The afternoon slump: 12-minute self-compassion meditation, when you are at your limit

About this practice

When the afternoon slump shows up when you are at your limit, this 12-minute self-compassion session gives you somewhere to put it down. A guided session of about 12 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: the afternoon slump

The post-lunch dip is a normal circadian low, not a failure of willpower. Core temperature and alertness both dip in the early afternoon.

It tends to show up as:

• Heavy, foggy middle of the day
• Struggling to stay with anything
• Reaching for sugar or caffeine

The dip is temporary. A short practice gets you through the low without adding stimulants on top of it.

Doing this when you are overwhelmed

• Do not decide priorities during it
• Pick the shortest session available here
• When you finish, write down the first physical action on paper

The pile looks less like a pile once the alarm stops ringing. Sort it after, not during.

How self-compassion works

Self-compassion practice changes the tone of the inner voice rather than the content of the thoughts. It uses the same warmth and steadiness you would offer a friend, applied without requiring you to have earned it.

• Use the words you would actually say to someone you love
• Ask what you need, not what you deserve
• A hand on the chest or belly gives warmth and pressure a place to land

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Let your next exhale be a sigh, if a sigh is what's waiting there.
2. 0:14Put a hand where the feeling is strongest. Warmth and pressure are the oldest kind of reassurance.
3. 0:29Notice the pause at the end of each breath. It's short, but it's there.
4. 0:43Notice whether your breathing is high in your chest or low in your belly. Just notice. No fixing.
5. 0:59Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
6. 1:12Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
7. 1:25Notice your breathing, without changing it.
8. 1:35Let the whole of your right foot be heavy.
9. 1:46Feel your belly. Let it be soft instead of held in.
10. 1:58Feel your palms. Warm or cool, either is fine.
11. 2:09Say to yourself: this is uncomfortable, and I can stay with it for one more breath. Then take that breath.
12. 2:26When the heavy middle of the day arrives, name it once, quietly, and go back to the breath. Naming is not fixing, and that is fine.
13. 2:45Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
14. 2:59If your body wants to move, let it move, then come back.
15. 3:12Notice the tone you are using on yourself. If it would wound a friend, it is not the truth.
16. 3:28Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
17. 3:40If you've lost track of where we were, you haven't lost anything important.
18. 3:53Whatever you are about to say to yourself, imagine saying it to someone you love. Use those words.
19. 4:09Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
20. 4:21If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
21. 4:34You are allowed to have a hard time without earning it first.
22. 4:47Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
23. 4:59If your mind has wandered, that's not a mistake. Noticing is the practice.
24. 5:12The question is not what you deserve. It is what you need, right now, in this moment.
25. 5:27I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
26. 5:39If you're counting the minutes, that's fine. Count them and come back.
27. 5:52Feel your upper back against whatever is behind it.
28. 6:03Notice the small pause before your body decides to breathe in again.
29. 6:16Let your body keep settling.
30. 6:25Feel the parts of you that have gone quiet.
31. 6:36Notice the difference between the breath at the front of your nose and the breath in your chest.
32. 6:52A few seconds more.
33. 7:01Notice your lower back. Let it curve however it curves.
34. 7:13Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
35. 7:26Let the pause stretch out.
36. 7:35Notice your whole body as one shape, sitting or lying here.
37. 7:47Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
38. 8:01Stay with it.
39. 8:09Feel the back of your neck. That's a place that holds a lot.
40. 8:22You do not have to win against the 3pm dip. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
41. 8:39I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
42. 8:51Imagine softening the edges of the post-lunch fog. Not erasing it, just letting the sharp parts go a degree softer.
43. 9:08Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
44. 9:20You are allowed to be unimpressed by the heavy middle of the day. Indifference is a legitimate response.
45. 9:36There is a part of you that has handled hard moments before. That part is here now, even if it is quiet.
46. 9:54Let the exhale fall out rather than pushing it.
47. 10:05If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
48. 10:19If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
49. 10:32I'll step back. You stay here.
50. 10:42Say it once, plainly: this is hard, and I am allowed to find it hard.
51. 10:56Let it be this simple.
52. 11:05If you drifted off, that was rest, and rest counts.
53. 11:17Let your eyes open when they're ready, not when the words end.

Questions people ask

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