Meditation for tension headaches: 12-minute

About this practice

Slow, spoken guidance for tension headaches. A grounding session you can do before you talk. 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 before public speaking

Do it somewhere private, or in the washroom if needed
Slow the exhale deliberately and check your speaking pace after
Warm the voice by reading a line aloud, not by staying silent

Rushing is the tell of nerves. A slower breath now is what sets a slower pace in the room.

How grounding works

Grounding brings attention to physical contact and the immediate environment. It works on the principle that the body cannot be somewhere else, so contact with the surface you are on is always available as an anchor.

Feel the contact points — feet, seat, back — and let them take your weight
Use the senses deliberately: what you can see, hear, touch
Return to solidity whenever attention drifts

What happens, minute by minute

0:00Turn your phone face down if it's within reach. If it's in another room, even better.
0:15Name what you can see, hear and touch. Counting senses is not a distraction; it is the practice.
0:31Let the last hour go on its own. You can pick it up again afterwards.
0:45This is not a performance. Nobody is listening to how well you're doing it.
0:59Notice if your breathing is faster than you expected. Don't correct it. Just note it.
1:13Feel the air move past your upper lip. It's the coolest spot on the way in.
1:28Let your whole body be as heavy as it wants to be.
1:41Now feel both feet at once. That's a lot of contact with the world.
1:55Feel your ankles. Let them be loose.
2:05Notice your eyebrows. They're probably doing something small right now.
2:17Imagine softening the edges of the ache from a long staring day. Not erasing it, just letting the sharp parts go a degree softer.
2:36Feel the weight of the band around the forehead somewhere specific, then let the floor take a share of it.
2:53Let your belly rise first, then your chest, then the tops of your lungs.
3:07Notice the exact moment your attention left. You probably won't catch it. That's normal.
3:21Press down slightly and feel the push back. Your body already knows where it is.
3:35A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
3:46Notice whether you're breathing or holding. Start breathing again.
3:57Feel the contact points — feet, seat, back. That contact is the whole anchor.
4:11Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
4:22If you're replaying a conversation, let it play. It'll finish on its own.
4:35If your mind has gone somewhere else, the floor under you has not moved. Start from there.
4:50Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
5:02If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
5:15Come back to the solid things: weight, temperature, surface. They are always available.
5:28Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
5:39Notice how you're sitting. Adjust if you need to. Then settle again.
5:52Notice your jaw again. Let your back teeth part slightly.
6:04Let your breathing get quieter rather than deeper.
6:15No need to open your eyes yet.
6:25Feel your calves, front and back.
6:35Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
6:48Let this one be unhurried.
6:57Notice your toes, starting with the big one on the left.
7:09Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
7:22Let the pause stretch out.
7:31Notice your pelvis resting on the surface below you.
7:42Follow three breaths and let the fourth one go unobserved.
7:54No rush to move on.
8:03Notice your ears, which mostly just receive things.
8:14Give the pressure building behind the eyes a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
8:32Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
8:44If the ache from a long staring day has been with you all day, it is probably tired too. Let it rest alongside you.
9:03Notice the small gap after each exhale. Rest there for half a second.
9:16You are allowed to be unimpressed by the band around the forehead. Indifference is a legitimate response.
9:31If the pressure building behind the eyes starts telling you a story, let the story finish without you adding to it.
9:48Notice your breathing getting quieter on its own, without you deciding anything.
10:01If a song is stuck in your head, let it play in the background.
10:15If your mind has wandered, that's not a mistake. Noticing is the practice.
10:28I'll step back. You stay here.
10:38The floor is holding you right now. You do not have to hold yourself up.
10:52Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
11:02Notice whether you feel any different. If not, that's also normal.
11:14Give your hands a stretch before you go back to using them.
11:27Take the next breath slowly.

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?

Do it somewhere private, or in the washroom if needed. Rushing is the tell of nerves. A slower breath now is what sets a slower pace in the room.

What actually happens during the 12 minutes?

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