Softening for low energy: 10 minutes, before an appointment

About this practice

For the times before an appointment when low energy takes up more room than you would like — 10 minutes, softening. 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 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 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. 0:00Sit however you were already sitting. You don't have to straighten up first.
2. 0:13Nothing here needs to be efficient.
3. 0:23For the next few minutes, the only job is to notice what's already happening.
4. 0:37You can think about other things. When you notice, come back. That's the whole practice.
5. 0:51Let your breathing find the rhythm it uses when you're almost asleep.
6. 1:04Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
7. 1:17Feel the parts of you that have gone quiet.
8. 1:28Notice your whole body as one shape, sitting or lying here.
9. 1:40Notice your shins, which take small knocks all day and never complain.
10. 1:53Notice your eyebrows. They're probably doing something small right now.
11. 2:05the tiredness that sits in the bones may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
12. 2:24If the effort everything takes is loud right now, make your attention smaller. Just the next breath. Nothing beyond it.
13. 2:41Notice how quickly your mind labels things: good, bad, boring, nice.
14. 2:53You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
15. 3:06I'll step back. You stay here.
16. 3:16Notice the moment you realise you've drifted. That moment is the whole skill.
17. 3:29Small efforts are the whole method.
18. 3:39No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
19. 3:50If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
20. 4:04There's no need to try harder than this.
21. 4:15Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
22. 4:27If you've lost track of where we were, you haven't lost anything important.
23. 4:40Let your throat soften. There's nothing to swallow right now.
24. 4:52Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
25. 5:04Let the quiet do its work.
26. 5:14Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
27. 5:26Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
28. 5:42Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
29. 5:52Notice your hands again. Check whether they've loosened on their own.
30. 6:04Follow the breath down into your belly and feel it come back up.
31. 6:17Let this one be unhurried.
32. 6:26Notice the backs of your knees, which you feel more than you think.
33. 6:39Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
34. 6:51I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
35. 7:03Give the flat battery feeling a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
36. 7:20When the tiredness that sits in the bones presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
37. 7:40Notice if your breathing is faster than you expected. Don't correct it. Just note it.
38. 7:54There is a part of you that has handled hard moments before. That part is here now, even if it is quiet.
39. 8:12Notice any part of you that wants this to be over.
40. 8:24If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
41. 8:37A short silence. Let it be empty.
42. 8:47We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
43. 8:57Let your body keep settling.
44. 9:06Take one more breath at your own pace, then let your attention come back to the room.
45. 9:21Stand up when you're ready. The list hasn't grown while you were here.

Questions people ask

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