Low Energy Mindfulness: Practices for When You're Exhausted

Updated 06.11.25

By Julia Lofts

When you’re living with limited energy, whether due to chronic pain, illness, or ongoing fatigue, the very idea of meditation can feel exhausting. Some days, it’s like standing at the bottom of Everest in your slippers, clutching a hot water bottle, wondering who thought this was a good idea.

Back in 2021, I began to experience fatigue that sleep couldn’t fix. I tried to “push through”…but it got worse. Eventually, I had to rethink my life. Energy efficiency became one of my main preoccupations. What I learned is that you don’t need to fight tiredness - you can befriend it. Sometimes moving forward means finding small, kind ways to encourage yourself into action.

The following ideas grew from that journey. I half-jokingly call them “tricks” - small ways of outsmarting a tired mind. They don’t require effort, perfection, or sitting up straight. They’re about meeting yourself kindly, and letting curiosity, gratitude, or movement shift your energy - even just a little.

An image of brown slippers and a cup of coffee

Trick One - Make everything a mindfulness practice

We’re wired for efficiency and productivity. Resting can feel like a waste of time or like we’re failing. “Meditate for 30 minutes”? - Not happening! Try daily mindfulness – it’s all about how you do what you’re already doing.

Mindful tea? Feel the warmth, notice the steam, smell the aroma. Brush your teeth or shower - feel it. Even when energy is low, you’re alive, breathing, sensing - and that’s enough.

Daily life is our mindfulness teacher. Sipping tea, ironing, staring at the ceiling - small moments become ways of waking gently to life. You can even call it ‘Ceiling-Gazing Meditation’ if you need an official term ☺.

I like how Linda France wrote in her poem Dreaming the Real: “I’m lying down looking at the colour of sky falling through trees, dreaming the real, tasting what it feels like to love it… Let me practice a patience bold enough to hold every weather, trusting the elements, the beauty of rain… I want whatever’s real to be enough. At least it’s a place to begin. And to master the art of loving it…”

This is an invitation to come out of the doing or conceptual mode and drop into being or perceptual mode. Thinking burns through energy faster than almost anything else. Pausing, sensing, or breathing mindfully instead of analysing or planning ahead, protects your inner battery.

The sun shining through leaves, illuminating raindrops

Trick Two - What is this?

When energy is low, our minds spiral: “Why am I like this? What’s wrong with me? How will I ever…?”  Thinking, planning, judging - all drain our energy. I noticed I could spend a whole “rest day” doing absolutely nothing physically… but mentally? I’d run a marathon.

I often practice: What is this? My mind imagines being a cat. A cat doesn’t analyse; it just gets fascinated by all movement and sounds around. Every part of it is alert and curious: “Ooh, what is this?” Sunlight on the tree leaves, a bird’s song, air on my skin. No answer needed - just notice.

As children, we are naturally curious and seem to be full of energy. As adults, we tend to lose that spark. We’ve “seen it all” and have more important things to do. And when we’re tired, curiosity is often replaced by numbing: endless scrolling or half-watching television.

On reflective mornings, I sometimes become a mindful photographer - noticing shapes, colours, light, texture, often without taking photos. It’s about switching from thinking to seeing, from analysing to simply wondering.

Ask “What is this?” or zoom in with your eyes or camera. After a few minutes, curiosity returns, and with it, a twinkle of energy.

Curiosity doesn’t drain energy - it creates it!

A grey tabby kitten is observing its surroundings outdoors

Trick Three - Gentle movement

I’ll be honest: you’ll never find me running marathons or lifting weights at 6 a.m. (or ever!) But movement is non-negotiable. 

I practise Qigong most mornings. When I stop, I notice the difference… things tighten, energy drops, sleep gets worse, mood dips. But when I move, the body wakes up and starts producing the chemicals that make everything easier.

The trick is not to think about it. If you debate whether to do it, your brain will always win the argument for rest. So just start. Swing your arms, stretch, jiggle and shake the body, walk to the end of the garden or around the flat. Find your personal routine - the kind of movement that leaves you feeling more alive.

It’s not about perfection - it’s about showing up. Think of it as ticking a box: “Did I move today?” – Yes! Dopamine released. Small victory achieved.

