Yoga and Simple Lifestyle Tips to Calm Your Aching Head

A headache isn’t always a pain in the temple region of the head. Sometimes, it includes pain in the face and the upper neck as well. In fact, Ayurveda recognizes eleven types of headaches and prescribes different treatments for all of them.

The imbalance of vata and kapha is the main cause of headaches. Mental strain or excessive work, irregular eating habits, indigestion, and eating too many dry foods can aggravate vata. This gets hindered in the head region by kapha, which leads to a headache.

Regular pranayama (meditation) and the following asanas help relieve headaches.

Shavasana – the corpse pose

Lie flat on your backs with the heels spread apart.
Place the arms a few inches away from the body.
Palms facing upwards.
Breath slowly and deeply. Hold the position for 5 -10 mins.

Viparita Karani - Legs-up-the-wall pose

Sit on the floor with your hips touching the wall.
Lean back and lie down flat on the floor. Extend your legs up on the wall.
Your legs and belly should be at 90-degree angle.
Hold the position for 5-10 mins.

Apart from yoga, consider the following suggestions to relieve headaches:

Bowel movements should be regular and natural urges shouldn’t be ignored
Resting in a quiet and dark room is soothing.
Skipping meals and excessive dieting should be avoided.
Reduce anxiety, anger, worry, and stress.
Abhyanga (daily massage) is recommended
The panchakarma therapy of vamana (supervised vomiting) is beneficial in relieving headaches.

If you’ve been suffering from headaches for too long, it could be indicative of other disorders. Therefore, it’s recommended that you to consult a Jiva doctor and have the problem looked at. Dial 0129-4040404 or click on ‘Speak to a Doctor’ under the CONNECT tab in Jiva Health App.