the last meeting first, then let it go
• Two minutes done beats five minutes planned

The back-to-back day is exactly why the gap has to be protected rather than used for one more task.

How grounding works

Grounding brings attention to physical contact and the immediate environment. It works on the principle that the body cannot be somewhere else, so contact with the surface you are on is always available as an anchor.

• Feel the contact points — feet, seat, back — and let them take your weight
• Use the senses deliberately: what you can see, hear, touch
• Return to solidity whenever attention drifts

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Put a hand on your chest for a moment if that feels steadying. Or don't. Both are allowed.
2. 0:16The floor is holding you right now. You do not have to hold yourself up.
3. 0:30Settle into the fact that for the next few minutes, nothing is required of you.
4. 0:44There's a difference between relaxing and stopping. We're aiming for the second one, gently.
5. 0:58If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
6. 1:12Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
7. 1:25Let your throat soften. There's nothing to swallow right now.
8. 1:37Notice your jaw again. Let your back teeth part slightly.
9. 1:49Let your thumbs rest wherever they landed.
10. 1:59This is not the last time the body asking you to stop will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
11. 2:18You do not have to like the drained feeling that rest has not touched to breathe through it. Liking was never the requirement.
12. 2:36Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
13. 2:48No need to open your eyes yet.
14. 2:58Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
15. 3:10Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
16. 3:22Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
17. 3:34If your mind has gone somewhere else, the floor under you has not moved. Start from there.
18. 3:49If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks.
19. 4:04Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
20. 4:19A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
21. 4:30Each time your mind hands you the hollow tiredness, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
22. 4:49You do not have to win against the body asking you to stop. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
23. 5:07Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
24. 5:20Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
25. 5:34Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
26. 5:47I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
27. 6:00Feel the contact points — feet, seat, back. That contact is the whole anchor.
28. 6:14Stretch whatever feels stiff, then carry on.
29. 6:24Let your shoulders come back up to their usual place, if they want to.

Questions people ask

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