12-minute letting go meditation for tension headaches, on a train journey

About this practice

A 12-minute letting go session for tension headaches, on a train journey. No app, no account — press start. A guided session of about 12 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 on a train

Pick a window seat if you can and let the view do part of the work
Set an alarm for your stop
Keep the bag on your lap rather than unfastening to find it later

The motion can make reading or screens uncomfortable, which is another reason audio works better here.

How letting go works

Letting go is about loosening grip rather than dropping things. It works on the effort attached to a problem — the holding, rehearsing and bracing — which is separable from the problem itself.

Pick one thing you are gripping and loosen a single finger
Release the effort with the exhale, not the issue
Set down temporarily; you can pick it up again after

What happens, minute by minute

0:00Begin with the simple fact that you got here. That already happened.
0:13Setting something down is not the same as giving up. You can pick it up again after.
0:28Settle into the fact that for the next few minutes, nothing is required of you.
0:42Notice the pause at the end of each breath. It's short, but it's there.
0:56Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
1:10Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
1:24Feel your palms. Warm or cool, either is fine.
1:35Notice your eyebrows. They're probably doing something small right now.
1:47Notice the backs of your knees, which you feel more than you think.
2:00Notice your ears, which mostly just receive things.
2:11If the pressure building behind the eyes has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
2:29You do not have to like the ache from a long staring day to breathe through it. Liking was never the requirement.
2:47Let your shoulders stay still while your ribs move.
2:58Your mind will leave about a hundred times. Come back about a hundred times.
3:12We are not solving anything in the next few minutes. We are setting it down, temporarily.
3:27A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
3:38Notice the moment you realise you've drifted. That moment is the whole skill.
3:51Pick one thing you are gripping — a plan, a worry, a grudge — and loosen a single finger.
4:07I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
4:19Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind?
4:31You have been carrying this competently for a while. A few minutes off will not undo that.
4:46Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
4:57Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
5:08With each exhale, let a little of the effort go. Not the problem — just the effort.
5:23Quiet for a moment. No need to fill it.
5:34If you're irritated, that's allowed. Irritation is just weather.
5:45Notice your lower back. Let it curve however it curves.
5:57Let the exhale fall out rather than pushing it.
6:08Stay with it.
6:16Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
6:27Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
6:40Nothing changes for a moment.
6:49Let your throat soften. There's nothing to swallow right now.
7:01Notice the small pause before your body decides to breathe in again.
7:14Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
7:24Notice your whole body as one shape, sitting or lying here.
7:36Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
7:51Let your body keep settling.
8:00Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
8:12Imagine the band around the forehead as a room you can walk out of for a minute. The room will still be there.
8:30Let's rest here in silence. It's short.
8:40You do not have to win against the pressure building behind the eyes. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
8:58If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
9:12This is not the last time the ache from a long staring day will visit. That is not bad news. It means you will get more practice.
9:32When the band around the forehead presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
9:51Let your breathing find the rhythm it uses when you're almost asleep.
10:04Notice anything you're holding onto from earlier today.
10:15If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
10:29Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
10:40Ask yourself what you could stop holding for the next sixty seconds. That one is a good start.
10:56No rush to move on.
11:05Come back slowly. There's no prize for finishing fast.
11:16Notice the quiet you made, and let it close gently.

Questions people ask

What does this session help with?

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

Where and when should I do this one?

Pick a window seat if you can and let the view do part of the work. The motion can make reading or screens uncomfortable, which is another reason audio works better here.

What actually happens during the 12 minutes?

Letting go is about loosening grip rather than dropping things. It works on the effort attached to a problem — the holding, rehearsing and bracing — which is separable from the problem itself.

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