Natural Cures For Tension Headaches To Give You Relief

Almost everyone has suffered a tension headache from time to time. It’s the most common type of headache and the causes are varied and often unpredictable with no definitive cure.

Everyone wants to just pop a pill and be done with the pain, but frequent use of painkillers can inhibit your brain’s ability to fight headaches itself.

Rather than reaching for the medicine cabinet, I advise my clients to look for the source of the headache – daily stress. Whether it’s due to an emotional issue, a heavy workload, or allergies to certain foods, stress is part of our lives. It can build up slowly or surprise you all at once, but everyone has some amount of stress to deal with, both physically and mentally.

The approach that I offer my clients who suffer from tension headaches is to find small moments in their day where they take good care of themselves, rather than let stresses build up over time. Making room on your daily agenda for self-care activities is not a luxury, it’s a necessity. Proper self-care through diet, exercise and anti-stress treatments is the foundation for a headache-free life.

Yoga: Let It Go

Perhaps the reason that yoga has been around for so long is the fact that it works. These select poses are excellent for stopping a headache in its tracks, or for just winding down at the end of the day. Make them a go-to activity when you are feeling overwhelmed and stressed out, and listen to what your body really needs.

* Eagle arms – a gentle stretch across your upper back and shoulders; extend your arms in front of you, palms facing down; cross your right arm over the left, then bend your elbows; bring your palms together facing each other; breathe deeply for several minutes

* Child’s pose – quiets the mind and releases tension; kneel and sit back on the heels of your feet; lay forward over your knees and let your head touch the floor; let your shoulders spread over your legs and rest your arms at your sides; breathe deeply for several minutes

* Legs up the wall – deeply relaxing for circulatory and nervous systems; lay on your back with your feet resting above you on a wall; walk your feet up the wall and scoot up so your legs lay flat against the wall and rest your lower back and glutes flat on the floor; breathe deeply for several minutes, breathing deeply but gently

Treatment

When a tension headache strikes, you may not be able to drop what you are doing and run to your favorite spa, but there are several things you can do at home on a regular basis that keep stress levels low. These are perfect to follow up your nightly yoga and breathing exercises, which will allow your body to rest better and be less vulnerable to the stresses of the day.

* Essential oils – eucalyptus, lavender, peppermint, rosemary – apply to temples and back of neck

* Cold / heat therapy – use cold packs on the pain and hot packs on tense shoulders and neck for up to twenty minutes each

* Baths – end your day by sinking into a hot tub with a cup of Epsom salts added and let your stress go down the drain

* Massage – frequent massage to the neck, shoulders and back of head reduces daily tension

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