Softening for a racing mind: 15 minutes, on the train

About this practice

For the times on the train when a racing mind takes up more room than you would like — 15 minutes, softening. A guided session of about 15 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: a racing mind

A racing mind is not a thinking problem, it is an arousal problem. When the body is revved up, the brain produces thoughts at the same speed, and each one feels urgent.

It tends to show up as:

• Thoughts arriving faster than you can finish them
• Lying awake running through the day
• Losing your place mid-sentence

Trying to stop the thoughts adds fuel. Narrowing attention to one physical sensation gives the mind a slower thing to hold.

Doing this on your commute

• Headphones on, eyes open or closed depending on your comfort
• Keep one part of your attention on your stop
• Do it standing if sitting is not possible — nobody is watching

Commuting time is already dead time. Nothing is being given up.

How softening works

Softening is the practice of releasing held tension degree by degree rather than all at once. It targets the physical grip — shoulders, jaw, gut — that persists long after the stressor has passed.

• Soften one place per exhale rather than everything at once
• Let warmth and gravity do the work instead of muscular effort
• If a place will not soften, leave it and go somewhere that will

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Notice whether you're leaning forward. Most people are, slightly, all day.
2. 0:12If a place will not soften, leave it alone and go somewhere that will. It often follows.
3. 0:27Let the last hour go on its own. You can pick it up again afterwards.
4. 0:41There's no correct speed. Slower isn't better. Steadier is the only aim.
5. 0:54Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
6. 1:06Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
7. 1:17Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
8. 1:28Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
9. 1:40Feel your face. It's probably softer than it was five minutes ago.
10. 1:53Feel the soles of your feet. All the weight of you goes through them.
11. 2:07Notice your lower back. Let it curve however it curves.
12. 2:19Give the mind running ahead of you a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
13. 2:37one thought chasing the next may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
14. 2:55Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
15. 3:09Say to yourself: this is uncomfortable, and I can stay with it for one more breath. Then take that breath.
16. 3:26If the mind running ahead of you has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
17. 3:44Feel the back of your neck. That's a place that holds a lot.
18. 3:57No need to open your eyes yet.
19. 4:07Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
20. 4:18Feel the parts of you that have gone quiet.
21. 4:29Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
22. 4:39Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
23. 4:53Feel your hips. Wide, heavy, and doing nothing.
24. 5:04Stay with it.
25. 5:12Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
26. 5:25Notice your ribs on both sides. Wide, not squeezed.
27. 5:36Let your body keep settling.
28. 5:45Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
29. 6:00Notice your jaw again. Let your back teeth part slightly.
30. 6:12No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
31. 6:23If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
32. 6:35Let this one be unhurried.
33. 6:44Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
34. 6:57Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
35. 7:09Let your whole body be as heavy as it wants to be.
36. 7:22Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
37. 7:37Just the breath, still.
38. 7:46If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks.
39. 8:01Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
40. 8:12Unclenching is not the same as relaxing. Just stop adding the tension back.
41. 8:25If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
42. 8:40A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
43. 8:51Find the tightest place and simply breathe near it. Warmth does the softening, not effort.
44. 9:05Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
45. 9:16I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
46. 9:29Let the exhale do the work. On each one, allow a little more give.
47. 9:43If nothing much is happening, that's not a problem. Nothing much is often the point.
48. 9:57Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
49. 10:09We are not forcing anything open. We are letting things unclench by a single degree.
50. 10:23If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
51. 10:36Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
52. 10:50I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
53. 11:02There is no correct amount of one thought chasing the next to be feeling right now. Whatever is here is the honest amount.
54. 11:20If thoughts arriving faster than you can answer them is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
55. 11:39Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
56. 11:51There is a part of you that has handled hard moments before. That part is here now, even if it is quiet.
57. 12:09Picture one thought chasing the next as a weather front passing over. You are not the weather. You are the sky it moves through.
58. 12:28Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
59. 12:41If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
60. 12:55If a worry shows up, name it quietly and let it sit beside you.
61. 13:09If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
62. 13:22A short silence. Let it be empty.
63. 13:32With every out-breath, soften one place. Shoulders first, then jaw, then the space behind the eyes.
64. 13:47Stay here a little longer.
65. 13:56Let your eyes open when they're ready, not when the words end.
66. 14:09Give 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.