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| Hello everyone,
My name's Mike (21, from the UK) and i'm new here, so apologies in advance if this topic has ever been brought up before on the forum.
I started meditating about 2 months ago. Since childhood i've always had difficulty crossing my legs without feeling pains in my legs, so i opted for using a chair instead. I started breath meditation, starting with short 5 minute sessions and gradually increasing my sessions to an average of 10 minutes or so. I started feeling the benefits almost immediately; my head became clearer, i became more aware of things around me (particularly flowers) and, most significantly, my memory improved quite noticeably, refuting in my mind any possibility that these initial benefits were purely psychological.
After the first week and a half or so of breath meditating (one session per day), i began to experience small headaches after my session. As i always meditate before going to sleep, i thought little of them as upon waking up the next morning the headache had all but gone.
But as i continued (literally only 3 or so more days of meditating) the headaches became worse until they remained with me all day. And after a few more days of meditating (still only 10 minutes per day, nothing excessive) the pain had become all but unbearable. Worse still, it was permanent as long as i continued meditating; it was there when i went to bed and there when i woke up.
The pains in question were largely located around the front and back of my head, and (in particular) around both my eyes.
I tried meditating at different times of the day, was sure to go into and come out of meditation slowly, ensured the lighting etc. was fine, and so forth, but to no avail. I could confirm that the headaches (though perhaps 'migraines' is a better word, considering the intensity) were single-handedly because i was, simply, meditating. I had to stop meditating after about 2 and a half weeks, and, within a further 2 weeks or so, the headaches had gradually faded away. It was almost as if the meditating had increased my sensitivity to something that was already there.
The tragic thing is i could feel the benefits of meditation the whole time, it's just that the one (big) disavantage it brought me considerably overbalanced such...
I've found very little information on this on the internet (ironically most meditation sites claim meditation prevents headaches) which had led me to believe my predicament must be quite rare, but i could be wrong...
Any help would be much appreciated because meditation is something i really want to continue with in the future.
Mike |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 517
Location: New Jersey | I don't know too much about meditation and headaches, but I know alot about headaches themselves. (I have chronic headaches) Could it be that your head and neck are getting tense during your sessions? Is there a way that you could sit or lay where your head and neck are supported, and maybe a little more relaxed? This may not be the cause, but it's what sprang to mind when I read your post. Hope it helps! Samantha |
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| Hi Crimsonblade,
This could be for a lot of different reasons, and its hard to point out the same reason. But I have some general ideas.
The most likely reason I would say is to do with your gaze during meditation. Even if your eyes are closed, its important to allow them to diffuse and not be strongly focused on one area. Headaches are common symtpon of strongly upturning the eyes towards the point between eyebrows. Pain in the front and back of the head as well as eye area is a common result of this (especially if the part in the back of the head is spine fuses into the head (roughly opposite the point between the eyebrows). So its a good idea to try to diffuse your gaze and let it expand in the space in front of your closed eyes. Even if you try to do this, you might automatically turn your eyes upward, so if not try to see what happens when you keep your eyes slightly open so as to make sure your gaze is facing in the right direction. In any case, make sure your eyes are relaxed and gaze is diffused.
The other thing is that if you smoke or drink a lot, meditation can bring about headaches but I think you would have considered that on your own if you did drink or smoke a lot. I think that relaxing the gaze should do the trick though,
Regards. |
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| how are you breathing
learn to breath like a yoga master
try to focus on breathing
in fully in the stomach, fully in the torso/ribs, fully in the top of the chest
pause
release very slowly, so that you can feel your heart beat, and so that it takes about twice as long to exhale as it does to inhale
pause, maybe even squeeze empty a little...
start to breath again
try it lying down, first
if you get tired, take a nap
but first and Foremost
LEARN to BREATHE CORRECTLY, so that you can be healthy.
so first, focus on breathing
and don't try too hard, relax
take it easy
GOOD LUCK, KEEP PRACTICING
Edited by SCThornley 2006-05-20 10:35 PM
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| Dear Crimson,
I think you have a problem of shallow breathing. Please watch your breath. Are you doing deep breathing ? If not, it may be a case of "Oxygen deficiency Syndrome" due to shallow breathing. It may get aggravated while meditating, if you have not developed a habit of deep breathing. When there is not enough oxygen for your brain, it gives you signal through headaches. Try to cultivate a habit of deep breathing. It should help you.
