Meditation for tired eyes: 7-minute letting go session, at bedtime

About this practice

Slow, spoken guidance for tired eyes. A letting go session you can do at bedtime. A guided session of about 7 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: tired eyes

Screens reduce blink rate sharply, and the muscles that focus at close range stay contracted. The result is strain, ache and blur by the end of the day.

It tends to show up as:

• Aching, gritty eyes after screen time
• Blurring at the end of the day
• Headaches above the eyes

Closing the eyes is the only real rest they get. A few minutes without visual input is the specific thing your eyes are short of.

Doing this before bed

• Do it in bed or somewhere you can move straight to bed after
• Lower the light, and do not check anything afterwards
• If you fall asleep before the end, it worked

Falling asleep mid-session is a success, not a failure to complete it.

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. 0:12Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
3. 0:27Let your attention drop to the level of your shoulders and stay there a moment.
4. 0:41Notice the weight of your arms without moving them.
5. 0:52Notice that you don't have to start a breath. It arrives by itself.
6. 1:05Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
7. 1:18Feel the skin around your eyes. Let the muscles behind them go loose.
8. 1:31Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
9. 1:43Notice your pelvis resting on the surface below you.
10. 1:54There is a part of you that has handled hard moments before. That part is here now, even if it is quiet.
11. 2:12Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the ache of staring too long is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
12. 2:31Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
13. 2:44Keep following the air.
14. 2:53Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
15. 3:06Let your whole body be as heavy as it wants to be.
16. 3:19If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
17. 3:34I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
18. 3:46With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
19. 4:01If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
20. 4:13Let the exhale fall out rather than pushing it.
21. 4:24A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
22. 4:35If you catch yourself fighting the strained eyes after screens, that is worth noticing. The fight usually costs more than the feeling.
23. 4:53If the heavy lids of a screen-lit day is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
24. 5:11Let the breath be shallow if shallow is what your body wants.
25. 5:24If you're counting the minutes, that's fine. Count them and come back.
26. 5:37If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
27. 5:50A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
28. 6:01You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
29. 6:16Let the last of the stillness stay with you for a few more seconds.
30. 6:30Give your hands a stretch before you go back to using them.

Questions people ask

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