How to Practice Yoga for Headache and Migraine Relief

Ease stress, muscle tension and headache pain with these simple yoga moves.

Feel a headache coming on? It may be time to unroll your yoga mat.

Research consistently shows that yoga can help give headache and migraine sufferers some extra relief, making it a great supplement to their pain-fighting arsenal.1 For instance, in a recent study of migraine sufferers, those who added a five-day-a-week yoga practice to their migraine management plan felt more relief than those who stuck to conventional care. They also demonstrated decreased levels of physiological stress.¹

After all, stress is a major contributor to both headache and migraine pain. According to the National Headache Foundation, tension-type headaches are the most common forms of headaches, typically associated with tightening of the muscles in the back of the neck and scalp.² Meanwhile, migraine attacks often accompany times of stress. ³ A single yoga session can sometimes be all it takes to reduce levels of stress.⁴ Because of this, yoga for headaches make a lot of sense!

“For most of us, there is just too much going on at once and our system, our body, and our mind get overwhelmed. It puts our nervous system on alert,” says certified yoga instructor Kelly Moore, co-founder of Mindfuel Wellness, which brings health and wellness initiatives to companies throughout Chicago. “Yoga is a great practice to reduce stress and relieve tension in the body, thereby relieving headaches.”

Bend This Way: 5 Best Yoga Poses for Headache Relief

Integrate these simple stress-busting yoga poses into your daily routine to prevent pain before it starts. Or, whenever you feel a headache creeping on, try taking a short yoga time out. If this is your first time practicing yoga, you may want to consult your doctor or healthcare professional.

When moving through these poses, it’s important to concentrate on continually taking full, deep diaphragmatic or “belly” breaths, according to Moore. With each breath, your stomach, rather than your chest and shoulders should move, indicating that you are getting the most oxygen with every breath as well as giving the too-tight muscles in your shoulders, neck, and upper back a needed break, she says. The result: Even more stress and headache relief.

Skipping your midday meal can set you up for head pain. Hunger has the ability to set off headaches, possibly because skipping meals can leave you with low blood sugar. If you’re really busy, consider making a daily calendar reminder for yourself for lunch so that the time gets automatically blocked off.

1. Child’s Pose

Get onto your hands and knees and, keeping your feet together, widen your knees to the sides of your body. Reach your arms forward on the mat and simultaneously rest your forehead on the mat and extend your hips to the mat behind you. Keep the back of your neck long and your shoulders and upper back relaxed. Stay here for eight to 10 breaths.

2. Forward Fold

In this yoga pose for headaches, stand tall with your feet hips-width apart and bend at the hips to extend the crown of your head straight down toward the floor. Soften your knees to increase the stretch, and keep your heels flat on the mat. Focus your eyes on one point toward the back edge of your mat. Your hands can rest on the mat or a block, or you can hold your elbows. Stay here for six to eight breaths.

3. Supine Twist

Lie on your back on a mat, and draw your knees to your chest and lower your legs to one side. Keeping your hips stacked, one side over the other, stretch your arms straight out to the sides of the mat with your palms facing up. Gaze up toward the ceiling or over to the hand opposite your knees. Stay here for six breaths, and repeat on the other side.

4. Legs Up the Wall

Lie on your back with your buttocks against a wall. Extend your legs up against the side of the wall. Relax your upper body with your arms next to your torso, palms facing up. Stay here for at least 10 breaths.

5. Supine Chest and Shoulder Stretch

Place a bolster or a rolled-up towel on the mat and lie down, face up, so that it supports the length of your spine. Open your arms out to the sides of your body to form a T shape and, with your palms facing up, let your hands and shoulders drop toward the floor. Stay here for at least 10 breaths.

Now that you’re more familiar with yoga for headaches, try these moves whenever you feel a headache coming on or integrate them into your regular yoga routine. Plus, if you’re stuck at home more often right now, yoga is the perfect indoor exercise. These yoga poses for headache relief are easily performed inside and will help you de-stress. As you exercise, remember to keep hydrated and get enough sleep. Stay up to date with headache relief tips in the Excedrin headache prevention center.