You may also try "Anulome - Vilome" Praanaayam which cultivates the habit of deep breathing. SCThornley's advice is good !
You may also check your posture while meditating. The posture should be comfortable so that you forget your body while meditating. If your posture is not correct, you will feel discomfort & you need to adjust to correct that. The posture should not create any tension anywhere.
Best wishes !
Edited by devotee 2006-05-21 1:20 AM
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
 
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Hey Crimson,
You may have an underlying problem that you are not aware of....try eliminating things such as MSG from your diet, which may mean no Chinese Restaurant food - period (even though they claim NO MSG, it usually does have it anyway - they lie), ALL American processed food contains it, but the Chinese version of MSG is much stronger and heavily loaded in even the condiments. You should learn how to do some supported Savasana. I like to use Essential Oil of Peppermint when I first notice a headache coming...rub a drop or two all over your temples - the side and above your third eye on up to the top of your forehead. Do NOT get it in your eyes, it will burn. Then lie on your back in Savasana for at least 10 mins and try to relax. If you have an MSG headache, it will be very difficult to get rid of until it has purged from the system. Drinking lots of water helps and unfortunately, taking 2 Aspirin will thin your blood and help it leave your system faster...in fact, sometimes this is the only way to knock it out!! Usually, you DO NOT notice an MSG headache at first, and/or most people do not associate their headaches with this chemical, (it is in 90% of our food today), because it surfaces the next day or the day after you had the food containing it. It gets into your blood stream. Trust me, most people do not realize how sensitive they REALLY are. It is a neuro-toxin and it is the worst!!
Edited by Cyndi 2006-05-21 2:20 PM
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| Try breathing deeply, completely, and slowly, first |
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| Mike: Any help would be much appreciated because meditation is something i really want to continue with in the future.
===> Whatever you are doing in meditation is learnt by you from somewhere. I mean what you actually do. I do NOT need to know it. Now, you should approach that source with this question of yours. If you had a source which had no experiential background, then your question remains unanswered. If you had NO source, but just your imagination, you have to accept so. In case you do not get a proper source to address your question by an Experiential source in the method you are following, you should give up that method and take up another method of meditation from an experiential source. Best Luck.
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| Dear everyone,
Thanks for the advice you have given me, and I apologise for not having responded sooner (I have been away from the computer).
Unfortunately, it has now been around 3 months since i last meditated and the great pain that it brought me has remained. Though it is not as intense as it was during the weeks following my last session, and on some days is reasonably tolerable (though still there), for the most part the pain is still unbearable (particularly between 11pm-4am).
I believe that the pain is caused by excess energy in the brow chakra, which I do believe i had been meditating 'on' during some sessions (unwittingly; i didn't even know what chakras were back then!). I've tried massaging the points of the feet suggested by this article - http://www.spirit-alembic.com/brow.html - with successful results most of the time, but of course the relief is only temporary. Regardless, what is more important is that I now know the reason for the pain. I also experienced nightmares pretty much every night for weeks after the last meditation, which i've also read is associated with the chakra's opening, though these never bothered me.
To be honest i don't really understand the chakra system and have not 'opened' any other chakras, including the crown chakra, which i've named specifically because the second poster on this site - http://www.kundalini-gateway.org/threads/th_head.html - writes:
'The karma combusting in your body needs to be released out the crown chakra, and if your crown is closed then it is like a fireplace with a blocked chimney. Open the crown with the opening flower visualization at the beginning of the grounding. Let the stuff out at the first sign of migraine.'
While this makes sense, please be aware that it is meditation that caused me this great, persistent pain in the first place and the thought of returning to it (particularly to focus on a place so close to where the problem is - the head) is something I, putting it lightly, hesitate to do. Any experiences would be greatly appreciated because i would only try this visualisation technique is I were sure it would definitely work. Also, would I need to meditate on the root chakra before the crown one for the purposes of foundation?
Finally, i'd like to also draw your attention to a line of text in the first link i gave you in this post which reads: 'From weakness or pain to the eyes or ears, to migraine or skull-pressure headaches to the forehead or sides of the head (including dizziness or nausea,) the purely physical stress to [the brow] Chakra indicates that the individual is STRUGGLING TO LEARN THE REAL TRUTHS ABOUT THEIR SOUL AND IT'S PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE.'
