The Corpse Pose
If you have a thumping headache there are some effective ways to help ease the pain or even stop it early in its tracks. Headaches come for many reasons but a whacking 90% of headaches are due to emotional stress and muscular tension. These tension headaches (muscular contraction) respond well to simple relaxation techniques and restorative yoga poses.
Tension and circulation: For most women the first sign of a tension headache shows up across the back of the neck or the top of the shoulders, if this goes unnoticed it can turn into a headache within an hour or two. When you constantly sit at your desk with your upper back and shoulders rounded and your chin jutting towards the screen (Oops - note to self) or if you habitually walk with your head held forwards of your spine, the “headache muscles” (aka the Spinalis Capitis and Temporalis) at the back of the neck will tighten. Tight muscles can restrict blood flow to the head. When they relax, blood flow increases suddenly, putting pressure on the arteries in the brain and “Voila!” a headache.
Stretch to Relieve Tension
If you feel tension coming on: a short, 10 minute stretch-break can ward off a headache.
1. Stretch the back of the neck by bringing your chin in towards your throat.
2. Stretch between the shoulder blades.
3. Stretch the front of the chest and the sides of the neck.
4. Lastly, as dehydration can be another trigger - drink a big glass of pure
water (every 3 hours until symptoms subside). Get to know your preheadache
warning signals and use them as a call to action.
Anger - Donʼt Bottle It Up
Dr. Robert Nicholson of Saint Louis University found anger, particularly bottled up anger, a more common precursor of headaches than anxiety or depression. His advice was to breathe deeply to help lower your internal anger and try to figure out what triggered it (self study). “The greatest power you have is the ability to forgive and let it go. It wonʼt change the past but neither will being angry.”
Changing Your Thoughts Can Change Your Headache
Ease a headache and help calm your nervous system by turning your thoughts inwards and away from external influences. Try this restful visualization: Lie down with a pillow or folded blanket beneath the back of your neck. With your eyes closed, allow your breath to flow steadily and evenly to the base of your lungs. Then empty them from the top, middle, then bottom. Make your breath fluid and even: “Imagine your hands are immersed in warm water and that the blood flow is turning your palms rosy pink. As your fingers and hands heat up, imagine that your head is cooling down at the same time.” Stay with these images and follow your breath for 5 - 10 minutes or for as long as you feel comfortable.
Breathe Deeply
If you find yourself sighing quite often, it might not be because youʼre sad, it may be because you arenʼt breathing deeply enough. Many of us shallow breathe, only using the top region of our lungs. Lack of oxygen can trigger a headache and breathing this shallowly can also bring on a feeling of anxiousness. Learning to use full diaphragmatic breathing helps to release restricted Intercostal muscles in the ribs and the belly. It stimulates a relaxation, parasympathetic reflex and as headaches are often related to an autonomic nervous system imbalance, this is a great way to manage them. You needn’t breathe like this all day. Finding time to sit quietly to breathe, will not only help slow down a racing mind but have the effect of calming the body as a whole. Aim for 5 to 15 minutes of diaphragm breathing.
Sit with a tall spine: “breath in” to swell the belly and “breath out” to deflate and empty. See how relaxed you can be during this process.
The Supported Child's Pose
Restorative Yoga Poses: A Help for Headaches
Gentleness is the key. Patients in a yoga program for headaches, studied at the University of Madras, were able to decrease their pain medications and reported significant improvements in their levels of stress and their ability to cope with it. Because of the gentleness of yoga (or Pilates) a regular practice can be very beneficial in keeping headaches away. Look for a remedial style or beginners class. Restful yoga poses allow the floor to support your weight and give tired body muscles the complete rest they crave. When a headache is shouting so loudly that you have to stop what youʼre doing, the Corpse pose (Savasana) is a blissful retreat.
Corpse Pose (See first photo):
This variation, placing a weighted beanbag on your forehead, feels incredibly comforting to a headache. Have these props within easy reach as you set up by your chair.
1. A folded blanket to cushion your back.
2. A cushion/bolster/rolled up yoga mat to bring close to the top of your head.
3. A heavy beanbag to rest on your forehead (if you donʼt have one, fill a ziplock bag with rice or lentils). Lie on your back on the folded blanket, resting your calves on a chair. If your neck is uncomfortable place a small cushion underneath for support. Bring the bolster behind you to touch the top of your head and let the beanbag rest partly on the bolster and forward enough to also rest on your forehead (not your eyes). It then applies a comforting steady pressure. Place your hands by your sides, elbows relaxed, palms up. Breathe normally, with a slight emphasis on your exhale. Let go of all tension and completely relax. Rest, eyes closed, for at least 5 minutes and if possible, a blissful half an hour.
Paschimottanasana-Can Be Done at Your Desk
Seated forward bends, can help ward off or reduce the severity of a headache. They are also comforting when youʼre feeling anxious and fatigued.
Here are two examples:
Supported Childʼs Pose and Paschimottanasana:
Shoulders, spine and hamstrings are gently stretched. Hormones released from the adrenals and pituitary glands are slowed and the body’s nervous system calms, helping to soothe the brain. Adapt the poses to suit your body, bend your knees, use more pillows, be comfortable. Allow the cushions to support your forehead and arms entirely so that your tired neck and back muscles can let go. Breath: inhale to create space in the back and exhale to let go of any tension. Rest for 2 – 5 minutes. To come up, sit up slowly allowing your head to come up last. An easier option if sitting at your desk: rest your forehead on a folded blanket, hands resting on the desk above your head palms down, elbows bent to the side. If you have a stretching sequence youʼre fond of, do it slowly and gently. Start and also finish with a seated forward bend to help the neck and shoulder muscles relax.
Bio-feedback and Relaxation Techniques Work
Bio-feedback and relaxation techniques have been proven to lessen the duration as well as the frequency of tension headaches and migraines. Bio-feedback uses instrumentation to measure tension held in the muscles of the face and neck. Patients build an awareness of habitual patterns and then learn to release that tension. Dr. Seymor Diamond, whose two studies on chronic headaches with people who hadnʼt responded to conventional treatment, were published in the journal Headache said a combination of biofeedback, meditation and relaxation techniques produced “an excellent response.”
Be safe: If your headache begins suddenly, stays for more than a few days, if you canʼt sleep or if it gets worse when you are active, visit your doctor, make sure itʼs nothing more than tension. Thankfully these headaches are rare and only 1 to 2% of all head pain issues.
References:
The Womanʼs Book of Yoga and Health by Linda Sparrowe and Patricia Walden
Yoga as Medicine by Timothy McCall MD - Chapter 18 - Headaches
Yoga Cure for Headaches by Ellen Serber - with Tomas Brofeldt M.D.
13 Poses to relieve Tension by Ellen Serber
Gentle Yoga for Migraine Relief - by Kerrie May 16th 2007
www.wellnessjunction.com - Chill out, anger can give you a headache
Yoga and Headaches/Migraines by Carolyn Reynolds
Nutritional Healing - Fourth Edition by Phyllis A. Balch
Headaches: An Action Plan To Ease Them Away
Amanda Musker studied classical ballet at the Royal Ballet School in London. She went on to enjoy 14 enormously successful years working in London’s West End, starring in productions such as “Cats,” “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat” and “Oklahoma.” In 2000 Amanda decided to pursue her other great passions, Pilates and yoga. This led her to an equally successful career as one of the most sought-after teachers of these disciplines. Having experienced 30 years of career-related injuries, as well as working with hundreds of yoga and Pilates students, Amanda is uniquely qualified to bring a deeper understanding of our bodies and what helps to make us flourish in them. Send your questions to Amanda@smartnow.com.
