Meditation for financial stress: 10-minute letting go session, before public speaking

About this practice

For the times before public speaking when financial stress takes up more room than you would like — 10 minutes, letting go. A guided session of about 10 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: financial stress

Money worry runs at night, when there is nothing to do about it. The lack of any available action keeps the nervous system activated for hours.

It tends to show up as:

Lying awake doing arithmetic
A clenched stomach opening the bank app
Irritability about small spending

At 2am there is no decision to make, only a night to get through. That is the whole job of this practice.

Doing this before public speaking

Do it somewhere private, or in the washroom if needed
Slow the exhale deliberately and check your speaking pace after
Warm the voice by reading a line aloud, not by staying silent

Rushing is the tell of nerves. A slower breath now is what sets a slower pace in the room.

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

0:00Let your belly be soft. Not sucked in. Just soft.
0:12Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
0:27You can let your eyes close now if they weren't already.
0:39Let the rhythm of your breathing set the pace, not the words.
0:52Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
1:05Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
1:20Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
1:33Notice your hands again. Check whether they've loosened on their own.
1:45Notice your shins, which take small knocks all day and never complain.
1:58Feel the back of your neck. That's a place that holds a lot.
2:11If the fear about money in the night has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
2:30If the arithmetic that will not balance is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
2:48If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
3:01You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
3:16Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
3:27Your mind will leave about a hundred times. Come back about a hundred times.
3:41Pick one thing you are gripping — a plan, a worry, a grudge — and loosen a single finger.
3:57A short silence. Let it be empty.
4:07Notice how quickly your mind labels things: good, bad, boring, nice.
4:19With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
4:34Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
4:46Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
4:57Remain here for a few more breaths.
5:07Feel your knees. They're just hinges, but they've worked hard.
5:19Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
5:32Stay here a little longer.
5:41Feel the middle of your back, the part that never gets attention.
5:54Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
6:07Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
6:17Notice your jaw again. Let your back teeth part slightly.
6:29Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
6:43Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
6:53Each time your mind hands you the worry that follows the bills, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
7:13Notice how the fear about money in the night changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
7:31Let your breathing find the rhythm it uses when you're almost asleep.
7:44You do not have to win against the arithmetic that will not balance. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
8:02If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
8:16Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
8:29A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
8:40Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
8:56Let this one be unhurried.
9:05Take one more breath at your own pace, then let your attention come back to the room.
9:20Come back at your own speed. The room will wait.

Questions people ask

What does this session help with?

Money worry runs at night, when there is nothing to do about it. The lack of any available action keeps the nervous system activated for hours. At 2am there is no decision to make, only a night to get through. That is the whole job of this practice.

Where and when should I do this one?

Do it somewhere private, or in the washroom if needed. Rushing is the tell of nerves. A slower breath now is what sets a slower pace in the room.

What actually happens during the 10 minutes?

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.

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