Letting go meditation for gratitude (15 min), between meetings

About this practice

When gratitude shows up between meetings, this 15-minute letting go session gives you somewhere to put it down. A guided session of about 15 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: gratitude

Attention prioritises threats by default, which is useful for survival and costly for mood. Good things go unnoticed simply because they are not urgent.

It tends to show up as:

• Ending the day with no memory of the good parts
• Focusing on what went wrong
• Good moments passing without registering

Gratitude here is an attention exercise, not a demand to feel thankful. Noticing is the practice; the feeling is optional.

Doing this between meetings

• Start it in the gap, not after the next one begins
• Write down the open thread from the last meeting first, then let it go
• Two minutes done beats five minutes planned

The back-to-back day is exactly why the gap has to be protected rather than used for one more task.

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. 0:00Let your eyes soften. Not closed, just less busy.
2. 0:11We'll take this slowly, and there's no version of this where you get it wrong.
3. 0:25Notice the pause at the end of each breath. It's short, but it's there.
4. 0:39Notice the weight of your arms without moving them.
5. 0:50Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
6. 1:04If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
7. 1:18Notice your pelvis resting on the surface below you.
8. 1:29Notice the space between your shoulder blades.
9. 1:39Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
10. 1:51Feel the parts of you that have gone quiet.
11. 2:02Notice your breathing, without changing it.
12. 2:12There is no correct amount of the warmth of noticing what is already here to be feeling right now. Whatever is here is the honest amount.
13. 2:31This is not the last time the good things you usually hurry past will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
14. 2:51Notice the first breath of the day versus this one. They're the same mechanism.
15. 3:05You do not have to solve the small comforts of an ordinary day in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
16. 3:25You do not have to like the warmth of noticing what is already here to breathe through it. Liking was never the requirement.
17. 3:43Notice your heels making contact with the floor or the bed.
18. 3:55Let the quiet do its work.
19. 4:05Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
20. 4:19Notice your shins, which take small knocks all day and never complain.
21. 4:32Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
22. 4:42Follow one full breath from the moment it starts to the moment it ends.
23. 4:56Notice your elbows. Odd things to have, but there they are.
24. 5:08No need to open your eyes yet.
25. 5:18Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
26. 5:30Let your throat soften. There's nothing to swallow right now.
27. 5:42Just the breath, still.
28. 5:51Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
29. 6:04Notice your fingers, one by one, starting with the little finger.
30. 6:16Let the pause stretch out.
31. 6:25Follow the breath down into your belly and feel it come back up.
32. 6:38Feel your belly. Let it be soft instead of held in.
33. 6:50Stay here a little longer.
34. 6:59I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
35. 7:11Nothing here needs to be efficient.
36. 7:21You might be planning something. Notice the planning, then come back.
37. 7:33A short silence. Let it be empty.
38. 7:43If you only manage half of it, that's half more than nothing.
39. 7:56If you're counting the minutes, that's fine. Count them and come back.
40. 8:09Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
41. 8:21We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
42. 8:31Notice if your attention is in the future. Bring it back to the room.
43. 8:45Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
44. 8:56There's no need to try harder than this.
45. 9:07If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
46. 9:20A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
47. 9:31Small efforts are the whole method.
48. 9:41If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
49. 9:55Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
50. 10:07Let this be easy, if easy is available.
51. 10:18Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
52. 10:32Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
53. 10:45No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
54. 10:56the good things you usually hurry past may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
55. 11:15If the small comforts of an ordinary day has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
56. 11:34Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
57. 11:47Notice where the warmth of noticing what is already here lives in your body. Chest, throat, stomach. Rest your attention there without trying to change it.
58. 12:06Say to yourself: this is uncomfortable, and I can stay with it for one more breath. Then take that breath.
59. 12:23Notice that you don't have to start a breath. It arrives by itself.
60. 12:36If a worry shows up, name it quietly and let it sit beside you.
61. 12:50If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks.
62. 13:05Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
63. 13:18I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
64. 13:31You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
65. 13:44Let this one be unhurried.
66. 13:53If you drifted off, that was rest, and rest counts.
67. 14:05Take one breath that's a little fuller than the others, and let it out through your mouth.
68. 14:20Stay with it.

Questions people ask

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