Letting go for exhaustion: 20 minutes, on the morning of an interview

About this practice

20 minutes to meet exhaustion with less of a fight. A letting go practice, on the morning of an interview. A guided session of about 20 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: exhaustion

Exhaustion is what is left after the reserves are gone. The body has stopped asking; it is now insisting.

It tends to show up as:

Feeling hollow and drained
Emotionally flat
Physical heaviness all day

This is not the state to push in. The whole point here is to ask nothing and let the body be heavy.

Doing this before an interview

Do it where you will not be interrupted, even if that is a stairwell
Have the first sentence of your answer ready afterwards
Keep it short — there is no time for a long session

Nerves before an interview are normal and not something to eliminate. You need access to what you know, nothing more.

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

0:00Check your hands. Are they doing anything? Let them stop.
0:12Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
0:27If your mind is loud, that's information, not failure.
0:38There's a difference between relaxing and stopping. We're aiming for the second one, gently.
0:52Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
1:05Feel the pause at the top of the in-breath. It's shorter than you think.
1:19Notice your hands again. Check whether they've loosened on their own.
1:31Notice your pelvis resting on the surface below you.
1:42Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
1:53Notice your shoulders, one at a time. The left one first.
2:05Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
2:17When the drained feeling that rest has not touched presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
2:38Each time your mind hands you the hollow tiredness, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
2:57Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
3:09Let the body asking you to stop be exactly as big as it is, and let your breath be exactly as slow as it is. They can coexist.
3:29Picture the drained feeling that rest has not touched as a weather front passing over. You are not the weather. You are the sky it moves through.
3:49Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
4:02If you feel numb, that's a valid thing to feel. Nothing to fix.
4:15With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
4:30Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
4:40Notice any part of you that wants this to be over.
4:52Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
5:08I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
5:20If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
5:34We are not solving anything in the next few minutes. We are setting it down, temporarily.
5:49Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
6:01Notice the difference between a thought and the space around it.
6:13Pick one thing you are gripping — a plan, a worry, a grudge — and loosen a single finger.
6:29No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
6:40If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
6:53No rush to move on.
7:02Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
7:15Let your thumbs rest wherever they landed.
7:25I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
7:38Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
7:51Remain here for a few more breaths.
8:01Notice the first breath of the day versus this one. They're the same mechanism.
8:15Notice your lower back. Let it curve however it curves.
8:27Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
8:38Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
8:52Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
9:02Follow one full breath from the moment it starts to the moment it ends.
9:16Let your throat soften. There's nothing to swallow right now.
9:28Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
9:39Notice if your breathing is faster than you expected. Don't correct it. Just note it.
9:53Let your body keep settling.
10:02If you're counting the minutes, that's fine. Count them and come back.
10:15I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
10:27Feel your belly. Let it be soft instead of held in.
10:39Let the breath get soft, the way it goes when someone is reading beside you.
10:53Stay with it.
11:01If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
11:14A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
11:25Notice the space between your shoulder blades.
11:35Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
11:48Let the pause stretch out.
11:57If your body wants to move, let it move, then come back.
12:10Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
12:22Notice the backs of your knees, which you feel more than you think.
12:35Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
12:48Take the next breath slowly.
12:57Feel the skin around your eyes. Let the muscles behind them go loose.
13:10Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
13:26A few seconds more.
13:35Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
13:48Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
13:59No need to open your eyes yet.
14:09Notice your ribs on both sides. Wide, not squeezed.
14:20Follow the breath down into your belly and feel it come back up.
14:33Let the quiet do its work.
14:43Feel your ankles. Let them be loose.
14:53You do not have to solve the hollow tiredness in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
15:12Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
15:24There is no correct amount of the body asking you to stop to be feeling right now. Whatever is here is the honest amount.
15:43Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
15:57Think of the drained feeling that rest has not touched as a guest that arrived without knocking. You can let it stand in the hallway.
16:16Give the hollow tiredness a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
16:33Let the exhale fall out rather than pushing it.
16:44If the body asking you to stop starts telling you a story, let the story finish without you adding to it.
17:01Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the drained feeling that rest has not touched is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
17:21Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
17:32If nothing much is happening, that's not a problem. Nothing much is often the point.
17:46If you feel emotional, you don't have to explain it to anyone, including yourself.
18:00If your mind has wandered, that's not a mistake. Noticing is the practice.
18:13A short silence. Let it be empty.
18:23You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
18:38Stay here a little longer.
18:47Roll your neck once, slowly, in whichever direction feels good.
18:59Let your breathing be completely ordinary again.
19:09Let it be this simple.

Questions people ask

What does this session help with?

Exhaustion is what is left after the reserves are gone. The body has stopped asking; it is now insisting. This is not the state to push in. The whole point here is to ask nothing and let the body be heavy.

Where and when should I do this one?

Do it where you will not be interrupted, even if that is a stairwell. Nerves before an interview are normal and not something to eliminate. You need access to what you know, nothing more.

What actually happens during the 20 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.