Grounding for agitation: 7 minutes, between calls

About this practice

7 minutes to meet agitation with less of a fight. A grounding practice, between calls. A guided session of about 7 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: agitation

Agitation is activation without an outlet. The body wants to move, the mind wants to switch tasks, and neither discharges the energy.

It tends to show up as:

• Restless, unable to sit through anything
• Switching tasks every few minutes
• Fidgeting without noticing

Channel the movement rather than suppressing it. Slow, deliberate physical attention gives the restlessness somewhere to go.

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. 0:00Let your next exhale be a sigh, if a sigh is what's waiting there.
2. 0:14The floor is holding you right now. You do not have to hold yourself up.
3. 0:28We'll be quiet for a bit longer than usual. Stay with whatever shows up.
4. 0:42We'll work through this slowly. If you lose the thread, the thread will wait.
5. 0:56If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
6. 1:10Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
7. 1:25Notice your ribs on both sides. Wide, not squeezed.
8. 1:36Feel the middle of your back, the part that never gets attention.
9. 1:49Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
10. 2:01You do not have to like the restlessness that will not sit still to breathe through it. Liking was never the requirement.
11. 2:19Notice how the jumpy energy looking for an outlet changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
12. 2:37Notice your whole body as one shape, sitting or lying here.
13. 2:49Nothing changes for a moment.
14. 2:58Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
15. 3:09Notice how quickly your mind labels things: good, bad, boring, nice.
16. 3:21No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
17. 3:32If your mind has gone somewhere else, the floor under you has not moved. Start from there.
18. 3:47If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
19. 4:02Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
20. 4:13Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
21. 4:25You do not have to solve the fidgeting that cannot settle in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
22. 4:44When the restlessness that will not sit still presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
23. 5:04Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
24. 5:18Notice whether you're breathing or holding. Start breathing again.
25. 5:29If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
26. 5:43I'll step back. You stay here.
27. 5:53Press down slightly and feel the push back. Your body already knows where it is.
28. 6:07Notice the room again: the sounds, the temperature, the light.
29. 6:19Take one breath that's a little fuller than the others, and let it out through your mouth.
30. 6:34Keep following the air.

Questions people ask

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