Grief: 10-minute letting go meditation, on the way out of work

About this practice

For the times on the way out of work when grief takes up more room than you would like — 10 minutes, letting go. A guided session of about 10 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: grief

Grief is not a mood that lifts on a schedule. It arrives in waves, often triggered by nothing, and it changes shape over months rather than days.

It tends to show up as:

Waves arriving without warning
Exhaustion that rest does not touch
Difficulty concentrating on ordinary things

This is not a practice for fixing grief. It is a place to sit while it moves through, so you are not alone with it in the middle of the day.

Doing this after work

Change something physical first — shoes off, coat off — so the transition registers
Do it before picking up the evening tasks
Aim to end it fully, not just stop

Without a marker, work follows you into the evening. The session is the marker.

How letting go works

Letting go is about loosening grip rather than dropping things. It works on the effort attached to a problem — the holding, rehearsing and bracing — which is separable from the problem itself.

Pick one thing you are gripping and loosen a single finger
Release the effort with the exhale, not the issue
Set down temporarily; you can pick it up again after

What happens, minute by minute

0:00Let your belly be soft. Not sucked in. Just soft.
0:12With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
0:27We'll start broad and narrow down. Nothing sudden is coming.
0:39Bring your attention to the parts of you that are already still.
0:52Let the breath be shallow if shallow is what your body wants.
1:05Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
1:19Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
1:32Feel the outline of yourself, from the top of your head to your heels.
1:46Let your whole body be as heavy as it wants to be.
1:59Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
2:11You are allowed to be unimpressed by the ache that has no schedule. Indifference is a legitimate response.
2:27You do not have to solve the heaviness where someone used to be in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
2:47If nothing much is happening, that's not a problem. Nothing much is often the point.
3:01You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
3:16I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
3:29If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
3:44Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
4:00Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
4:11Notice how quickly your mind labels things: good, bad, boring, nice.
4:23Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
4:38Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
4:49Notice the small pause before your body decides to breathe in again.
5:02Keep following the air.
5:11Start at the top of your head. Notice the scalp, which you almost never notice.
5:25Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
5:38Let the quiet do its work.
5:48Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
5:59Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
6:15No need to open your eyes yet.
6:25Notice your hands again. Check whether they've loosened on their own.
6:37Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
6:49Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
6:59If the wave that arrives without warning has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
7:17Nothing about the ache that has no schedule has to be explained or justified in this room.
7:32Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
7:46Notice how the heaviness where someone used to be changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
8:04If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
8:18Notice if your attention is in the future. Bring it back to the room.
8:32I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
8:44We are not solving anything in the next few minutes. We are setting it down, temporarily.
8:59Stay with it.
9:07Let the quiet end on its own rather than cutting it off.
9:20Let the last of the stillness stay with you for a few more seconds.

Questions people ask

What does this session help with?

Grief is not a mood that lifts on a schedule. It arrives in waves, often triggered by nothing, and it changes shape over months rather than days. This is not a practice for fixing grief. It is a place to sit while it moves through, so you are not alone with it in the middle of the day.

Where and when should I do this one?

Change something physical first — shoes off, coat off — so the transition registers. Without a marker, work follows you into the evening. The session is the marker.

What actually happens during the 10 minutes?

Letting go is about loosening grip rather than dropping things. It works on the effort attached to a problem — the holding, rehearsing and bracing — which is separable from the problem itself.

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