a treatment for head-hardening/iron skullcap/etc

thumbnail
Beoman Claudiu Dragon Emu Fire Golem, modified 12 Years ago at 1/24/12 3:27 PM
Created 12 Years ago at 1/24/12 3:27 PM

a treatment for head-hardening/iron skullcap/etc

Posts: 2227 Join Date: 10/27/10 Recent Posts
(Wasn't sure whether to put this in the Physical Practices category, but it's more a way to treat something insight-meditation seems to do.)

For a long time now, I've had a 'head-hardening' issue. I've heard it referred to as an 'iron skullcap', though that might be not exactly what I experienced. I figured it was something psychosomatic, as it would arise with stress (both in the mundane, non-buddhist sense and the buddhist sense), and wouldn't be there if I wasn't giving it inappropriate attention (which I usually was at it was so prominent), and wouldn't be there when close to a PCE.

Today I've been playing around with just moving around all the muscles in my face. It started when I noticed a smile forming, and as I held the smile, a tendency to yawn started arising. (I figure the yawning-when-smiling reflex occurs because smiling causes the body to make happy-chemicals, and when serotonin levels change it seems to make you want to yawn.) Either way, I held the smile, didn't 'give in' to the reflex to yawn (but didn't actively stop it, either), and... my facial muscles started twitching! In and around the smile.

Playing around with it more, I moved on to smiling, holding it in certain positions which caused twitching non-volitionally, volitionally moving the smile around, volitionally twitching various parts of my face... and I noticed there seemed to be a 'gap' in the movement. Like, if I tried to flex the muscles from the left side of my face to the right, it would be a mental movement left + left-twitch, mental movement across the middle with no twitch, and then a mental movement right + right-twitch. And, where the face didn't move... that's where the head-hardening started to happen! But playing around with it, if I intend something else so that my face does actually move at that middle point, then interesting things start happening (like stress being released) instead of just annoying painful head-hardening.

This seems promising. It's like learning how my face works. I think the face and head in general (this works with muscles around the skull too) is where there is a lot of 'me'-making, and this is kind of a way to break that off, to interrupt it... it seems head-hardening is an inappropriate attention to the face/head area (mental-only stress with no physical movement) and that trying to 'hold still' or 'watch it' can easily make it far worse.. but moving the muscles around in this way seems quite delightful and to break things up.

In summary: find a way to move your facial muscles around the spots where there is 'hardening', and attend to the (actual) muscles moving and not to the hardening. What seems to be good is a 'sweet spot' where you flex a certain way, and that part starts twitching on its own.. just follow the twitching. It seems that when it stops it causes a relaxation in that part of the face which seems like it will reduce further problems there.

Just thought I'd share as I've heard lots of yogis talking about this phenomenon. Would be interested to see if anyone benefits from doing this.

P.S. Probably shouldn't do this in public as you will look like you have some severe twitching disorder.
thumbnail
Bagpuss The Gnome, modified 12 Years ago at 1/24/12 3:39 PM
Created 12 Years ago at 1/24/12 3:39 PM

RE: a treatment for head-hardening/iron skullcap/etc

Posts: 704 Join Date: 11/2/11 Recent Posts
I've been working with something similar for the past few days. As well as just trying not to let tension build, I've found that simply frowning, or raising the eyebrows high will break the tightness in my forehead. It needs to be repeated every so often, but can work quite well and doesn't break concentration.