Over time, your body will start to remember the feeling of aliveness that comes from moving - and you’ll want to keep going – two minutes will gradually grow into five or ten.

Trick Four - Gratitude and awe

When energy is low, gratitude can sound irritatingly wholesome. (“Be grateful? For what? I can barely move.”) But it’s one of the quickest ways to shift emotional gears. 

You don’t have to list ten things in a journal – lovely as this practice can be. Just find one small thing that doesn’t make you groan: your soft socks, the smell of toast or coffee, your dog sleeping peacefully and not demanding your attention. Gratitude says: it could have been worse - and often, that’s enough. 

If you’re feeling particularly flat, try awe instead - hearing a piece of beautiful music, seeing birds or dogs playing, looking at the night sky, a tree, or even your own hand, and thinking, “Wow, this is all happening!”  Awe stretches the mind open - it reminds us that tiredness and difficulty are part of something vast and miraculous. Gratitude grounds us in the ordinary; awe lifts us into the extraordinary. Both work beautifully together. 

Before sleep I remind myself of many things I felt grateful for through the day. That helps to soften the mind and soothe the pain in the body, as well as bring a pleasant sense of tiredness that is often experienced when you have a productive day.

A photo of a tree, looking upwards towards the sky

Trick Five – Moments, not missions

When you’re tired, planning can be the enemy. “I’ll get my life together” sounds heroic when you feel energised - and impossible a few hours into the day. Instead, aim for tiny wins – moments of mindfulness. One mindful breath. One stretch. One kind thought.

It’s a quiet rebellion against the voice that says, “If I can’t do it all, I won’t do anything.” You can. You just do it small. And funnily enough, small things are often what shift the bigger picture.

“The little things? The little moments? They aren’t little.” - Jon Kabat-Zinn.

PS: The science bit (if you still have energy to read this far)

All this isn’t fluffy ideas - it’s grounded in neuroscience and biology. Overthinking triggers stress hormones (adrenaline, cortisol) and cognitive overload. Mindfulness, movement, gratitude, and curiosity counterbalance this:

  • Dopamine – reward and motivation. Released by small wins, gentle movement, curiosity.

  • Endorphins – natural painkillers, mood enhancers, released by movement, laughter, gratitude.

  • Oxytocin – bonding hormone, released through connection, compassion, awe.

Mindfulness practices, especially those that involve gratitude, movement, curiosity, or gentle focus, naturally activate these systems. That’s why they work: not through effort, but through biology. 

Final thoughts

One of the most energy-saving skills is shifting out of doing mode - constant analysing, fixing, predicting - into simple being. Each time we catch ourselves overthinking and instead feel, sense, or breathe, we recharge.

If you’re running on low, you don’t need to climb Everest today. Just roll over, blink at the mountain, and ask: What is this? Sometimes the smallest spark of curiosity is enough to start the climb.

Mindfulness isn’t just what we do on the cushion - it’s how we live when we get up again.

Playing, noticing, moving, thanking - it’s energy recycling, not effort!


Would you like to join a community who understands?

If you're navigating life with limited energy, you're not alone. Our free online mindfulness hub, ‘The Community of Practice’ is a warm, welcoming space where people living with pain, illness, or fatigue connect and support each other - all from the comfort of home.

Within this space, you’ll find live online events which you can join from home, camera on or off, with no pressure. The Managing Pain and Illness group meets monthly to swap practical tips and real experiences. Members of this community find that the opportunity to connect with others who ‘get it’ makes all the difference. 

Join the Community of Practice - it’s free


About The Author: Julia Lofts

Julia Lofts is a Breathworks Associate Teacher and an Accredited Psychotherapist with over ten years of experience working in the NHS, organisational, and private settings. She holds a Masters in Supervision and regularly leads mindfulness workshops, courses, and retreats.

Her approach to working with loss is grounded in compassion and a deep understanding of how grief affects the mind and body. Drawing on CBT, CFT, and mindfulness-based therapy, she supports people to meet their experiences with care, curiosity, and self-compassion.

Julia’s own experiences of loss have shaped her commitment to creating safe, respectful spaces where others can reflect, process, and reconnect with what matters. She teaches in a warm and simple style, and is passionate about nature and community.



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