Letting go meditation for restless legs (20 min), on a plane

About this practice

A 20-minute letting go session for restless legs, on a plane. No app, no account — press start. A guided session of about 20 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: restless legs

An urge to move the legs, worst at rest in the evening, usually reflects nervous-system arousal rather than a leg problem.

It tends to show up as:

• A buzzing or crawling feeling when sitting still
• Needing to move to feel comfortable
• Symptoms worsening in the evening

A slow, absorbing task gives the arousal somewhere to go and often reduces the urge without forcing stillness.

Doing this on a plane

• Use headphones, and keep the seatbelt on
• Bring a layer — being cold works against settling
• Skip alcohol; it makes the alertness worse

Cabin noise is constant and will mask the audio more than you expect. Try the headphones before you settle in.

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. 0:00Check your hands. Are they doing anything? Let them stop.
2. 0:12Small efforts are the whole method.
3. 0:22Let your body feel heavier than it did a minute ago. Let the chair or the floor take it.
4. 0:38Settle into the fact that for the next few minutes, nothing is required of you.
5. 0:52Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
6. 1:05Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
7. 1:18Feel your upper arms hanging. They're heavier than you remember.
8. 1:30Feel your calves, front and back.
9. 1:40Feel the tops of your thighs.
10. 1:50Now feel both feet at once. That's a lot of contact with the world.
11. 2:04Notice your pelvis resting on the surface below you.
12. 2:15Picture the urge to move that will not quiet as a weather front passing over. You are not the weather. You are the sky it moves through.
13. 2:35Feel the weight of the legs that feel buzzy at rest somewhere specific, then let the floor take a share of it.
14. 2:53Notice that you don't have to start a breath. It arrives by itself.
15. 3:06Think of the fidgeting that keeps you up as a guest that arrived without knocking. You can let it stand in the hallway.
16. 3:24the urge to move that will not quiet may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
17. 3:43Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
18. 3:57If you feel numb, that's a valid thing to feel. Nothing to fix.
19. 4:10Let this be easy, if easy is available.
20. 4:21A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
21. 4:32If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
22. 4:45Nothing here needs to be efficient.
23. 4:55Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
24. 5:06If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
25. 5:20We'll take this slowly, and there's no version of this where you get it wrong.
26. 5:34Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
27. 5:46Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
28. 5:57You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
29. 6:10A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
30. 6:21If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
31. 6:34If you only manage half of it, that's half more than nothing.
32. 6:47No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
33. 6:58Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
34. 7:11There's no need to try harder than this.
35. 7:22Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
36. 7:34If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
37. 7:46Let the pause stretch out.
38. 7:55Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
39. 8:06Let your whole body be as heavy as it wants to be.
40. 8:19Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
41. 8:30Notice whether you're breathing or holding. Start breathing again.
42. 8:41No rush to move on.
43. 8:50Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
44. 9:03Notice your elbows. Odd things to have, but there they are.
45. 9:15Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
46. 9:26Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
47. 9:40Let this one be unhurried.
48. 9:49Notice how you're sitting. Adjust if you need to. Then settle again.
49. 10:02I'll step back. You stay here.
50. 10:12Notice your ears, which mostly just receive things.
51. 10:23Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
52. 10:36Let your body keep settling.
53. 10:45If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
54. 11:00Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
55. 11:11Notice your hands again. Check whether they've loosened on their own.
56. 11:23Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
57. 11:35Just the breath, still.
58. 11:44Notice your whole body as one shape, sitting or lying here.
59. 11:56Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
60. 12:12Remain here for a few more breaths.
61. 12:22Feel the middle of your back, the part that never gets attention.
62. 12:35Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
63. 12:48Let the quiet do its work.
64. 12:58Feel your belly. Let it be soft instead of held in.
65. 13:10Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
66. 13:22Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
67. 13:32Notice the space between your shoulder blades.
68. 13:42Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
69. 13:53Keep following the air.
70. 14:02Notice your shoulders, one at a time. The left one first.
71. 14:14Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
72. 14:29A few seconds more.
73. 14:38Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
74. 14:50Let the legs that feel buzzy at rest be exactly as big as it is, and let your breath be exactly as slow as it is. They can coexist.
75. 15:11Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
76. 15:23Say to yourself: this is uncomfortable, and I can stay with it for one more breath. Then take that breath.
77. 15:40Let the exhale fall out rather than pushing it.
78. 15:51Give the urge to move that will not quiet a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
79. 16:10Notice where the legs that feel buzzy at rest lives in your body. Chest, throat, stomach. Rest your attention there without trying to change it.
80. 16:29Follow the breath down into your belly and feel it come back up.
81. 16:42Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the fidgeting that keeps you up is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
82. 17:01There is a part of you that has handled hard moments before. That part is here now, even if it is quiet.
83. 17:19If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
84. 17:33Notice the moment you realise you've drifted. That moment is the whole skill.
85. 17:46Notice any part of you that wants this to be over.
86. 17:58If you're irritated, that's allowed. Irritation is just weather.
87. 18:09I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
88. 18:22We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
89. 18:32Nothing changes for a moment.
90. 18:41If you drifted off, that was rest, and rest counts.
91. 18:53Come back at your own speed. The room will wait.
92. 19:05Stay 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.