Meditation for tension headaches: 20-minute breathing session, after work

About this practice

20 minutes to meet tension headaches with less of a fight. A breathing practice, after work. A guided session of about 20 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 after work

• Change something physical first — shoes off, coat off — so the transition registers
• Do it before picking up the evening tasks
• Aim to end it fully, not just stop

Without a marker, work follows you into the evening. The session is the marker.

How breathing works

A breathing practice uses the breath as the object of attention and as the control lever. Because exhaling slows the heart through the vagus nerve, it acts on the nervous system directly rather than through thinking.

• Keep the exhale longer than the inhale — that is the active ingredient
• Count the exhales and start again whenever you lose count
• Do not force depth; let the breath find its own level

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Start by hearing the furthest sound you can find.
2. 0:11Keep the exhale a little longer than the inhale. That is the entire technique.
3. 0:25Everything that happens in the next few minutes is allowed to happen.
4. 0:38You can let your eyes close now if they weren't already.
5. 0:50Notice that you don't have to start a breath. It arrives by itself.
6. 1:03Breathe in through your nose and out through your nose, if that's comfortable.
7. 1:16Feel your belly. Let it be soft instead of held in.
8. 1:28Notice the weight of your thighs, all the way down.
9. 1:40Feel the front of your chest. Notice it rise and fall once.
10. 1:53Notice your wrists. They bend a lot in a day.
11. 2:05Feel your heart somewhere in there, doing its work without instructions.
12. 2:17If you catch yourself fighting the pressure building behind the eyes, that is worth noticing. The fight usually costs more than the feeling.
13. 2:35You are allowed to be unimpressed by the ache from a long staring day. Indifference is a legitimate response.
14. 2:51Breathe in for four, out for six, if you'd like something to count.
15. 3:04Say to yourself: this is uncomfortable, and I can stay with it for one more breath. Then take that breath.
16. 3:21When the pressure building behind the eyes presses in, put a hand on your chest or your belly. Warmth and pressure are anchors your body already trusts.
17. 3:41Follow the breath down into your belly and feel it come back up.
18. 3:54If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
19. 4:06If the breath feels tight, do not deepen it. Just watch it, and let it find its own depth.
20. 4:22I'll stop for a moment. Take the pause at your own speed.
21. 4:35Your mind will leave about a hundred times. Come back about a hundred times.
22. 4:49There is no target number here. Only the next breath, and then the one after it.
23. 5:04A few quiet breaths. That's all this is.
24. 5:15If you're thinking about the next thing on your list, that list will still be there.
25. 5:30Let the counting do the work. When you lose the count, start again from one — no penalty.
26. 5:46Silence. Let your shoulders drop again if they've crept up.
27. 5:58Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
28. 6:09Your anchor for the next few minutes is the breath itself. Nothing else needs following.
29. 6:23A short silence. Let it be empty.
30. 6:33If a worry shows up, name it quietly and let it sit beside you.
31. 6:47No rush to move on.
32. 6:56Let your breathing find the rhythm it uses when you're almost asleep.
33. 7:09Feel your hips. Wide, heavy, and doing nothing.
34. 7:20Quiet now. The next part will wait for you.
35. 7:31If you feel emotional, you don't have to explain it to anyone, including yourself.
36. 7:45A few seconds more.
37. 7:54If you're holding your breath at the top, stop. There's no need to hold anything.
38. 8:08Notice your heels making contact with the floor or the bed.
39. 8:20I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
40. 8:32Notice the pull to make this mean something. It doesn't have to.
41. 8:45Let the pause stretch out.
42. 8:54Let the exhale fall out rather than pushing it.
43. 9:05Feel the skin around your eyes. Let the muscles behind them go loose.
44. 9:18No words for a moment. Only the next breath.
45. 9:29If you've lost track of where we were, you haven't lost anything important.
46. 9:42Let your breathing be boring. Boring is good here.
47. 9:53Let the quiet do its work.
48. 10:03If you're distracted by a sound, let the sound be the object for a moment.
49. 10:17Silence for a few breaths. Nothing to do in it.
50. 10:29Move to your forehead. Let it be smooth instead of gathered.
51. 10:41Count four breaths silently. Then stop counting and just follow.
52. 10:53Take the next breath slowly.
53. 11:02Notice the difference between a thought and the space around it.
54. 11:14Let me stop talking. Follow the breath instead.
55. 11:25Notice the small movement in your belly when you breathe.
56. 11:37Let the breath be slow enough that you can hear it, just barely.
57. 11:50Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
58. 12:00If nothing much is happening, that's not a problem. Nothing much is often the point.
59. 12:14Pause here. Count three breaths if you need an anchor.
60. 12:26Notice your toes, starting with the big one on the left.
61. 12:38Notice if your breathing is faster than you expected. Don't correct it. Just note it.
62. 12:52Just the breath, still.
63. 13:01Let the whole of your left foot be heavy.
64. 13:12Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
65. 13:27Let it be this simple.
66. 13:36Feel your calves, front and back.
67. 13:46Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
68. 13:59Remain here for a few more breaths.
69. 14:09Feel the middle of your back, the part that never gets attention.
70. 14:22Breathe as if you had all evening. There's no rush in this part.
71. 14:35Stay here a little longer.
72. 14:44Let your whole body be as heavy as it wants to be.
73. 14:57If the ache from a long staring day starts telling you a story, let the story finish without you adding to it.
74. 15:15Nothing to follow for a moment except your own breathing.
75. 15:27Remind yourself, slowly: I am safe in this moment, even while the band around the forehead is here. Safety and difficulty can share a room.
76. 15:46Feel the pause at the top of the in-breath. It's shorter than you think.
77. 16:00You do not have to like the pressure building behind the eyes to breathe through it. Liking was never the requirement.
78. 16:17Each time your mind hands you the ache from a long staring day, treat it like a leaf on a stream. Present for a moment, then carried on.
79. 16:37Count down from ten, one number per exhale.
80. 16:48the band around the forehead may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
81. 17:06There is a part of you that has handled hard moments before. That part is here now, even if it is quiet.
82. 17:24Let each breath out be a small letting go of the muscles around your ribs.
83. 17:38Notice if you've been frowning at your own thoughts.
84. 17:49If you're judging your performance, that's the same habit as judging everything else.
85. 18:02Notice any part of you that wants this to be over.
86. 18:14I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
87. 18:26Follow the air from the nostrils down to the belly, then back out. One full trip at a time.
88. 18:42No need to open your eyes yet.
89. 18:52When you're ready, look around properly.
90. 19:02Come back at your own speed. The room will wait.

Questions people ask

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