Facial tension and headaches during and following 10-day retreat
Hi all! I wanted to share my experience and see if anyone else has had a similar one. As early as day 3 of my Vipassana retreat I had tension all over my face that became more intense, sometimes overwhelming as I meditated. I focused on it as needed while meditating (my whole head was an "intense gross sensation") and though the tension would move around my face, I never had relief from it, even when not meditating. My teacher seemed to say this was normal, but on day 10 it was apparent that no one else had the continuity of tension that I did.
Now it has been over a week post-retreat. I have stopped meditating entirely for the time being, but the tension in my face persists and has led to headaches, which I have never been prone to. The feeling of pressure/tension/heaviness in my head is constant, but I can mostly deal with it. I would say it's a minor annoyance. I had no idea meditation could cause what I can only construe as harm, and am a bit disappointed because I got a lot out of the retreat otherwise.
I am curious:
If this has happened to you, does it go away eventually? What helps?
Should I worry about continuing to meditate?