Letting go meditation for agitation (7 min), after a shock

About this practice

Slow, spoken guidance for agitation. A letting go session you can do after a shock. A guided session of about 7 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: agitation

Agitation is activation without an outlet. The body wants to move, the mind wants to switch tasks, and neither discharges the energy.

It tends to show up as:

• Restless, unable to sit through anything
• Switching tasks every few minutes
• Fidgeting without noticing

Channel the movement rather than suppressing it. Slow, deliberate physical attention gives the restlessness somewhere to go.

Doing this after bad news

• Do not make any decisions during it
• Let it be simple — you do not need to process anything today
• Tell one person where you are, even briefly

The first hours after bad news are not for planning. Deliberately doing nothing useful is the right move.

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. 0:00Then find the nearest sound. It's probably your own breathing.
2. 0:12Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
3. 0:28We'll start broad and narrow down. Nothing sudden is coming.
4. 0:40Let your attention settle on the space between your nose and your upper lip, where the air passes.
5. 0:56Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
6. 1:12Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
7. 1:23Notice the space between your shoulder blades.
8. 1:33Feel the parts of you that have gone quiet.
9. 1:44Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
10. 1:56If the jumpy energy looking for an outlet has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
11. 2:15If the fidgeting that cannot settle is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
12. 2:32Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
13. 2:44Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
14. 2:54Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
15. 3:07Now feel both feet at once. That's a lot of contact with the world.
16. 3:21If you're irritated, that's allowed. Irritation is just weather.
17. 3:32I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
18. 3:44Pick one thing you are gripping — a plan, a worry, a grudge — and loosen a single finger.
19. 4:00Notice anything you're holding onto from earlier today.
20. 4:11Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
21. 4:22Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
22. 4:33You do not have to win against the restlessness that will not sit still. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
23. 4:52You are allowed to be unimpressed by the jumpy energy looking for an outlet. Indifference is a legitimate response.
24. 5:08Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
25. 5:23If you feel numb, that's a valid thing to feel. Nothing to fix.
26. 5:36If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
27. 5:51I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
28. 6:04Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
29. 6:19Notice the room again: the sounds, the temperature, the light.
30. 6:31Let your breathing be completely ordinary again.

Questions people ask

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