Meditation for low energy: 10-minute gratitude session, before a presentation

About this practice

Slow, spoken guidance for low energy. A gratitude session you can do before a presentation. A guided session of about 10 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: low energy

Low energy is a flat battery, not laziness. Pushing through it further drains reserves and produces worse work, faster.

It tends to show up as:

• Everything feeling like an effort
• Procrastinating on simple tasks
• Tiredness sitting deep in the body

A short practice will not restore the reserve, but it removes some of the tension that is draining it.

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 gratitude works

Gratitude here is an attention practice, not a demand for a positive mood. Attention defaults to threats because they are urgent, so pleasant and ordinary things get skipped simply for being safe.

• Pick one ordinary thing rather than something impressive
• Stay with it for two breaths — depth beats length of list
• Do not aim at feeling grateful; aim at noticing

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Sit however you were already sitting. You don't have to straighten up first.
2. 0:13If you only manage half of it, that's half more than nothing.
3. 0:26Let your breathing find its own pace. We're only going to watch it.
4. 0:39Notice whether your breathing is high in your chest or low in your belly. Just notice. No fixing.
5. 0:55Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
6. 1:07Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
7. 1:19Notice your whole body as one shape, sitting or lying here.
8. 1:31Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
9. 1:43Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
10. 1:55Feel your tongue sitting in the bottom of your mouth.
11. 2:07Notice where the effort everything takes lives in your body. Chest, throat, stomach. Rest your attention there without trying to change it.
12. 2:25Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the flat battery feeling is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
13. 2:44Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
14. 2:58You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
15. 3:11No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
16. 3:22Notice anything you're holding onto from earlier today.
17. 3:33We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
18. 3:43A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
19. 3:54Notice if your attention is in the future. Bring it back to the room.
20. 4:08There's no need to try harder than this.
21. 4:19Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
22. 4:29Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
23. 4:42Small efforts are the whole method.
24. 4:52Feel your upper arms hanging. They're heavier than you remember.
25. 5:04Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
26. 5:15A few seconds more.
27. 5:24Feel the outline of yourself, from the top of your head to your heels.
28. 5:38Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
29. 5:51No rush to move on.
30. 6:00Notice your hands again. Check whether they've loosened on their own.
31. 6:12Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
32. 6:23Let it be this simple.
33. 6:32Feel the tops of your thighs.
34. 6:42Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
35. 6:53I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
36. 7:05If the tiredness that sits in the bones is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
37. 7:23If you catch yourself fighting the effort everything takes, that is worth noticing. The fight usually costs more than the feeling.
38. 7:40Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
39. 7:53Say to yourself: this is uncomfortable, and I can stay with it for one more breath. Then take that breath.
40. 8:10If you're irritated, that's allowed. Irritation is just weather.
41. 8:21Notice if you're waiting for something to happen. Nothing is scheduled.
42. 8:33I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
43. 8:46Nothing here needs to be efficient.
44. 8:56Let your body keep settling.
45. 9:05Let your eyes open when they're ready, not when the words end.
46. 9:18Take one breath that's a little fuller than the others, and let it out through your mouth.

Questions people ask

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