10-minute noting meditation for tension headaches, before work

About this practice

When tension headaches shows up before work, this 10-minute noting session gives you somewhere to put it down. A guided session of about 10 minutes, suited to all levels. Nothing is recorded and no account is needed.

What this works on: tension headaches

Tension headaches follow a band of tightness across the forehead and around the skull, usually the product of long staring, jaw clenching and neck position.

It tends to show up as:

• A band of pressure across the forehead
• Pressure behind the eyes
• Ache worsening through the day

Softening the jaw, eyes and neck interrupts the pattern early. Once a tension headache settles in it is harder to shift.

Doing this before a busy day

• Do it before the first message or notification
• Aim for steadiness rather than energy
• Decide the first task afterwards, not during

The point is to begin without already being behind, not to prepare for every possibility.

How noting works

Noting is a technique from insight practice: when something arises, you give it a single plain label — thinking, hearing, planning — and return to the anchor. The label creates a small distance between you and the content.

• Use one word, not a sentence — explaining means you have joined in
• Label and return; do not follow the thought to see where it goes
• Drop the labelling if it becomes effortful and just follow the breath

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00There is nothing to get right here. Nothing is being scored.
2. 0:12A label is enough. You do not need to follow the thought to see where it goes.
3. 0:27We're going to let the body lead and the mind follow for a while.
4. 0:41Notice your own pulse somewhere. Wrist, throat, wherever you can find it.
5. 0:54If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
6. 1:08Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
7. 1:21Notice where your body is still holding something. Leave it alone.
8. 1:33Feel your hips. Wide, heavy, and doing nothing.
9. 1:44Notice the small movement in your belly when you breathe.
10. 1:56Feel the soles of your feet. All the weight of you goes through them.
11. 2:10Picture the pressure building behind the eyes as a weather front passing over. You are not the weather. You are the sky it moves through.
12. 2:29If you catch yourself fighting the ache from a long staring day, that is worth noticing. The fight usually costs more than the feeling.
13. 2:48If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
14. 3:01Use one plain word, not a sentence. The moment you explain, you have joined in.
15. 3:15A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
16. 3:26If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
17. 3:39If noting feels like too much, drop it and just follow the breath. The label is optional.
18. 3:54A short silence. Let it be empty.
19. 4:04If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
20. 4:18Notice the gap between the label and the next thought. That gap is what we are practising.
21. 4:33Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
22. 4:45Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
23. 4:58Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
24. 5:09Remain here for a few more breaths.
25. 5:19Let the whole of your right foot be heavy.
26. 5:30Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
27. 5:44Stay here a little longer.
28. 5:53Notice your ears, which mostly just receive things.
29. 6:04Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
30. 6:15No rush to move on.
31. 6:24Feel the parts of you that have gone quiet.
32. 6:35Notice if your breathing is faster than you expected. Don't correct it. Just note it.
33. 6:49I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
34. 7:01You do not have to solve the band around the forehead in these few minutes. Your only job is to keep breathing while it is here.
35. 7:20Nothing about the pressure building behind the eyes has to be explained or justified in this room.
36. 7:35Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
37. 7:51Imagine the ache from a long staring day as a room you can walk out of for a minute. The room will still be there.
38. 8:10Notice how you're sitting. Adjust if you need to. Then settle again.
39. 8:23If you feel numb, that's a valid thing to feel. Nothing to fix.
40. 8:36Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
41. 8:48When something arrives, label it quietly — thinking, hearing, planning, worrying — then return to the breath.
42. 9:03Let this one be unhurried.
43. 9:12When you stand up, do it slowly. There's no reason to hurry.
44. 9:25If you drifted off, that was rest, and rest counts.

Questions people ask

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