Letting go for morning energy: 5 minutes, when you

About this practice

When morning energy shows up when you are overwhelmed, this 5-minute letting go session gives you somewhere to put it down. A guided session of about 5 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: morning energy

Morning energy depends on how you come out of sleep and when light hits your eyes, more than on the number of hours.

It tends to show up as:

Heavy eyelids at the start
Struggling out of bed
Needing to hit snooze repeatedly

Movement and breathing raise alertness without caffeine, and the effect holds better through the early hours.

Doing this when you are overwhelmed

Do not decide priorities during it
Pick the shortest session available here
When you finish, write down the first physical action on paper

The pile looks less like a pile once the alarm stops ringing. Sort it after, not during.

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

0:00Keep your eyes open if you like, resting on one point of the floor a metre or two ahead.
0:16You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
0:31We'll start broad and narrow down. Nothing sudden is coming.
0:43You can think about other things. When you notice, come back. That's the whole practice.
0:57Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
1:10Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
1:21Feel the tops of your thighs.
1:31Let your throat soften. There's nothing to swallow right now.
1:43Let your whole body be as heavy as it wants to be.
1:56Keep following the air.
2:05A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
2:16Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
2:32Notice whether you're breathing or holding. Start breathing again.
2:43If the wish to begin without the scramble has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
3:02You do not have to like the heavy eyelids at the start to breathe through it. Liking was never the requirement.
3:19Let the breath be shallow if shallow is what your body wants.
3:32Give the day arriving before you are ready a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
3:51Notice if you're waiting for something to happen. Nothing is scheduled.
4:03I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
4:15Pick one thing you are gripping — a plan, a worry, a grudge — and loosen a single finger.
4:31Stretch whatever feels stiff, then carry on.
4:41A few seconds more.

Questions people ask

What does this session help with?

Morning energy depends on how you come out of sleep and when light hits your eyes, more than on the number of hours. Movement and breathing raise alertness without caffeine, and the effect holds better through the early hours.

Where and when should I do this one?

Do not decide priorities during it. The pile looks less like a pile once the alarm stops ringing. Sort it after, not during.

What actually happens during the 5 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.