For the 10% of the population that suffers headaches and migraines, the prospect of another day off work or away from family activities is something to be avoided as much as humanly possible. When a headache strikes, many sufferers tend to reach for the packet of painkillers or over-the-counter medication. These can help but there is the ever-present danger of side effects.
A visit to one's doctor for a full checkup is mandatory if you are having more than the occasional bout of head pain or are experiencing headaches that are worse than the normal ones that can be cured by a good lie down.
Medical doctors can now prescribe an array of headache medicines, both preventatives and those that can be used to stop each individual attack. Many doctors now include a number of non-drug treatments in their armory of methods to stop, lessen or control headaches. An excellent additional strategy that you can use independently to help relieve headaches or migraines is to perform a series of gentle exercises to calm the stress and reverse the muscle spasm that you are experiencing.
Yoga Relaxation Postures
One such series of exercises is the yoga deep relaxation postures (or asanas). Yoga relaxation postures teach you how to stretch and then relax each section of your body from the top of your head to the tips of your toes. They teach you how to breathe correctly and deeply, and how to breathe the stress and tension right out of your body.
A good yoga teacher will also teach you how to relax your mind. A deeply-relaxed mind combined with a deeply-relaxed body will quickly end many headaches and migraines, especially those which are caused or aggravated by the frenetic pace of today's busy lifestyle. Many of these yoga techniques can be learned from books or DVDs, but it is a good idea to study, at least for a while, under an experienced yoga teacher who can monitor your progress and correct any mistakes you are making.
Acupressure
Another form of gentle exercise that many people use to relieve their headaches and migraines is acupressure.
Acupressure is a form of acupuncture, the Chinese medical technique that uses small needles inserted into the body to relieve disease symptoms. Acupressure uses the pressure of thumbs and fingers instead of acupuncture needles to achieve similar therapeutic effects. To relieve a headache with acupressure, you simply press certain spots (called pressure points) on your head, hands and the back of your neck for a short period of time. You can use acupressure wherever you are -- at work, at home, at school, in the car or bus -- and no one else need even know that you have had a headache or have treated it!
There are a number of books and DVDs that teach this technique, but again some personal instruction is highly recommended, as it lets you see and, equally important, feel the technique at work. Your local acupuncturist should be able to teach you the locations of the relevant pressure points, and how to apply the pressure and for how long.
As with everything you do that affects your health, you should let your doctor know that you are intending to do yoga exercises or acupressure, and ensure that you have the "all clear" to do so. Yoga relaxation postures and acupressure have helped thousands of people relieve their headaches and migraines. These techniques are drug-free and inexpensive, and can be used discreetly during most daily activities. You may find that they help with your head pain too.
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