I was surprised to find that the forehead tension really was muscular. I had thought (as it felt) that it was my brain aching!
thumbnail
Beoman Claudiu Dragon Emu Fire Golem, modified 12 Years ago at 1/24/12 4:34 PM
Created 12 Years ago at 1/24/12 4:34 PM

RE: a treatment for head-hardening/iron skullcap/etc

Posts: 2227 Join Date: 10/27/10 Recent Posts
Bagpuss The Gnome:
I was surprised to find that the forehead tension really was muscular. I had thought (as it felt) that it was my brain aching!
Well, I think it is both - physical tension, and mental tension (dukkha) about it. But ya relaxing the physical tension seems to help tremendously.
thumbnail
katy steger,thru11615 with thanks, modified 12 Years ago at 1/24/12 4:50 PM
Created 12 Years ago at 1/24/12 4:46 PM

RE: a treatment for head-hardening/iron skullcap/etc

Posts: 1740 Join Date: 10/1/11 Recent Posts
Hi Bagpuss and Beo -

I remember this iron skull thing - it was almost a year ago and I described it as an octopus on the head. I think it occurred in the wee hours of the morning during a home retreat. The months following iron cap sensation included escalating forehead tension (a tense centricity that, for me, increased analytical skill). I began to play with that tension by allowing the analytical mind to run free. By that point, the "dark night" ruminations had abated a bit and I could let my analytical brain run free without concern for its getting into despondent/disgusted territory.

Here, I often took up the the actualist practice (5-senses-awareness) as I understood it explained on the DhO, which I also thought of as zen mindfulness, adding a deliberate spirit of receptivity/felicity/benignity.

So there was, for me, a period of several weeks, a back-and-forth between tension in forehead and taking walks or taking in natural environs via the five-senses (e.g., pulling over before and after work to take in sunrises and sunsets, the air, the temperature, watching flocks of birds circle).

Then one day an analytically-derived conclusion occurred --- in the middle of forehead tension while sitting at the window and letting concepts about the human condition rain into loose placement --- and the desire to analyze from a personal vantage then ceased, and the forehead tension also left. (It returns occasionally and is indicative of some personal belief coming up and causing its stress). I was able to chose 5-senses-felicity practice with focused intention and let the brain re-wire itself in the next weeks. [Edit: meaning the brain had habitual urges - like a mild lurching for a "why...?", but those urges deflated pretty quickly as a result of knowing the conclusion of the old personal pathway was no longer compelling].

All of this turned into equanimous feeling and equanimous feeling moved along into release from restlessness. So, when I read posts about increasing tension, I feel arising in me a smile and the thought, "Ah, getting close". I do not have enough experience watching others' practices, so I do not know if you are getting close to anything at all, but wish you well in the exploring.
thumbnail
Jeff Grove, modified 12 Years ago at 1/31/12 7:25 AM
Created 12 Years ago at 1/31/12 6:47 AM

RE: a treatment for head-hardening/iron skullcap/etc

Posts: 310 Join Date: 8/24/09 Recent Posts
Hi Beoman,

Pressure between the eyebrows and the iron skullcap feeling are common among practitioners but are usually a passing phenomenon. One view is that it is related to a build up of qi due to the yintang not fully opening an important point midway between the two eyebrows. Yintang is located on the Ren Channel and is key to regulating qi along the Ren (front) and Du (back) channels - the small circle of qi up the back and down the front of the body and back to the origin in the dantian. Like a blocked pipe pressure builds up and qi stagnates producing varying degrees of heaviness, pain, headaches and in some cases insomnia.

Some traditions treat the body-mind together and work on purifying the body at same time as the mind (Taoist, Dzogchen, Nyingma and Chan are a few).


Foundation practices in Ngondro sometimes involve exercises such full prostrations

seen here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTk929t3oFE&feature=related

which is an excellent qigong exercise stimulating and mobilizing internal physical qi, loosening fascia, joints and creating space.

One can treat all kinds of qi reactions with the Wall Squatting Method (Dun Qiang Fa) a simple but advance practice

heres an example http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=31z5DR9P1kw

Another simple suggestion is hanging and melting, dissolving the body mind back to its primordial condition. Suspend (like a butchers hook suspends) from the top of the head (Bai Hai) and hang, as Zheng Qi (True Qi) increases an erection of the spine occurs pushing up through Bai Hai after this growing you hang . During growing we go from Jing (essence) to Xing (form), during hanging we go from Xing back to Jing. In the hanging phase feel the form melting releasing qi, starting at the top (Bai Hai) hang and melt from Bai Hai to Hui yin down near the anus. Do not picture it, its important to feel the flow (shun). This is a gentle method of opening the meridians and during each phase of Jing to Xing and Xing to Jing there is an increase in Qi.

