The easiest and quickest thing to do – and what most of us do – when we sense a headache coming on is to reach for the medicine cabinet. While this solution is nothing to be sneezed at, if you constantly suffer from headaches, especially related to tension, you need to find an alternative method of pain relief because, sooner rather than later, you’ll find that the pills that you pop don’t touch sides with the pounding in your head.
Luckily, there is a very accessible solutions that can help you get rid of headaches once and for all.
Exercise as the headache panacea
Regularly exercising can assist with reducing the frequency as well as intensity of headaches and migraines. When one engages in a regular exercise routine, the body releases endorphins. These function as the body’s natural painkillers which serves to dull pain. In addition, exercise lowers stress and assists people with sleeping at night. Stress as well as insufficient sleep are two triggers for migraines.
A recent study that was conducted found that exercise, regular relaxation exercises or, alternatively using medication were just as effective at reducing the rate of migraines. Those participants who were involved in the exercise group worked out for 40 minutes, three times a week. Thus exercise can be an effective intervention towards the preventive treatment of migraines.
Workouts to kiss headaches goodbye
Now that you’ve seen that exercise can indeed be beneficial in getting rid of headaches, you’re probably wondering what type of exercise is best.
What you want is a workout which can lower your stress as well as unwind muscle tightness. These causes are, without a doubt, two of the major causes of tension headaches. Certain exercise modalities sooth both of those problems.
You want to do some sort of exercise programme which is low-impact as well as one which relaxes you. This is especially in two main areas.
Two regions that your workout should concentrate on are breathing as well as neck or, alternatively, spine relaxation. If we had to select one workout, we’d say that yoga would be perfect as it assist you with:
- Stretching and unwinding your body,
- Improving your posture (particularly if you’ve been working on your computer all day), and
- Breathing in a slower fashion.
All of these benefits can assist with reducing a headache.
It really does work.
Here are some yoga asanas which will assist you with relieving neck tension.
Seated Neck Release
As the neck is frequently the perpetrator of tension headaches, it is important for you to stretch it out with this basic yoga exercise. All that is required of you is to:
- Sit in a comfortable place, ensure that your spine is straight and your neck is extended.
- Then put your left hand on the right-hand side of your head and then gently tilt your head to the left.
- Keep for a few breaths and gradually switch sides.
- Repeat on both sides a few times in order decrease the intensity of the headache.
Viparita Karani
Placing your ‘Legs Up The Wall’ delicately stretches the muscles in your neck as well as relaxing you at the same time. It can indeed ease your pounding headache in just a few minutes:
- Sit on one side of a mat with your right hip touching the wall.
- Lean back, rotate to lie flat on the mat to extend your legs up against the wall.
- Ensure that your butt is almost touching the wall and that your legs are placed together.
- Put your hands on your stomach or put them on the mat. Close your eyes, relax your jaw as well as drop your chin a little bit.
- For between 3 and 10 minutes, breathe deeply as well as slowly in this position.
Adho Mukho Svanasana
This is also known as the Downward Facing Dog Pose and is one of yoga’s most recognised asanas:
- Take deep breaths while practising this pose,
- Let your head hang between the shoulders.
This beginner-friendly asana helps you to get rid of fatigue, back pain and stiffness from sitting all day through the process of stretching the hamstrings and chest. In addition, it lengthens the spine and helps to provide additional blood flow to the head. This can often be just the thing to relieve your headache and leaving you feeling energised.
Contact Trifocus Fitness Academy
Want to learn more about the headache-busting properties of Yoga? If you do, then you should really considering doing a comprehensive Yoga Certification Course such as the one that we offer. For more information, please follow this link.
