Strong headaches because of meditation?

[Petar]

This last month maybe even longer than that I've been feeling headaches. It's like i have a really strong pressure on the front of the head and sometimes above it. But even though they are pretty intense they are not unbearable. It's like every time i practice mindfulness and try to really concentrate it becomes stronger and stronger. I don't know why they even occur. Is it because i have only been meditating for 5 months and i meditate for an hour a day? Is that some kind of a big jump and my brain can't handle it? There is another strange feeling. When I have a headache i feel more conscious than when i don't. That's why I don't really mind it most of the time. But still sometimes It's painful and I can't stop it. If someone can tell me what can be the case and how i can balance this I would be very grateful,

[nightrider1435]

An hour a day the past 5 months? Hell yeah, you're doing great. The pressure in your head could be due to the third eye wanting to open. As long as you can handle it than I would say to keep going with your practice but if it gets to intense than remember it's ok to take a day or two off mediation.

[Space]

@Petar Yes I have been experiencing something very similar. I haven't experienced any pain so maybe it's not as intense as what you've had, but there's definitely a strong pressure-like feeling. I also know what you mean when you say you feel more conscious. I haven't quite worked out what might be causing it, but I think, as you said, when I do very hard mindfulness labelling it becomes more noticeable. Recently i've been doing more Do Nothing and the pressure feeling hasn't been so prominent. Maybe I should be doing more hard mindfulness. I guess if it's really bad my advice would be to do some Do Nothing and maybe some grounding physical exercise to help move the energy around. 

[Danny M]

I had the same thing and have since realised that I was focussing on the pressure in my head itself rather than an object, awareness, nothing etc..as soon as I stopped doing that, the pressures have decreased quite greatly, although not fully

[YaNanNallari]

It has to do with your head chakras. As to how to deal with this, I'm not so sure. I'm very new to all that stuff.

[Petar]

@Space Alright thanks for the advice

[Petar]

@nightrider1435 Maybe you are right. I should do a quick break if i have to. Thanks for the advice 

[nightrider1435]

@Petar If you feel the need, then by all means take a break. An hour of mediation a day starts to become a very powerful practice the longer you do it.

[Privet]

I have pressure in my forehead and tension in my head. It's quite intense. Especially after 3 hours SDS. But I don't feel more conscious when I experience it, actually the opposite, it's scattering my attention. Breaks don't help, when I start again the pressure is back. I don't know how to relief that. Right now I write this and suffer from that tension.

[nightrider1435]

@Privet If you feel the need, then go to a doctor and get yourself checked out to make sure its nothing physical. This path is quite counter intuitive, your mind might feel less conscious but I can guarantee you that is not the case after 3 hours of SDS.  

[Privet]

@nightrider1435 I suffer more from sense of urge that comes with the tension and the psychological tension, really doubt it's something physical. It's like if you quit addiction you REALLY want to do it again, same here but with freedom of doing, you stop doing anything for 3 hours then you desperately want to do something. 

There is some information that frontal cortex is related to willpower, probably that explains the location of the physical pressure, because when you meditate it takes a lot of willpower.

[Nahm]

@Petar what are you doing in your meditation?

[nightrider1435]

@Privet I was throwing the whole doctor thing out there because I'm just a internet stranger who knows nothing about you. Not sure if I follow you though, you're saying you suffer from a sense of urge to go do things after SDS? What exactly is the problem? Is it like a restless urge to constantly be working on yourself, your life, no time to waste type of deal that you don't allow yourself to relax?

[cetus]

4 hours ago, Petar said:

. It's like every time i practice mindfulness and try to really concentrate it becomes stronger and stronger.

@Petar Try loosening your grip on your practice. Sounds like maybe your trying a bit too hard. Instead welcome stillness and allow it to be the teacher. It will show you things if you let it. Trust in it. 

[Privet]

@nightrider1435

Not an urge to overwork, better description would be to tear out my hair.

Edited December 23, 2017 by Privet

[Petar]

@Nahm I mix between do nothing and mindfulness meditation. I do the do nothing technique more often. Sometimes i do both of them in the same day if i have the time. And also I sometimes try to apply mindfulness in anything i do through the day. I started meditating somewhere in the middle of august. I started with 20 min but i quickly increased to 30 min. After not full two months i meditated 40 min and sometimes 1 hour and now i do it 1 hour most of the time. I think that maybe i made a big jump and that's why i have this pressure in my head but i don't know I'm just  a newbie

[YaNanNallari]

@Privet @Petar I'm sure you can find some advice from these (randomly found) videos and googling around third eye or crown chakra headache 

 

[Petar]

@YaNanNallari Thanks

 

[Nahm]

@Petar that’s awesome. Such an empowering healthy habit. What are you doing in your meditation though? Literally.

[Petar]

@Nahm

Well I usually let any thoughts that come up just go. I try not to follow them. It's like I try not to get unconscious instead I try to maintain concentration and be conscious that I am meditating. Every time my mind wonders off I try to be even more focused and I think that's is the exact moment when the pressure sometimes start in my head. When i do mindfulness meditation i do it exactly like Leo says in his video about it on youtube. First I notice things then I label them as hear,see or feel, then i say in my mind if they are real or imaginary and then I try to save the thing that I am focused on in my mind for couple of seconds.

Edited December 24, 2017 by Petar