Letting go for insomnia: 15 minutes, on a train journey

About this practice

15 minutes to meet insomnia with less of a fight. A letting go practice, on a train journey. A guided session of about 15 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 on a train

• Pick a window seat if you can and let the view do part of the work
• Set an alarm for your stop
• Keep the bag on your lap rather than unfastening to find it later

The motion can make reading or screens uncomfortable, which is another reason audio works better here.

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

1. 0:00There is nothing to get right here. Nothing is being scored.
2. 0:12We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
3. 0:22Let your attention rest on the out-breath. The in-breath can take care of itself.
4. 0:36Let your body be exactly as tired as it is.
5. 0:48Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
6. 0:59Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
7. 1:13Feel the skin around your eyes. Let the muscles behind them go loose.
8. 1:26Feel your heart somewhere in there, doing its work without instructions.
9. 1:38Feel your tongue sitting in the bottom of your mouth.
10. 1:50Feel your upper arms hanging. They're heavier than you remember.
11. 2:02Feel the back of your neck. That's a place that holds a lot.
12. 2:15Say to yourself: this is uncomfortable, and I can stay with it for one more breath. Then take that breath.
13. 2:32You have been carrying the frustration of not sleeping for a while. You can set it down for the length of this session and pick it up after.
14. 2:52Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
15. 3:07If the wide-awake mind at 2am starts telling you a story, let the story finish without you adding to it.
16. 3:24You do not have to win against the counting of hours until morning. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
17. 3:42Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
18. 3:55Remain here for a few more breaths.
19. 4:05Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
20. 4:18Notice the small movement in your belly when you breathe.
21. 4:30Take the next breath slowly.
22. 4:39Let the breath get soft, the way it goes when someone is reading beside you.
23. 4:53Let the whole of your right foot be heavy.
24. 5:04Let your body keep settling.
25. 5:13Notice that you don't have to start a breath. It arrives by itself.
26. 5:26Notice the space between your shoulder blades.
27. 5:36Keep following the air.
28. 5:45Follow one full breath from the moment it starts to the moment it ends.
29. 5:59Notice where your body is still holding something. Leave it alone.
30. 6:11Stay with it.
31. 6:19Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
32. 6:32Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
33. 6:44Let the pause stretch out.
34. 6:53Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
35. 7:04A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
36. 7:15Let this be easy, if easy is available.
37. 7:26Notice the moment you realise you've drifted. That moment is the whole skill.
38. 7:39Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
39. 7:51Small efforts are the whole method.
40. 8:01If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
41. 8:13Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
42. 8:25You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
43. 8:38If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
44. 8:53I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
45. 9:05We'll take this slowly, and there's no version of this where you get it wrong.
46. 9:19Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind?
47. 9:31I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
48. 9:44There's no need to try harder than this.
49. 9:55If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks.
50. 10:10Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
51. 10:21If you only manage half of it, that's half more than nothing.
52. 10:34Notice how you're sitting. Adjust if you need to. Then settle again.
53. 10:47Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
54. 11:00Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
55. 11:10Notice the space around the frustration of not sleeping. It is there, even if it is small. Put your attention in that space.
56. 11:28Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the wide-awake mind at 2am is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
57. 11:47Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
58. 11:58the counting of hours until morning may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
59. 12:16Let the exhale carry a little of the frustration of not sleeping with it. Not all of it. Just a little, one breath at a time.
60. 12:35Follow the breath down into your belly and feel it come back up.
61. 12:48Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
62. 13:02Notice the difference between a thought and the space around it.
63. 13:14Notice if your attention is in the future. Bring it back to the room.
64. 13:28I'll step back. You stay here.
65. 13:38Nothing here needs to be efficient.
66. 13:48Let it be this simple.
67. 13:57Notice your feet on the floor. That's where you start from.
68. 14:09Let your eyes open when they're ready, not when the words end.

Questions people ask

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