Letting go for overwhelm: 12 minutes, early on

About this practice

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 12 minutes of letting go for overwhelm, early on. A guided session of about 12 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: overwhelm

Overwhelm is too many open loops at once. The mind cannot prioritise while aroused, so the pile stays a pile.

It tends to show up as:

• Not knowing where to start
• Freezing rather than working
• Feeling behind on everything at once

You cannot sort the pile while the alarm is ringing. Settling the body first is what makes choosing possible.

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 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. 0:00Notice the temperature of the air on the backs of your hands.
2. 0:13Small efforts are the whole method.
3. 0:23This is not a performance. Nobody is listening to how well you're doing it.
4. 0:37Feel the small movements your body makes to keep you upright. They're happening without you.
5. 0:51Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
6. 1:07If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
7. 1:21Notice your jaw again. Let your back teeth part slightly.
8. 1:33Feel the tops of your thighs.
9. 1:43Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
10. 1:55Notice your shins, which take small knocks all day and never complain.
11. 2:08If the pile of everything at once has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
12. 2:26If the too-much feeling starts telling you a story, let the story finish without you adding to it.
13. 2:42Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
14. 2:54If you've lost track of where we were, you haven't lost anything important.
15. 3:07You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
16. 3:20Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
17. 3:32Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
18. 3:46There's no need to try harder than this.
19. 3:57Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
20. 4:09If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
21. 4:24Let this be easy, if easy is available.
22. 4:35Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
23. 4:45If nothing much is happening, that's not a problem. Nothing much is often the point.
24. 4:59Nothing here needs to be efficient.
25. 5:09I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
26. 5:22Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
27. 5:33If you only manage half of it, that's half more than nothing.
28. 5:46Let your throat soften. There's nothing to swallow right now.
29. 5:58Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
30. 6:09Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
31. 6:19Feel the skin around your eyes. Let the muscles behind them go loose.
32. 6:32Follow the breath down into your belly and feel it come back up.
33. 6:45Let this one be unhurried.
34. 6:54Start at the top of your head. Notice the scalp, which you almost never notice.
35. 7:08Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
36. 7:21Stay here a little longer.
37. 7:30Notice your hands again. Check whether they've loosened on their own.
38. 7:42Let the breath get soft, the way it goes when someone is reading beside you.
39. 7:56Remain here for a few more breaths.
40. 8:06Notice the space between your shoulder blades.
41. 8:16Say to yourself: this is uncomfortable, and I can stay with it for one more breath. Then take that breath.
42. 8:33I'll step back. You stay here.
43. 8:43Each time your mind hands you the pile of everything at once, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
44. 9:03Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
45. 9:17When the too-much feeling arrives, name it once, quietly, and go back to the breath. Naming is not fixing, and that is fine.
46. 9:35Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the noise of a hundred demands is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
47. 9:54Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
48. 10:06Notice if your attention is in the future. Bring it back to the room.
49. 10:20If your mind has wandered, that's not a mistake. Noticing is the practice.
50. 10:33Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
51. 10:44We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
52. 10:54Let the quiet do its work.
53. 11:04Notice your feet on the floor. That's where you start from.
54. 11:16Notice whether you feel any different. If not, that's also normal.

Questions people ask

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