7-minute gratitude meditation for tension headaches, on a break

About this practice

Nothing to learn and nothing to fix: 7 minutes of gratitude for tension headaches, on a break. A guided session of about 7 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 break

• Leave the room if you can
• Do not start anything else in the same gap
• Set a timer so the break has an end

A break spent half-engaged with a screen is not much of a break. Guard the whole five minutes.

How gratitude works

Gratitude here is an attention practice, not a demand for a positive mood. Attention defaults to threats because they are urgent, so pleasant and ordinary things get skipped simply for being safe.

• Pick one ordinary thing rather than something impressive
• Stay with it for two breaths — depth beats length of list
• Do not aim at feeling grateful; aim at noticing

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Your breathing doesn't have to change yet. Let it be whatever size it currently is.
2. 0:14We'll take this slowly, and there's no version of this where you get it wrong.
3. 0:28Notice the weight of your arms without moving them.
4. 0:39Let your body be exactly as tired as it is.
5. 0:51Notice the breath you're taking right now. That's the only one that exists.
6. 1:04Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
7. 1:16Now feel both feet at once. That's a lot of contact with the world.
8. 1:30Feel the soles of your feet. All the weight of you goes through them.
9. 1:44Now the right shoulder. Let it be a centimetre lower than it was.
10. 1:57If the ache from a long staring day has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
11. 2:16You do not have to like the band around the forehead to breathe through it. Liking was never the requirement.
12. 2:33Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
13. 2:45No rush to move on.
14. 2:54Feel the air as it passes the back of your throat. It's cooler going in.
15. 3:08Notice the space between your shoulder blades.
16. 3:18You can be as unimpressive as you like for the next few minutes.
17. 3:31If a worry shows up, name it quietly and let it sit beside you.
18. 3:45Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
19. 3:57Small efforts are the whole method.
20. 4:07Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
21. 4:18Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
22. 4:30Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
23. 4:41Nothing about the pressure building behind the eyes has to be explained or justified in this room.
24. 4:56There is no correct amount of the ache from a long staring day to be feeling right now. Whatever is here is the honest amount.
25. 5:15Feel the slight stretch at the very bottom of the exhale.
26. 5:27Notice any urge to check something. You can wait two more minutes.
27. 5:40You might be planning something. Notice the planning, then come back.
28. 5:52Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
29. 6:04There's no need to try harder than this.
30. 6:15Give your hands a stretch before you go back to using them.
31. 6:28Come back to the room through your senses, one at a time.

Questions people ask

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