Waking up: 15-minute breathing meditation, when you are overwhelmed

About this practice

When waking up shows up when you are overwhelmed, this 15-minute breathing session gives you somewhere to put it down. A guided session of about 15 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 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 breathing works

A breathing practice uses the breath as the object of attention and as the control lever. Because exhaling slows the heart through the vagus nerve, it acts on the nervous system directly rather than through thinking.

• Keep the exhale longer than the inhale — that is the active ingredient
• Count the exhales and start again whenever you lose count
• Do not force depth; let the breath find its own level

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Loosen your grip on whatever you're holding, or imagine loosening it.
2. 0:12Nothing here needs to be efficient.
3. 0:22Notice the weight of your arms without moving them.
4. 0:33Let your body be exactly as tired as it is.
5. 0:45Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
6. 0:58Feel the pause at the top of the in-breath. It's shorter than you think.
7. 1:12Feel the middle of your back, the part that never gets attention.
8. 1:25Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
9. 1:37Notice your fingers, one by one, starting with the little finger.
10. 1:49Feel the parts of you that have gone quiet.
11. 2:00Feel your ankles. Let them be loose.
12. 2:10You do not have to win against the morning body that needs a moment. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
13. 2:29This is not the last time the slow start of the day will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
14. 2:48Let the exhale fall out rather than pushing it.
15. 2:59the fog of just-woken may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
16. 3:16You do not have to solve the morning body that needs a moment in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
17. 3:36Feel your belly. Let it be soft instead of held in.
18. 3:48Remain here for a few more breaths.
19. 3:58Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
20. 4:11Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
21. 4:24Let the quiet do its work.
22. 4:34If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
23. 4:48Feel your tongue sitting in the bottom of your mouth.
24. 5:00Let the pause stretch out.
25. 5:09Let the breath get soft, the way it goes when someone is reading beside you.
26. 5:23Let your thumbs rest wherever they landed.
27. 5:33Let your body keep settling.
28. 5:42Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
29. 5:55Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
30. 6:07Just the breath, still.
31. 6:16Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
32. 6:28Let your throat soften. There's nothing to swallow right now.
33. 6:40Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
34. 6:50Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
35. 7:02Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind?
36. 7:14Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
37. 7:25We'll take this slowly, and there's no version of this where you get it wrong.
38. 7:39Notice if you're waiting for something to happen. Nothing is scheduled.
39. 7:51Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
40. 8:03If you only manage half of it, that's half more than nothing.
41. 8:16Notice whether you're breathing or holding. Start breathing again.
42. 8:27Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
43. 8:39Let this be easy, if easy is available.
44. 8:50Notice how you're sitting. Adjust if you need to. Then settle again.
45. 9:03Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
46. 9:14There's no need to try harder than this.
47. 9:25Notice any part of you that wants this to be over.
48. 9:37Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
49. 9:49You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
50. 10:02Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
51. 10:16A short silence. Let it be empty.
52. 10:26Small efforts are the whole method.
53. 10:36If you're bored, stay with the boredom for a moment. It's usually thinner than it looks.
54. 10:51Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
55. 11:07I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
56. 11:19Picture the slow start of the day as a weather front passing over. You are not the weather. You are the sky it moves through.
57. 11:38Notice how the fog of just-woken changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
58. 11:54Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
59. 12:05Feel the weight of the morning body that needs a moment somewhere specific, then let the floor take a share of it.
60. 12:23You do not have to like the slow start of the day to breathe through it. Liking was never the requirement.
61. 12:40Let the breath be shallow if shallow is what your body wants.
62. 12:53If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
63. 13:05If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
64. 13:18If you feel emotional, you don't have to explain it to anyone, including yourself.
65. 13:32A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
66. 13:43We'll keep it quiet and unhurried.
67. 13:53Nothing changes for a moment.
68. 14:02Stand up when you're ready. The list hasn't grown while you were here.
69. 14:15Stretch whatever feels stiff, then carry on.

Questions people ask

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