Tension headaches: 10-minute body scan meditation, in the hour before sleep

About this practice

10 minutes to meet tension headaches with less of a fight. A body scan practice, in the hour before sleep. 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 before bed

• Do it in bed or somewhere you can move straight to bed after
• Lower the light, and do not check anything afterwards
• If you fall asleep before the end, it worked

Falling asleep mid-session is a success, not a failure to complete it.

How body scan works

A body scan moves attention systematically through the body, region by region. It does not try to change what it finds — it builds a map of what is actually there, which is often different from what you assumed.

• Move slowly, head to feet or feet to head, and do not skip the uncomfortable areas
• Meet each region with plain curiosity rather than a verdict
• Numbness and absence of sensation are findings too

What happens, minute by minute

1. 0:00Check your hands. Are they doing anything? Let them stop.
2. 0:12If a region feels numb, that is a finding too. Note it and move on.
3. 0:26We'll be quiet for a bit longer than usual. Stay with whatever shows up.
4. 0:40Notice whether your breathing is high in your chest or low in your belly. Just notice. No fixing.
5. 0:56Let the in-breath be short and the out-breath unhurried.
6. 1:07Let your ribs widen on the in-breath instead of your shoulders lifting.
7. 1:20Feel the back of your neck. That's a place that holds a lot.
8. 1:33Notice your toes, starting with the big one on the left.
9. 1:45Notice your jaw again. Let your back teeth part slightly.
10. 1:57Start at the top of your head. Notice the scalp, which you almost never notice.
11. 2:11You do not have to like the band around the forehead to breathe through it. Liking was never the requirement.
12. 2:28the pressure building behind the eyes may quiet down, or it may not. Either is fine. We are practising staying, not performing calm.
13. 2:46Notice how quickly your mind labels things: good, bad, boring, nice.
14. 2:58We will travel down through the body, one region at a time, and leave each one softer than we found it.
15. 3:15I'll leave a gap here. Use it however you like.
16. 3:27Notice the tone of your own inner voice. Is it kind?
17. 3:39Move at the speed of your attention, not the speed of a checklist. There is no schedule to keep.
18. 3:55A few seconds of nothing now. That's on purpose.
19. 4:06If your mind is quiet, don't grab at it. Quiet comes and goes too.
20. 4:20Visit each area with plain curiosity, not with a verdict. Sensation is information, not a problem.
21. 4:35I'll be quiet for a moment. Stay with the breath.
22. 4:47Let the breath move at the speed of a sleeping person.
23. 4:59Nothing changes for a moment.
24. 5:08Notice your whole body as one shape, sitting or lying here.
25. 5:20Feel your breath move down your back, all the way to your lower ribs.
26. 5:34Let it be this simple.
27. 5:43Notice your ribs on both sides. Wide, not squeezed.
28. 5:54Notice how many breaths you take in a minute. Don't change the number, just check.
29. 6:08Let this one be unhurried.
30. 6:17Notice your pelvis resting on the surface below you.
31. 6:28Let the exhale empty you a little more than usual, but not to the point of strain.
32. 6:43I'll step back. You stay here.
33. 6:53This 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.
34. 7:13Notice how the band around the forehead changes shape when you stop resisting it. Usually it gets smaller, not bigger.
35. 7:30Feel the last part of the exhale, where it turns into nothing.
36. 7:43Give the pressure building behind the eyes a shape, a colour, a temperature. Turning it into something specific makes it easier to hold.
37. 8:01If you feel restless, that's a feeling, not a failure.
38. 8:13Notice any tension that arrived while you weren't looking.
39. 8:24A gap. Don't rush to fill it with thinking.
40. 8:35Start at the crown of the head and move down slowly. Do not skip to the parts that hurt.
41. 8:51Stay a moment longer than is comfortable.
42. 9:01Let your jaw, shoulders and hands be loose as you finish.
43. 9:13If you're going straight back to work, take ten seconds at the doorway first.
44. 9:27Let your body keep settling.

Questions people ask

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