Gratitude for tension headaches: 10 minutes, during the evening wind-down

About this practice

When tension headaches shows up during the evening wind-down, this 10-minute gratitude 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 in the evening

• Dim the lights first — bright light works against the point
• Put the phone in another room
• Keep it slow rather than interesting

Something too engaging will wake you up rather than wind you down.

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. 0:00Let your tongue rest down, away from the roof of your mouth.
2. 0:13Stay with it for two breaths. Gratitude deepens by staying, not by listing.
3. 0:26Everything that happens in the next few minutes is allowed to happen.
4. 0:39Let the breath get a little quieter, as if you were trying not to wake someone sleeping nearby.
5. 0:55Let the breath be shallow if shallow is what your body wants.
6. 1:08Notice where you feel the breath most clearly. Nose, chest, or belly — pick one and stay there.
7. 1:24Feel your calves, front and back.
8. 1:34Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
9. 1:46Notice your shins, which take small knocks all day and never complain.
10. 1:59Feel your hips. Wide, heavy, and doing nothing.
11. 2:10Each time your mind hands you the band around the forehead, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
12. 2:29There is no correct amount of the pressure building behind the eyes to be feeling right now. Whatever is here is the honest amount.
13. 2:48If you're counting the minutes, that's fine. Count them and come back.
14. 3:01If nothing comes, notice that something did not go wrong. That also counts.
15. 3:14I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
16. 3:26If you're sleepy, sit up a little. Or let the sleepiness be there.
17. 3:39We are not forcing positivity. We are just noticing what went right, however small.
18. 3:53A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
19. 4:04If nothing much is happening, that's not a problem. Nothing much is often the point.
20. 4:18Pick one ordinary thing from today — a warm drink, a dry walk, a message — and let it count.
21. 4:35I'll step back. You stay here.
22. 4:45If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
23. 5:00Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
24. 5:12Just the breath, still.
25. 5:21Notice the space between your shoulder blades.
26. 5:31Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
27. 5:45Stay here a little longer.
28. 5:54Feel your palms. Warm or cool, either is fine.
29. 6:05Let the breath get soft, the way it goes when someone is reading beside you.
30. 6:19Let this one be unhurried.
31. 6:28Notice your heels making contact with the floor or the bed.
32. 6:40Follow one full breath from the moment it starts to the moment it ends.
33. 6:54I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
34. 7:06Whatever the ache from a long staring day is doing right now, your breathing can keep going underneath it.
35. 7:22You do not have to win against the band around the forehead. You only have to breathe until the next moment arrives.
36. 7:40Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
37. 7:53Imagine the pressure building behind the eyes as a room you can walk out of for a minute. The room will still be there.
38. 8:12If a worry shows up, name it quietly and let it sit beside you.
39. 8:26If you've lost track of where we were, you haven't lost anything important.
40. 8:39Let's pause. Just the breathing for a while.
41. 8:50There is no need to feel grateful. Just look, and see what is actually there.
42. 9:04Nothing changes for a moment.
43. 9:13Before you move, notice one thing that's fine right now.
44. 9:25Come 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.