Grounding meditation for insomnia (3 min), early on

About this practice

For the times early on when insomnia takes up more room than you would like — 3 minutes, grounding. A guided session of about 3 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: insomnia

Insomnia is often maintained by the fear of not sleeping. Anticipating a bad night raises arousal at bedtime, which produces the bad night.

It tends to show up as:

• Dreading bedtime
• Hours awake with a busy mind
• Sleeping worse as the week goes on

Removing the pressure to sleep is the active ingredient. This gives you something to do that is not trying.

Doing this in the morning

• Do it before checking your phone — the first minutes set the tone for the rest
• Sitting up is better than lying down, or you will drift back to sleep
• Light on your face helps more than any practice

Mornings can become a performance of productive habits. This one does not need to be done well.

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. 0:00If you're sitting, let the chair do the work of holding you upright.
2. 0:13If your mind has gone somewhere else, the floor under you has not moved. Start from there.
3. 0:28For the next few minutes, the only job is to notice what's already happening.
4. 0:42Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
5. 0:55Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
6. 1:08Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
7. 1:20If the wide-awake mind at 2am has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
8. 1:38There is no correct amount of the counting of hours until morning to be feeling right now. Whatever is here is the honest amount.
9. 1:57Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
10. 2:10Nothing about the frustration of not sleeping has to be explained or justified in this room.
11. 2:25Notice how you're sitting. Adjust if you need to. Then settle again.
12. 2:38Press down slightly and feel the push back. Your body already knows where it is.
13. 2:52Stretch whatever feels stiff, then carry on.

Questions people ask

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