Letting go meditation for contentment (10 min), on a rest day

About this practice

A 10-minute letting go session for contentment, on a rest day. No app, no account — press start. A guided session of about 10 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: contentment

Contentment is the absence of the next want, not the presence of everything. It lasts only as long as the wanting pauses.

It tends to show up as:

• Arriving without enjoying the arrival
• Immediately wanting the next thing
• Rest feeling unearned

Not wanting more for a few minutes is a trainable state, and it is available without acquiring anything.

Doing this on a rest day

• Do it without a reason or a target
• Later in the day, unhurried, in good light
• Let it be longer than usual if you want

Rest that has to be justified is not really rest. This one is allowed to be pointless.

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 heaviest part of your body right now. Let it be heavy.
2. 0:13Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
3. 0:29Let your attention rest on the out-breath. The in-breath can take care of itself.
4. 0:43Settle into the fact that for the next few minutes, nothing is required of you.
5. 0:57Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
6. 1:10Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
7. 1:23Feel your palms. Warm or cool, either is fine.
8. 1:34Notice your whole body as one shape, sitting or lying here.
9. 1:46Let the whole of your right foot be heavy.
10. 1:57Notice where your body is still holding something. Leave it alone.
11. 2:09Let the exhale carry a little of the calm of not wanting more this minute with it. Not all of it. Just a little, one breath at a time.
12. 2:30When the settled feeling after striving presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
13. 2:49Notice the difference between a thought and the space around it.
14. 3:01With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
15. 3:16Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
16. 3:27If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
17. 3:40You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
18. 3:55A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
19. 4:06If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
20. 4:18Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
21. 4:33Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
22. 4:43Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
23. 4:57Let your body keep settling.
24. 5:06Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
25. 5:19If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
26. 5:33Let the pause stretch out.
27. 5:42Feel your ankles. Let them be loose.
28. 5:52Follow the breath down into your belly and feel it come back up.
29. 6:05Stay with it.
30. 6:13Notice your pelvis resting on the surface below you.
31. 6:24Let your breathing find the rhythm it uses when you're almost asleep.
32. 6:37Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
33. 6:49Notice where the enough-ness of right now lives in your body. Chest, throat, stomach. Rest your attention there without trying to change it.
34. 7:07Whatever the calm of not wanting more this minute is doing right now, your breathing can keep going underneath it.
35. 7:24Notice the small pause before your body decides to breathe in again.
36. 7:37If you catch yourself fighting the settled feeling after striving, that is worth noticing. The fight usually costs more than the feeling.
37. 7:55If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
38. 8:10If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
39. 8:24Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
40. 8:35We are not solving anything in the next few minutes. We are setting it down, temporarily.
41. 8:50No need to open your eyes yet.
42. 9:00Let the next breath be the start of the rest of the day.
43. 9:13Notice whether you feel any different. If not, that's also normal.
44. 9:25A few seconds more.

Questions people ask

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