Noting for back pain and tension: 12 minutes, in the queue

About this practice

For the times in the queue when back pain and tension takes up more room than you would like — 12 minutes, noting. A guided session of about 12 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: back pain and tension

Much of daily back discomfort is muscular load rather than structural damage — muscles holding a position long after they should have let go.

It tends to show up as:

• Lower back ache after sitting
• Stiffness on standing
• Pain that improves when moving

Attention moves into the back rather than away from it. Being willing to feel it is usually where release starts.

Doing this in a waiting room

• You can do this with your eyes open and your hands where they are
• Nothing here needs to look like a meditation
• Aim for steadiness rather than calm

Waiting feeds the dread it is meant to relieve. Having something specific to do with the time is the useful part.

How noting works

Noting is a technique from insight practice: when something arises, you give it a single plain label — thinking, hearing, planning — and return to the anchor. The label creates a small distance between you and the content.

• Use one word, not a sentence — explaining means you have joined in
• Label and return; do not follow the thought to see where it goes
• Drop the labelling if it becomes effortful and just follow the breath

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Quick check: is anything genuinely urgent in this exact minute? Usually the answer is no.
2. 0:14A label is enough. You do not need to follow the thought to see where it goes.
3. 0:29You can think about other things. When you notice, come back. That's the whole practice.
4. 0:43We're going to move through the body in order, roughly from top to bottom.
5. 0:57Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
6. 1:08Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
7. 1:20Feel your hips. Wide, heavy, and doing nothing.
8. 1:31Notice your jaw again. Let your back teeth part slightly.
9. 1:43Notice your toes, starting with the big one on the left.
10. 1:55Start at the top of your head. Notice the scalp, which you almost never notice.
11. 2:09Notice how the stiffness from sitting changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
12. 2:25Think of the ache in the lower back as a guest that arrived without knocking. You can let it stand in the hallway.
13. 2:43Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
14. 2:56Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
15. 3:10When something arrives, label it quietly — thinking, hearing, planning, worrying — then return to the breath.
16. 3:25Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
17. 3:36Notice if you're being hard on yourself about any of this.
18. 3:48Notice the gap between the label and the next thought. That gap is what we are practising.
19. 4:03Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
20. 4:14If nothing much is happening, that's not a problem. Nothing much is often the point.
21. 4:28Use one plain word, not a sentence. The moment you explain, you have joined in.
22. 4:42Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
23. 4:53Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
24. 5:04You are the one noticing, not the thing being noticed. Stay on that side of the line.
25. 5:19A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
26. 5:30You might be planning something. Notice the planning, then come back.
27. 5:42Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
28. 5:53Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
29. 6:06Let the pause stretch out.
30. 6:15Notice your ears, which mostly just receive things.
31. 6:26Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
32. 6:40Nothing changes for a moment.
33. 6:49Feel your face. It's probably softer than it was five minutes ago.
34. 7:02Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
35. 7:15Let it be this simple.
36. 7:24Let your thumbs rest wherever they landed.
37. 7:34Follow one full breath from the moment it starts to the moment it ends.
38. 7:48Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
39. 7:58Feel your knees. They're just hinges, but they've worked hard.
40. 8:10Imagine softening the edges of the muscles holding on all day. Not erasing it, just letting the sharp parts go a degree softer.
41. 8:28I'll step back. You stay here.
42. 8:38You have been carrying the stiffness from sitting for a while. You can set it down for the length of this session and pick it up after.
43. 8:58Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
44. 9:10Let the exhale carry a little of the ache in the lower back with it. Not all of it. Just a little, one breath at a time.
45. 9:30Give the muscles holding on all day a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
46. 9:48Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
47. 10:00Notice if your attention is in the future. Bring it back to the room.
48. 10:14If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
49. 10:27A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
50. 10:38If noting feels like too much, drop it and just follow the breath. The label is optional.
51. 10:53Stay with it.
52. 11:01Let the pace of the last few minutes set the pace of the next few.
53. 11:15Let the last minute of quiet be the last minute of quiet.

Questions people ask

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