“Hope for Headaches” is not just a blog post title—it’s the initiation into healing a chronic cycle of pain. That first step is a shift in mood. Mood is largely invisible to us. Our moods have us rather than us having them. They can wash over us in a moment, due to one or any number of things: the weather, a casual comment, one’s hormonal state, or history with handling stress or untenable, uncomfortable situations. Continue reading
Tag Archives: headache
Your Headache Story
I’ve noticed that classes around headache healing can be an extremely compassionate way to move forward in solving longtime headache mysteries. I, and the entire class, listen carefully and neutrally to each person’s story. The class spontaneously learns listening distinctions and begins to model my listening. From there each person begins to experience compassion—compassion for others and, more importantly, for themselves. Inevitably, there’s always someone in the class who’s had it worse, one way or another, which creates empathy. And there’s always someone who isn’t as afflicted or who improves, which gives hope that life can be better and headaches can change. Continue reading
The Zen of Headache Healing
Zazen is a Buddhist form of meditation that helps the practitioner quiet the mind and be present in each moment. Headaches and migraines can be approached in that same way. In his classic book, Zen Mind, Beginnner’s Mind, beloved Zen Master Shunryu Suzuki wrote:
In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s there are few. Continue reading

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