SOURCES

1. Kisan, Ravikiran, MU Sujan, Meghana Adoor, Raghavendra Rao, A. Nalini, Bindu M. Kutty, BT Chindanda Murthy, TR Raju, and TN Sathyaprabha. “Effect of Yoga on Migraine: A Comprehensive Study Using Clinical Profile and Cardiac Autonomic Functions.” International Journal of Yoga. Medknow Publications & Media Pvt Ltd, 2014. Web. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4097897/.
2. “Tension-Type Headache | National Headache Foundation.” National Headache Foundation. N.p., 25 Oct. 2007. Web. http://www.headaches.org/2007/10/25/tension-type-headache/.
3. “Common Triggers – The Migraine Trust.” The Migraine Trust. N.p., n.d. Web. https://www.migrainetrust.org/about-migraine/trigger-factors/common-triggers/.
4. Huang, Fu-Jung, Ding-Kuo Chien, and Ue-Lin Chung. “Effects of Hatha Yoga on Stress in Middle-Aged Women : Journal of Nursing Research.” LWW. N.p., n.d. Web. http://journals.lww.com/jnr-twna/Abstract/2013/03000/Effects_of_Hatha_Yoga_on_Stress_in_Middle_Aged.9.aspx.

Tags: headache tips, headache prevention, exercise

Home Remedies for Headache / Headache Home Remedy

What is a Headache?

Headache is among the most common medical complaints. The majority of them are not life-threatening. They can be classified into three main categories, namely:

• Tension headaches
• Migraine headaches
• Cluster headaches

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Tension Headaches are the most common type of headaches. Head aches are described as pressure tightness or it may be stress related. Migraines have well-defined attacks with symptoms like nausea, vomiting, sensitivity to lights and sounds. Cluster headaches are repetitive ones that occur for weeks to months at a time, followed by periods of remission (1^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Headache disorders: differentiating and managing the common subtypes

Go to source).

Common Causes of Headache

A variety of factors can trigger headaches-

• Prolonged stress or tension
• Several physiologic changes in the head and brain
• Dilation and constriction of blood vessels
• Abnormal activity of certain neurons
• Genetic factors may be a cause for migraines
• Smoking and alcohol may cause cluster headaches
• Medication overuse
• Carbon monoxide poisoning

Disclaimer: The home remedies suggested here are not a substitute for treatment by doctors. It is highly advisable to seek an experts opinion. All the remedies listed here may not be suitable for everyone. It is recommended to check for allergies or do a patch test before using the remedy.

Home Remedies for Headache

Try these home remedies, which may aid in subsiding headaches.

Tip 1

Roast some caraway seeds dry. Tie in a soft handkerchief or muslin cloth and sniff to get some relief from headaches.

Tip 2

Boil 1 cup of milk with a pinch of powdered cinnamon for one or two minutes. Add a teaspoon of honey, mix and stir it thoroughly, and drink it at least twice a day when suffering from a headache (2^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Effect of cinnamon on migraine attacks and inflammatory markers: A randomized double-blind placebo-controlled tria

Go to source).

Tip 3

Eating a chopped apple sprinkled with salt every morning for at least a week may help inhibit chronic headaches.

Tip 4

Rosemary has been used as folk medicine for alleviating headaches. Head massage with rosemary oil or applying pain balm on the forehead that contains menthol may prove to be an effective way to ease migraine pain (3^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Therapeutic effects of rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.) and its active constituents on nervous system disorders

Go to source).

Tip 5

Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties and may help reduce pain and nausea in some people. Add tea leaves and ginger to 1 cup of boiling water. Stir it well and drain the water. Leave it till it cools a bit and drink it. This remedy cannot be used as a formal treatment for treating migraine headaches. It can be used as an additional measure to help reduce the pain associated with a migraine headache (4^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Ginger for Migraine

Go to source).

Tip 6

Peppermint oil may be used as a home remedy especially in soothing headaches caused by tension. This fresh-smelling oil helps regulate blood flow in the body. This oil can be applied on forehead or used in steam inhalation (5^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Peppermint oil in the acute treatment of tension-type headache

Go to source).

Tip 7

Lavender oil may be used as a home remedy for headaches and migraines. The oil can be either inhaled or applied to your head. For inhaling, add 2-4 drops of lavender oil to 3 cups of boiling water and inhale the oil vapors (6^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Lavender essential oil in the treatment of migraine headache: a placebo-controlled clinical trial

Go to source).

Tip 8

The essential oil of basil may be used as a natural treatment for headaches caused by migraines. The oil works as a muscle relaxant and is helpful for headaches caused by tension and tight muscles. A few drops of this oil can be added to a steam inhalator which could help in subsiding headaches (7^✔ ✔Trusted Source
The Efficacy of Topical Basil Essential Oil on Relieving Migraine Headaches: A Randomized Triple-Blind Study

Go to source).

