Fatigue: 7-minute body scan meditation, on a train journey

About this practice

When fatigue shows up on a train journey, this 7-minute body scan session gives you somewhere to put it down. A guided session of about 7 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 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 body scan works

A body scan moves attention systematically through the body, region by region. It does not try to change what it finds — it builds a map of what is actually there, which is often different from what you assumed.

• Move slowly, head to feet or feet to head, and do not skip the uncomfortable areas
• Meet each region with plain curiosity rather than a verdict
• Numbness and absence of sensation are findings too

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Let your shoulders drop about a centimetre. That is roughly where most of us keep the day.
2. 0:15Start at the crown of the head and move down slowly. Do not skip to the parts that hurt.
3. 0:31We're going to move through the body in order, roughly from top to bottom.
4. 0:45You can let your eyes close now if they weren't already.
5. 0:57Notice the small pause before your body decides to breathe in again.
6. 1:10Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
7. 1:21Notice your ribs on both sides. Wide, not squeezed.
8. 1:32Now the right shoulder. Let it be a centimetre lower than it was.
9. 1:45Feel the soles of your feet. All the weight of you goes through them.
10. 1:59There is no correct amount of the end of the reserves to be feeling right now. Whatever is here is the honest amount.
11. 2:17Imagine the bone-deep tiredness as a room you can walk out of for a minute. The room will still be there.
12. 2:34Feel the middle of your back, the part that never gets attention.
13. 2:47Just the breath, still.
14. 2:56Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
15. 3:10If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
16. 3:23Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
17. 3:35Visit each area with plain curiosity, not with a verdict. Sensation is information, not a problem.
18. 3:50Notice the moment you realise you've drifted. That moment is the whole skill.
19. 4:03Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
20. 4:15I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
21. 4:28If the heaviness behind your eyes shows up, let it be there without arguing with it. You are not trying to remove it, just to sit beside it.
22. 4:48You have been carrying the end of the reserves for a while. You can set it down for the length of this session and pick it up after.
23. 5:08Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
24. 5:21If your mind has wandered, that's not a mistake. Noticing is the practice.
25. 5:34If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks.
26. 5:49A short silence. Let it be empty.
27. 5:59Your only job is to notice what is there, region by region, without fixing anything.
28. 6:13If you drifted off, that was rest, and rest counts.
29. 6:25Let the quiet end on its own rather than cutting it off.

Questions people ask

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