I'm slightly dubious about this statement because i believe that struggling to learn about your soul's place in the universe is surely applicable to many, and thus many would experiences my problems, and thus much more would be written on it (i can't find anything in written form, and only a few web sites). Also, i the idea that this alone has lead to a persistent pain for almost three months (with no end in sight) seems unlikely, and, as i've said, better documented. However, i've decided to include this possibility regardless just to cover everything i've found.
The feeling of pain resembles a tight band around the head, not dissimilar to that described by the member who started the 'sharp pressure in my forehead...' thread. However, he described his pressure as not 'painful' and mine certainly is.
My suspicion is that i need to open the crown chakra, but as i've said, i know little about chakras full stop and so any help would be greatly appreciated...
Mike |
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| Hi Mike, I was wondering what you wanted to get out of meditation...
Doug
I don't think meditation on the higher chakras is good for people who have not been meditating for a long time. Try to stay low. Try the first chakra.
Edited by Doug 2006-07-29 4:00 AM
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| Not to be calous Mike but I think the second post of yours, the information you share, is what leads me to believe in the importance of studying with someone who knows what they are doing (opening, closing, energizing).
It's one of the bigger concerns I have with yoga's popularity growth in Western Culture. It's a bit perversed. Tainted. You walk in to Gold's Gym and someone with a weekend training is teaching Mudras. This is, for lack of a better word, uncool at least. At most, dangerous.
Sadly, there are those that try to explain this power away with some flightly Vatta response containing no real root. [ which Vatta doesn't really have:-) ]
I'm not suggesting you stop meditating. Oh no. I'm merely suggesting that as a whole "we" give the energetics of these practices their due and not fool around with them on the bus, at work, while operating heavy machinery, under the influence, with an untrained teacher.
I'm using levity here with my examples but I find the energetics of yoga practice to be very powerful and we best be able to handle that which we unleash lest it overpower us and institutionalize us.
Dig me?
I think if you can comprehend what Neel said he or she has made a very strong point founded deeply in classic yoga philosophy. Ask your podiatrist why your feet hurt and if he doesn't know perhaps it's time for a new podiatrist.
Edited by purnayoga 2006-07-29 9:37 PM
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | Hey Purna,
Neelbhai is a he...He is Indian.
I however, am not Indian, but my husband is from Nepal. His Father is Pujab and is Mother is Nepali.
Your comments about yoga being dangerous in the west is not 150% correct. I agree that it is quite diluted, but you got to start somewhere. I'd rather see a world filled with people trying, than not doing anything at all. Besides, I think we ALL have gone through several different phases of yoga levels in our lives, I know I did. I've also witnessed this with Indian people as well here in the west. They get really excited and do what seems kinda silly too. You should go to the teacher's thread...we had this discussion not too long ago...read under Western Yoga...it was a good one,  I'm sure you'll find something there to critic about my posts....for sure. My comments about MSG stand.
I have a question for you?? Where did you get your training and where are you from?? |
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| Purnayoga,
What is a flighty Vatta response(not to sound naive,but we all come from different backgrounds). So, please elaborate!! |
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| Helloooo Cindi.
Diluted, a very good word. Excellent!
Actually my text about danger and yoga is inserted here:
>>>>>
It's one of the bigger concerns I have with yoga's popularity growth in Western Culture. It's a bit perversed. Tainted. You walk in to Gold's Gym and someone with a weekend training is teaching Mudras. This is, for lack of a better word, uncool at least. At most, dangerous.
<<<<<
And for the sake of clarity I don't say "Yoga is dangerous" in the west. Though that itself can be debatable which means not conclusive, undecided, a case to be made for either side. What I DO say is that teaching mudras and pranayam with a three-day training lacks integrity. It discounts the energy in those practices. What I do say is it's a bit perversed and tainted (in western culture). This is my experience.
Mine is not a condemnation of yoga or a discouragement to practice. It's an advisory to practice discernment in finding your teacher, starting, doing your practice. OF COURSE a world of people trying (assuming "trying" means a true spiritual practice) is better than not doing anything at all. Fortunately we're not forced to an "everyone tries or no one does anything" scenario. But YES YES if that WERE the choice we'd all opt for everyone trying.
There's no reason I can think of that people can't do both; "try" yoga (spiritual practice) and do so in an authentic, safe, respectful way embodying integrity. It's not doing it one way. It's just doing it with respect and principle that yoga has earned over millenia.
