Grounding meditation for the inner critic (10 min), at the end of the workday

About this practice

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 10 minutes of grounding for the inner critic, at the end of the workday. A guided session of about 10 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: the inner critic

The inner critic often formed as a protective strategy, keeping you small to keep you safe. It is loudest where you feel most exposed.

It tends to show up as:

• A judge commenting on everything
• Anticipating criticism before it comes
• Difficulty accepting praise

You can notice the voice without obeying it. Distance between the voice and the response is the whole gain.

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 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. 0:00Quick check: is anything genuinely urgent in this exact minute? Usually the answer is no.
2. 0:14Name what you can see, hear and touch. Counting senses is not a distraction; it is the practice.
3. 0:30Notice whether your breathing is high in your chest or low in your belly. Just notice. No fixing.
4. 0:46This is not a performance. Nobody is listening to how well you're doing it.
5. 1:00Notice if your breathing is faster than you expected. Don't correct it. Just note it.
6. 1:14Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
7. 1:27Notice your shins, which take small knocks all day and never complain.
8. 1:40Feel your ankles. Let them be loose.
9. 1:50Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
10. 2:03Notice the space between your shoulder blades.
11. 2:13Imagine softening the edges of the voice that grades everything. Not erasing it, just letting the sharp parts go a degree softer.
12. 2:31Imagine the judge in your head as a room you can walk out of for a minute. The room will still be there.
13. 2:49If you feel emotional, you don't have to explain it to anyone, including yourself.
14. 3:03Press down slightly and feel the push back. Your body already knows where it is.
15. 3:17A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
16. 3:28Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
17. 3:39If your mind has gone somewhere else, the floor under you has not moved. Start from there.
18. 3:54Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
19. 4:06If you're irritated, that's allowed. Irritation is just weather.
20. 4:17Come back to the solid things: weight, temperature, surface. They are always available.
21. 4:30I'll step back. You stay here.
22. 4:40If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
23. 4:54Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
24. 5:05Let the quiet do its work.
25. 5:15Feel your forearms, from the elbow down to the wrist.
26. 5:27Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
27. 5:40Let this one be unhurried.
28. 5:49Feel the tops of your thighs.
29. 5:59Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
30. 6:13Let the pause stretch out.
31. 6:22Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
32. 6:34Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
33. 6:50Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
34. 7:00This is not the last time the running commentary on your flaws will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
35. 7:19Give the voice that grades everything a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
36. 7:37Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
37. 7:48When the judge in your head presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
38. 8:07Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
39. 8:19If nothing much is happening, that's not a problem. Nothing much is often the point.
40. 8:33A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
41. 8:44Feel the contact points — feet, seat, back. That contact is the whole anchor.
42. 8:58No need to open your eyes yet.
43. 9:08If you drifted off, that was rest, and rest counts.
44. 9:20Notice if anything has loosened. Even slightly counts.
45. 9:31Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.

Questions people ask

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