My name is Celia Roberts.
I have a biomedical science degree.
I run the Brookfield Retreat in Brisbane,
Australia and the Yoga and Integrative Medicine Institute.
Today we'll be practicing meditation for headaches.
If you currently have a headache or a migraine and you feel it would be best to lie down,
Please do so,
Placing a thin pillow underneath your head.
You can practice seated meditation as well.
Make sure your spine is straight.
This meditation is about learning to deal with the pain of headache or migraine.
One way of dealing with pain is actually trying to find the source of the pain.
So when the source of the pain is acute,
See if you can move your attention into that source.
Do that now.
If there's no pain,
Source any tension that might exist in the head,
Neck,
Shoulders,
Jaw or temples.
Place your attention to this point,
Either into the tension or pain.
Really try and pinpoint the source.
Sometimes you'll find it hard to locate and the pain may disappear.
If the pain remains,
See if you can really settle into that pain.
Really accept the pain,
Stay with it.
Fall into the pain,
Allow it to be there.
Let the body relax around the pain and then into the pain.
Good.
This time,
Trying a body scan,
Just from the crown of the head to the shoulders.
Bring your attention to the crown of the head.
Feel any tension around the scalp,
Any temperature change,
Cool heat.
Notice tingling,
Anything,
Whatever you feel,
Notice that sensation.
Observe it,
Don't visualize,
Rather feel that sensation.
Bring your attention now to the forehead and feel deeply into the forehead.
Feel the musculature of the forehead.
Feel the temperature.
If you observe pain,
Move to it,
Move into it.
Stay with it,
Observing each minute sensation.
See if you can source or chase the pain,
Rather than trying to move away from it and wish it wasn't there,
Accept and move into it.
Good.
Notice the left eye.
Feel the eyelids gently touching.
Feel the eye itself.
Move behind the eye.
Just your awareness of these muscles,
The observation of tension,
Will start to gently relax the ocular muscles in the eye socket.
Good.
Now move to the right eye.
Feel the eyelids gently touching the eyeball behind the eye and then move gently into the actual ocular muscles themselves,
The muscles that support the eye.
Feel behind the eye.
Observing all subtle and linyard sensations,
Whether you perceive it as pleasurable or painful,
Move there now.
Feel both eyes,
Behind the eyes,
The whole eye itself and the eyelids gently covering the eye.
Feel the left temple and then the right temple.
Feel the whole left jaw.
Feel the whole right jaw.
Feel both left and right,
Sides of the mouth and jawline.
Observe the tongue.
Noticing all aspects deep down in the tongue.
The tongue also can hold tension.
Also the top of the mouth,
The palate,
Hard and soft.
The bottom of the mouth.
Notice the teeth.
If you can now,
Let the whole jaw be soft,
The mouth be soft.
Good.
Come gently behind and underneath the earlobes.
Notice this area just underneath the earlobes.
Left side,
Right side.
Excellent.
Move to the back of the scalp,
The base of the neck and slowly from the base of the neck,
Moving gently up the back of the neck to the base of the scalp and then spreading your awareness all around the back of the head.
Good.
Come right back to the crown of the head and again observing sensation.
If you have pain or tension,
Again try and source the pain or the tension.
Move deeply into that place if you can source it.
Many people find when we try and source the pain,
It moves and sometimes disappears.
It can be hard to find.
If you feel quite strongly that there's pain,
Rather than move away from it,
Move into it,
Observe it,
Accept it,
Be with it.
Almost embrace the pain.
Breathe into that space.
Breathe into the pain or the tension or the discomfort.
Good.
Excellent.
Stay fully sensory aware of the head,
Neck and shoulders.
Mindfully placing your attention to these parts of the body.
Noticing a subtle change between the beginning of your practice and to the end.
Let the whole body be soft,
Gentle and at ease.
And may you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be filled with deep compassion and may you be at peace.
This is the Buddhist prayer,
Metta,
Loving kindness.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be filled with loving kindness.
May you be happy.
May you be healthy.
May you be filled with deep compassion and may you be at peace.