Last it may help to finish any meditation session by leading the qi back to the dantain.

Here is an ending pattern called Spontaneous Revolving of the Magic Wheel

Take the abdomen and the chest as a plane with the point Tanzhong (around the heart) as the top of the circle and the pubic bone as the bottom of the circle

Lead the qi with your mind to the Dantain and revolve 36 turns (guide with your overlapping palms) running from left to right clockwise for males and right to left counterclockwise for females increasing the circle size with each revolution until it touches the two poles. Then lead the qi to revolve 36 turns with the circle shrinking bit by bit along the same route back to the dantain. Cover the dantain with the palms for a while after the qi is revolved back. Open your eyes and stretch your spine and extremeties freely.
The replenished qi is drawn back to the dantain to be nourished and reinforced preventing qi from stagnating and building in gates and points in channels which are not fully opened.

My own practice in the past has included wall squats, hanging and melting and leading the qi back to the dantain as recommended by my teacher. Hope its helpful for people experiencing these issues and gives alternatives


cheers
Jeff
Change A, modified 12 Years ago at 1/31/12 8:56 AM
Created 12 Years ago at 1/31/12 8:56 AM

RE: a treatment for head-hardening/iron skullcap/etc

Posts: 791 Join Date: 5/24/10 Recent Posts
You may try doing lion pose yoga.
thumbnail
Jeff Grove, modified 12 Years ago at 1/31/12 10:44 PM
Created 12 Years ago at 1/31/12 12:57 PM

RE: a treatment for head-hardening/iron skullcap/etc

Posts: 310 Join Date: 8/24/09 Recent Posts
Yes the lion pose is also good, I was taught a variation on an Anuyoga Retreat.
For unbinding the knots - sitting in the sevenfold posture with tongue fully extended which pulls on the central tendon attached to the diaphragm and allows for a vibration or resonances, exhaling with an AH similar to the lion pose except twisting/rotating the body on its central axis side to side.
There are many breathing techniques that are more forceful in opening the channels. An example is spraying qi where you breath in through clenched teeth (like a grin with teeth clenched) then forcefully blow out through the nose as in spraying qi. These actions are followed with sharp movements along the channel being dredged. An example would be an arm thrust or a quick push up on fingers.
thumbnail
Beoman Claudiu Dragon Emu Fire Golem, modified 12 Years ago at 1/31/12 1:01 PM
Created 12 Years ago at 1/31/12 1:01 PM

RE: a treatment for head-hardening/iron skullcap/etc

Posts: 2227 Join Date: 10/27/10 Recent Posts
Thanks, Jeff. I'll have to try what you suggested. I moved the thread to 'Physical Practices' category as it definitely seems to belong there now.
Change A, modified 12 Years ago at 1/31/12 7:45 PM
Created 12 Years ago at 1/31/12 7:45 PM

RE: a treatment for head-hardening/iron skullcap/etc

Posts: 791 Join Date: 5/24/10 Recent Posts
Also the usual exercises for neck stiffness will also have some beneficial effect on the head-hardening. I think I don't need to explain them as they are easy to find on the web as was the lion pose.
Change A, modified 12 Years ago at 2/29/12 9:50 PM
Created 12 Years ago at 2/29/12 9:50 PM

RE: a treatment for head-hardening/iron skullcap/etc

Posts: 791 Join Date: 5/24/10 Recent Posts
If you are still suffering from the head-hardening, then you may try kum nye and you can learn about it from Tarthang Tulku's book: Tibetan relaxation kum nye massage and movement.

Breadcrumb