Understand the Reason of Headaches After Meditation

Dear Renatha,

When you meditate, it is very important to relax first and make an effort without tension.

I do not know what kind of meditation technique you practice but in general, when you meditate you want to make sure that you are relaxed and that your efforts in the practice of meditation are done with energy and relaxation, trusting that the divine power will bless you as you relax fully.

The feeling of pressure at the third eye is a good sign that you have directed and offered the energy up to the third eye, the center of higher consciousness.

A headache after meditation is a sign that there is strain or tension in your effort and that your gaze is focused on the physical location of the third eye, rather than gazing out and up slightly above the horizon. Gaze without any strain to avoid a headache at the spiritual eye.

Behind closed eyelids gaze slightly upward without strain, as if looking toward a distant mountain peak, which is to say looking slightly above the horizon level.

To allow God’s grace to guide your practice and bless you, you need to surrender, open yourself and allow the blessings to flow through you, being purified by God’s power and grace.

Remember that it is God’s power that will change you, not your power, and all you need to do is to cooperate with this divine power by opening yourself and offering yourself.

Feeling exhaustion or a headache after meditation is also a sign that you are practicing with tension, and are not relaxed. Tension and strained efforts will obstruct God’s power to uplift your consciousness.

Recommendations to help you prepare for meditation

1. Practice the ENERGIZATION EXERCISES before you sit to meditate.

Here are guidelines for how to practice these exercises and a guided practice of the Energization Exercises.

2. When you sit to meditate, make sure your body is relaxed, and your spine is erect. One of the most important aspects of sitting meditation is to be able to sit comfortably, without an aching back,  legs hurting, or going to sleep.

To help you find a comfortable position, you can watch this video:

3. After you sit to meditate, practice the breathing techniques below that will help you relax the body, calm, and interiorize the mind.

TENSING & RELAXING THE BODY

The best way to relax the body is to tense it first, and thereby to equalize the flow of tension all over the body. Then, with relaxation, you will find tensions being released that you didn’t even know existed.

Inhale, tense the whole body, then throw the breath out and relax. Doing this three to six times will help rid the body of unconscious tensions. Now, consciously relax the various body parts, starting with your feet and working your way gradually to the head and brain. It may help you to visualize space or light filling each area as you relax it. Physical relaxation is the first step necessary for deep meditation.

EQUAL COUNT BREATHING

The breath is intimately linked with the mind. By controlling and relaxing the breath, we influence the mind to become calm. Inhale slowly counting up to a comfortable length of  inhalation for you (generally 4-8 counts). Hold your breath for the same number of counts, then exhale for the same count. This is one round of “equal count breathing.” Do 6–9 rounds. You may either lengthen or shorten the number of counts according to what is comfortable, but keep the inhalation, retention, and exhalation equal.

4. To help you go deep in meditation Paramhansa Yogananda recommended before starting the meditation practice to feel space in the body and around it. This is because God’s body is space and if you want to feel Him, you must feel space in the body and all space beyond it.
   When you are sitting very still, after your last deliberate exhalation, gaze through infinite space, to the left, to the right, before you, behind you, and above. Visualize yourself seated bodiless, suspended in vast space. Then only, begin your meditation practice.

Watch this video Relax into Infinite Space:

5. You can download the free Ananda app with guided meditations and techniques, based on the teachings of Paramhansa Yogananda. It will help you go deeper in the joy of your own Self.

I hope that you will be able to meditate deeply and feel rejuvenated afterward.

Blessings,
Nayaswami Diksha