Tip 9

Food items like chocolate, sour cream, nuts, peanut butter and caffeinated beverages like coffee, tea or cola, can act as triggers for migraine headaches. Maintain a food diary and make a note of the foods that act as a trigger so that you can avoid them (8^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Headaches: a Review of the Role of Dietary Factors

Go to source).

Tip 10

Mix cup of apple cider vinegar with a cup of water. Boil the mixture in a covered saucepan. When it boils, remove from heat and leave for a minute. Lift the cover and slowly inhale the steam through your nose. This may provide instant relief from sinus headaches.

Tip 11

Make a warm soup and add some pepper in it. Warm soup will help you to get rid of nasal blockage and will cure headaches.

Tip 12

Fatigue and lack of sleep can contribute to headaches during pregnancy. Make sure you get enough sleep during pregnancy (9^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Headache and pregnancy: a systematic review

Go to source).

Tip 13

Drink plenty of water daily, as it is important to stay hydrated especially when you are pregnant as dehydration can be a big cause of headache (10^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Dehydration and Headache

Go to source).

Tip 14

Apply a hot or cold compress to your forehead and neck to get instant relief from headache (11^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Cold Therapy in Migraine Patients: Open-label, Non-controlled, Pilot Study

Go to source).

Tip 15

Physical activity like exercising and daily walk may help prevent headaches (12^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Exercise in Treatment of Migraine Including Chronic Migraine

Go to source, 13^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Exercise and Migraine Prevention: a Review of the Literature

Go to source).

Tip 16

Eat small regular meals and make sure that you are eating healthy organic food throughout the day. This will keep your blood sugar on an even level, which may help prevent headaches.

Tip 17

Make sure that your kid is getting enough sleep, as sleeping often resolves headaches in children (14^✔ ✔Trusted Source
Comparison of the Quality of Sleep and Intensity of Headache between Migraine, Tension Headache, and Healthy Children

Go to source).

Tip 18

Give your child water, juice, and other beverages that do not contain caffeine. This may help prevent headaches in children.

How to get rid of a headache – June 3, 2022

Headache can be triggered by lack of sleep and chronic stress

Photo: Alexandra Mamontova / 76.RU

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A headache can catch you at the most inopportune moment: meeting with friends, in the workplace, at the movies or in the bathroom, says Dr. Peter. In some cases, we guess about its causes: lack of sleep, stress, problems at work or in the family. It is good if the pain is quickly stopped by analgesics and then does not bother you for a long time. And a completely different story, when pain torments you almost every day.

Anna Kudryavtseva — neurologist, vestibulologist at the SOGAZ International Medical Center, Candidate of Medical Sciences.

– Any analgesic can be addictive, so its effect weakens with frequent use. The number of tablets should not exceed 10 pieces per month – on average, this is 2 pieces per week. If a person is forced to drink painkillers more often, then there is a high risk of chronicity of the disease, that is, an increase in headache attacks. The treatment consists of two components – headache relief (pain relief) and preventive therapy aimed at reducing attacks and their intensity, the expert says.

What should be done today to avoid headaches tomorrow?

Migraine is based on the so-called hereditary excitability of brain cells – neurons. These cells are irritated in certain areas in response to specific triggers or provoking factors.

– People tend to know migraine triggers but don’t track them. In order for a person to be able to identify them, I recommend keeping a headache diary. Understanding what actions lead to an attack is a good prevention of migraine, the neurologist explained.

Major triggers or triggers for headache:

• change of weather;
• missed meal;
• lack of sleep;
• frequent use of coffee, wine;
• abundance of salty foods;
• constant stress.

When filling out the diary, the patient indicates the intensity of his pain on a scale of perception from 0 to 10, writes down the number of pills taken and indicates concomitant symptoms (anxiety, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, throbbing, nasal congestion, insomnia) in order to later see a doctor was the complete picture. This approach will help prescribe the right treatment.

More movement is needed to prevent headaches. Walking for at least half an hour a day already alleviates the condition. This is especially noted by those who often drive. In addition to reducing headache attacks, patients experience a decrease in anxiety, a decrease in stiffness in the cervical spine, and back pain. They describe the improvements as: “It’s like my head has cleared up.”

One of the most common types of headaches is tension headache. It is associated with increased levels of anxiety and stress. Relaxation techniques such as stretching, yoga, meditation will help to get rid of tension.