Is this disagreeable to you?
With regards to my training it continues so I can't really put a period at the end of the sentence of my background. And it's not all that relevant. Either something resonates with you or it doesn't. But, at Glenda's request, I posted this thread that might answer your questions about my background. It is, I must admit, a very humble beginning. http://www.yoga.com/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=22108&start=1
Cyndi - 2006-07-30 8:14 AM
Your comments about yoga being dangerous in the west is not 150% correct. I agree that it is quite diluted, but you got to start somewhere. I'd rather see a world filled with people trying, than not doing anything at all. Besides, I think we ALL have gone through several different phases of yoga levels in our lives, I know I did. I've also witnessed this with Indian people as well here in the west. They get really excited and do what seems kinda silly too. You should go to the teacher's thread...we had this discussion not too long ago...read under Western Yoga...it was a good one, I'm sure you'll find something there to critic about my posts....for sure. My comments about MSG stand.
I have a question for you?? Where did you get your training and where are you from?? |
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 5098
Location: Somewhere in the Mountains of Western NC | purnayoga - 2006-08-05 4:21 AM
It's one of the bigger concerns I have with yoga's popularity growth in Western Culture. It's a bit perversed. Tainted. You walk in to Gold's Gym and someone with a weekend training is teaching Mudras. This is, for lack of a better word, uncool at least. At most, dangerous.
Purna,
I would like for you to expand upon the reasons why you think it is dangerous for someone to be doing mudras??? My husband is Indian/Nepali. I have learned so many different mantras, mudras and he has also taught me so many aspects of how to do pooja etc. I do them every day. If someone has learned mudras, I don't see the danger. What is this danger?? Everyone has their own level of "sincerity" of their yoga practice, that is the beauty of yoga. It doesn't matter what level you are on, if you practice long enough and are sincere enough, the results happen...amazingly. I once went to a well known "Indian Master Guru's" workshop who told everyone that by chanting mantras were bad for you if you didn't pronounce them correctly and so on. He claimed that some of his "devotees" had health problems due to their chanting the mantras incorrectly. I think some of that was BS. In fact, my husband called this so called guru a "beggar from India". One of the quotes I like from Sai Baba is this one...."Pure thought from pure heart is better than a Mantra". So, having that said, anyone with "pure" sincerity can do all the mudras, mantras and poojas they like and receive complete benefits. There are all kinds of ways to purify yourself. There are also ways to do it by priests and your guru can also help in this area, which is why it is so necessary and important to have a guru when doing the yoga practice. Meanwhile, if you don't have a guru, pick any mantra of your choice, practice it with austerity and be sincere...the rest will manifest all by itself. I am so tired of so-called teachers using this as a tool for manipulating people into thinking they either have to pay big $$ to have a successful yoga practice, or by drawing students into their cult like environment just to fulfill their ego's, to me that is BS.
As for your comments about 3 day trainings??? So what?? Again, you don't know what the person's background is before that 3-day training and you don't truly know the "sincerity" factor. That is a form of judging. That is incorrect. This idea that you have to be certified and blah blah is crap as far as I'm concerned.. I come from a very traditional yoga background and believe me, this certified stuff gets very frowned upon. I could run circles around some of these so-called "certified" yoga instructors, but choose not to. Nor do I feel the certfication process is ever going to benefit the world of yoga...in fact, I feel if anything it is only going to LIMIT the individual, when yoga is so much more than that. Yoga is free and Yoga should be free to practice and teach to whomever is sincere enough to want to learn it. If you are asked to teach it to someone, then your duty is to teach it, no matter if your are certified or not...because whatever you teach, one day that person may want to further their advancement and just think of the life you affected just by that one person you taught...it's a good thing and is the heart and truth of yoga. Sooo, put that in your pipe and smoke it for a while,  Have a great day too!! I mean that very sincerely.
Cyndi
P.S. Speaking of pipes...I visited the Cherokee Nation this past weekend. My soul is so happy when I am in this sacred area. Anyway, I was able to obtain some peace pipe herbs for ceremony. It is so nice and peaceful. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti
Edited by Cyndi 2006-08-07 11:42 PM
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| am so tired of so-called teachers using this as a tool for manipulating people into thinking they either have to pay big $$ to have a successful yoga practice, or by drawing students into their cult like environment just to fulfill their ego's, to me that is BS.
Well said, Cyndi. |
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Headaches
