Fatigue: 20-minute gratitude meditation, on your commute

About this practice

For the times on your commute when fatigue takes up more room than you would like — 20 minutes, gratitude. A guided session of about 20 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: fatigue

Fatigue is deep tiredness of the kind that sleep does not fully clear, usually after a stretch of sustained demand.

It tends to show up as:

• Tired behind the eyes all day
• Heavy limbs
• Rest that does not refresh

Here the practice should be restful rather than stimulating. Quiet and unambitious is the right dose.

Doing this on your commute

• Headphones on, eyes open or closed depending on your comfort
• Keep one part of your attention on your stop
• Do it standing if sitting is not possible — nobody is watching

Commuting time is already dead time. Nothing is being given up.

How gratitude works

Gratitude here is an attention practice, not a demand for a positive mood. Attention defaults to threats because they are urgent, so pleasant and ordinary things get skipped simply for being safe.

• Pick one ordinary thing rather than something impressive
• Stay with it for two breaths — depth beats length of list
• Do not aim at feeling grateful; aim at noticing

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00If your legs are crossed, uncross them. Small changes count.
2. 0:12There is no need to feel grateful. Just look, and see what is actually there.
3. 0:26Everything that happens in the next few minutes is allowed to happen.
4. 0:39Notice whether your breathing is high in your chest or low in your belly. Just notice. No fixing.
5. 0:55Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
6. 1:09Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
7. 1:22Notice your toes, starting with the big one on the left.
8. 1:34Feel your hips. Wide, heavy, and doing nothing.
9. 1:45Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
10. 1:57Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
11. 2:09Let your throat soften. There's nothing to swallow right now.
12. 2:21You do not have to like the bone-deep tiredness to breathe through it. Liking was never the requirement.
13. 2:37Imagine softening the edges of the heaviness behind your eyes. Not erasing it, just letting the sharp parts go a degree softer.
14. 2:55If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
15. 3:09Nothing about the end of the reserves has to be explained or justified in this room.
16. 3:24You are allowed to be unimpressed by the bone-deep tiredness. Indifference is a legitimate response.
17. 3:38Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
18. 3:49Notice if you're waiting for something to happen. Nothing is scheduled.
19. 4:01We are not forcing positivity. We are just noticing what went right, however small.
20. 4:15Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
21. 4:26If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
22. 4:40If nothing comes, notice that something did not go wrong. That also counts.
23. 4:53Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
24. 5:04Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
25. 5:18Stay with it for two breaths. Gratitude deepens by staying, not by listing.
26. 5:31Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
27. 5:41If you're irritated, that's allowed. Irritation is just weather.
28. 5:52Let it be unimpressive. Small good things are the most reliable ones.
29. 6:05Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
30. 6:17Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
31. 6:28A few seconds more.
32. 6:37Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
33. 6:50Now feel both feet at once. That's a lot of contact with the world.
34. 7:04I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
35. 7:16Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
36. 7:29Stay with it.
37. 7:37Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
38. 7:50Feel your upper back against whatever is behind it.
39. 8:01Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
40. 8:12If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
41. 8:24Keep following the air.
42. 8:33Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
43. 8:46Let your whole body be as heavy as it wants to be.
44. 8:59I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
45. 9:11If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
46. 9:24Let the breath be shallow if shallow is what your body wants.
47. 9:37Stay here a little longer.
48. 9:46If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
49. 10:00I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
50. 10:13Let your thumbs rest wherever they landed.
51. 10:23Notice if your breathing is faster than you expected. Don't correct it. Just note it.
52. 10:37Let your body keep settling.
53. 10:46Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
54. 10:58A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
55. 11:09Notice your jaw again. Let your back teeth part slightly.
56. 11:21Notice the small pause before your body decides to breathe in again.
57. 11:34Nothing changes for a moment.
58. 11:43If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
59. 11:57Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
60. 12:09Let the whole of your right foot be heavy.
61. 12:20Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
62. 12:34Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
63. 12:44Feel the outline of yourself, from the top of your head to your heels.
64. 12:58Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
65. 13:11Let the quiet do its work.
66. 13:21Notice your elbows. Odd things to have, but there they are.
67. 13:33Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
68. 13:49Let this one be unhurried.
69. 13:58Start at the top of your head. Notice the scalp, which you almost never notice.
70. 14:12Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
71. 14:24Let the pause stretch out.
72. 14:33Notice your shoulders, one at a time. The left one first.
73. 14:45Each time your mind hands you the heaviness behind your eyes, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
74. 15:04Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
75. 15:16Say to yourself: this is uncomfortable, and I can stay with it for one more breath. Then take that breath.
76. 15:33Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
77. 15:46This is not the last time the bone-deep tiredness will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
78. 16:04There is a part of you that has handled hard moments before. That part is here now, even if it is quiet.
79. 16:22Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
80. 16:35Let the end of the reserves be exactly as big as it is, and let your breath be exactly as slow as it is. They can coexist.
81. 16:55If the bone-deep tiredness has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
82. 17:12Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
83. 17:26You might be planning something. Notice the planning, then come back.
84. 17:38Notice whether you're breathing or holding. Start breathing again.
85. 17:49If your mind has wandered, that's not a mistake. Noticing is the practice.
86. 18:02A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
87. 18:13Pick one ordinary thing from today — a warm drink, a dry walk, a message — and let it count.
88. 18:30Let it be this simple.
89. 18:39Stand up when you're ready. The list hasn't grown while you were here.
90. 18:52Take a moment to notice you did this for yourself. That's not nothing.
91. 19:05Remain here for a few more breaths.

Questions people ask

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