Exercises to help relieve the clamps in the cervical spine:

• head tilts. Tilt your head towards your right shoulder, making sure that your left shoulder does not rise. You will feel the tension. Hold this position for approximately 30 seconds. Repeat tilts 3 times in each direction;
• head turns. Stand up straight, turn your head to the right and look back over your right shoulder. Hold the position for 10 seconds, repeat 3 times in each direction;
• retraction and retraction of the shoulder blades. Relax your shoulders, imagine there is a tennis ball between your shoulder blades, then bring your shoulder blades together to squeeze the imaginary ball. Repeat 10 times.

These exercises should be done regularly, eg every 3 hours during the day.

These are monoclonal antibodies.

— The basis of the primary headache is a violation in the system of neurons, which cannot be seen on CT, MRI, ultrasound and other instrumental studies. Neurons secrete various substances, among them CGRP (calcitonin gene related peptide). This substance, accumulating, causes vasodilation, which in turn leads to a headache. Antibodies block the pain pathway that involves the CGRP protein, explains Anna Kudryavtseva.

Injections with the drug are carried out once a month, in 50% of patients after 3 months the headaches disappear. The course of therapy is from 6 to 12 months.

Previously, it was customary to treat migraine with vascular, nootropic drugs, which did not bring the desired result, the neurologist says. Targeted therapy is a big breakthrough in medicine. It has been introduced into clinical practice since 2018, and a sufficient number of studies on its effectiveness have already been accumulated. The drug acts pointwise on the required area, without causing side effects from other organs and systems.

Few people know that Botox is used not only for aesthetic purposes, but also in neurology. And it was invented for the treatment of strabismus in children – an injection of Botox is injected into the oculomotor muscles, which helps to relax them and reduce strabismus. For the treatment of headaches, patients are injected with Botox into the muscles of the frontal part, temples, occipital region and neck muscles.

Chronic headache can be psychogenic in nature – in other words, be a symptom of depression. At the same time, patients also note:0009

• sleep disturbance;
• irritability;
• loss of appetite.

– Using the right antidepressants will relieve symptoms and reduce the intensity and duration of depression. And to eliminate the root cause, psychotherapy is needed. Today, there are various areas of work with anxiety and depressive conditions – art therapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, body-oriented therapy, and so on. There is no need to be shy about seeking psychological help, because the accumulated negative emotions can cause pain in various parts of the body, gradually destroying your body, the expert concluded.

How to get rid of a headache?

Headache is a constant companion for many of us. Statistics say that more than 80% of the population of our Earth is faced with such an unpleasant phenomenon as headaches. Unfortunately, many simply wait until the pain subsides or try to drown it out with pills. And instead of eliminating the cause, which is the basis of any treatment, including the treatment of headaches, some simply eliminate the symptoms. An unresolved problem every time reminds of itself with more and more severe pain.

But today there are a fairly large number of treatment methods that will allow you to forget about a headache for a long time, if not forever – this is manual therapy, and acupuncture, and drug therapy. The main thing is to choose the right method of treatment, and only a doctor can do this.

A qualified doctor, before deciding on a treatment, will definitely identify the cause that leads to pain and eliminate it. No reason, no pain, it’s that simple. Much easier than suffering from constant headaches, periodically emptying the first aid kit.

Doctors say that only 5% of people suffering from headaches really get sick with something serious. In all other cases, stress, overstrain, fatigue, the frantic pace of life of a modern person are to blame.

So, one of the most common causes of headaches is overexertion. If the head starts to hurt, as if it is being squeezed, if the consciousness becomes cloudy and there is a desire to hide from the whole world, to do nothing, most likely, we are talking about overstrain. Thoughtlessly taken pills are not an option. You need to give yourself a little rest, you need to periodically breathe fresh air, learn to relax and switch off from your problems. Especially often people working in the office face this type of headache. The whole day in a stuffy room, working at a computer, going from home to work and back – either in a car or in public transport – all this leads to the fact that the head starts to hurt. If it is not possible to visit a doctor right away, you can massage your temples, neck, face, do a few exercises that knead your neck and upper shoulder girdle, go outside to breathe fresh air. You can brew yourself herbal tea infused with lemon balm, mint, motherwort, valerian. If you are at home, a contrast shower or a relaxing bath with pine extracts or salt will help.

Migraine is the second most common. Unfortunately, it will not be possible to completely recover from migraine, but there is an opportunity to significantly reduce the frequency of attacks and their severity. Migraine pain is throbbing in nature. Bright lights and loud noises can cause pain. Changes in the hormonal background, sleep disturbance, excessive physical activity, the use of certain foods (chocolate, smoked foods, red wine, nuts, cheese, and so on) can provoke the appearance of pain.