Meditation for waking up: 10-minute letting go session, in the afternoon slump

About this practice

A 10-minute letting go session for waking up, in the afternoon slump. No app, no account — press start. A guided session of about 10 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: waking up

On waking, the brain passes through a slow transition rather than switching on. Rushing it leaves you foggy for the first hour.

It tends to show up as:

• Needing a long time to feel awake
• Foggy, irritable mornings
• The day starting before you are ready

Giving the body a few unhurried minutes at the start changes the tone of everything that follows.

Doing this in the mid-afternoon

• Sit upright and open a window if you can
• Expect heaviness rather than fighting it
• A short session here beats a longer one that never happens

The dip is a normal circadian low. You are riding it out, not correcting a fault.

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. 0:00Take one breath that is slightly slower than the last one. That is enough to start.
2. 0:15You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
3. 0:30Let the rhythm of your breathing set the pace, not the words.
4. 0:43There's no correct speed. Slower isn't better. Steadier is the only aim.
5. 0:56Let the out-breath be a little longer than the in-breath, without forcing it.
6. 1:09Feel the pause at the top of the in-breath. It's shorter than you think.
7. 1:23Feel your palms. Warm or cool, either is fine.
8. 1:34Notice the backs of your knees, which you feel more than you think.
9. 1:47Notice your fingers, one by one, starting with the little finger.
10. 1:59Feel your belly. Let it be soft instead of held in.
11. 2:11Notice where the slow start of the day lives in your body. Chest, throat, stomach. Rest your attention there without trying to change it.
12. 2:30If the fog of just-woken shows up, let it be there without arguing with it. You are not trying to remove it, just to sit beside it.
13. 2:50You might be planning something. Notice the planning, then come back.
14. 3:02With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
15. 3:17Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
16. 3:28Notice the difference between a thought and the space around it.
17. 3:40Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
18. 3:55Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
19. 4:07If your body wants to move, let it move, then come back.
20. 4:20Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
21. 4:36Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
22. 4:48Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
23. 5:02Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
24. 5:12Notice your ears, which mostly just receive things.
25. 5:23Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
26. 5:34Stay here a little longer.
27. 5:43Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
28. 5:56Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
29. 6:12No need to open your eyes yet.
30. 6:22Feel the tops of your thighs.
31. 6:32Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
32. 6:44Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
33. 6:55If you catch yourself fighting the morning body that needs a moment, that is worth noticing. The fight usually costs more than the feeling.
34. 7:14Let the slow start of the day be exactly as big as it is, and let your breath be exactly as slow as it is. They can coexist.
35. 7:34Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
36. 7:47Picture the fog of just-woken as a weather front passing over. You are not the weather. You are the sky it moves through.
37. 8:05Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
38. 8:18If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
39. 8:30I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
40. 8:43We are not solving anything in the next few minutes. We are setting it down, temporarily.
41. 8:58Let it be this simple.
42. 9:07Start to notice the edges of your body again, and the surface you're on.
43. 9:21Come back at your own speed. The room will wait.

Questions people ask

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