Headaches can have a variety of triggers, from stress to dehydration or sinus congestion, allergies and everything in between. While some take medicines for pain relief, there are many personalized methods that have proven to be effective. Employing relaxation techniques for headache relief, for instance, has been proven to be effective and certainly less harmful than medications. Meditation, deep breathing, and progressive muscle relaxation are some of the methods experts recommend as means to find solace from a throbbing head.
Understanding the headache
According to experts, the first step in employing relaxation techniques for headache relief is to understand the headache you are going through. Since headaches can happen because of a variety of factors, understanding the reason for the pain is essential when choosing an effective relaxation technique.
“Mostly headaches have two causes, which can be neurological or gastric because the stomach plays a crucial role in various bodily processes,” says Vishweshwar Hegde, a mindful leadership coach from Bengaluru. “Whatever the physiological cause, our minds have a significant impact on the pain we experience. In fact, about 80% of diseases are now recognized by modern medicine to be psychosomatic. Our body can naturally heal various ailments we experience when our body’s hormone and enzyme synthesis, metabolism, neuroplasticity of the brain, and other processes are functioning properly. All these physiological functions can be enhanced by relaxation techniques,” he adds.
While analgesic medicine (medicines for pain relief) ensures temporary relief from your headache, systematic practice of relaxation techniques can eradicate the root causes and find a permanent solution.
Relaxation techniques for headache relief
♦ Deep breathing: Deep breathing helps to reduce headaches by encouraging relaxation and lowering stress, a factor leading to onset of headaches. It involves taking slow, deliberate breaths that are usually followed by an extended exhalation.
“The only thing that unites our mind and body and places us in the present moment is breathing,” says Dr Nutan Pakhare, a Mumbai-based ayurveda and yoga consultant. “Most of the time, we are barely aware of our breathing pattern. Deep breathing methods can help us become mindful of our breathing and detached from the stressor or trigger that causes headache.”
♦ Meditation: You focus on your thoughts when you meditate like how you focused on your breathing during deep breathing. Meditation involves finding an object or point to focus upon sitting quietly, observing the breath, thoughts, or feelings, and fostering mindfulness.
“During meditation, you can focus on anything from your thumb to a dot on a blank wall,” says Dr Pakhare. “You can choose whatever is convenient and comfortable for you and then pay attention over there. By encouraging relaxation and lowering stress, it enables you to become disassociated from the triggers that cause stress-induced headaches.”
♦ Progressive muscle relaxation: Progressive muscle relaxation is the process of gradually tensing and relaxing different muscular groups to relieve tension and encourage peace of mind. The technique indirectly addresses the psychological and physical factors that contribute to headaches by reducing muscle tension.
Consistency key in managing headaches
Consistency is vital while practising relaxation techniques to yield the best results.
“Our nervous and endocrine systems, hormone levels, and cell division (the process by which the body creates new cells) benefits from mindful practices. When you consistently practice any of it, your entire body’s mechanisms become tuned to it and produce effective results even when you do it in a stressful situation,” says Hegde.
Dr Pakhare suggests picking one from the various techniques and repeating it multiple times a week for people who do not have time to practice it on a regular basis.
“For those who lack time to use relaxation techniques daily, practicing them at least two or three times a week is good, considering regularity is crucial for better outcomes. You can also choose one specific technique that is convenient for you and can repeat it,” adds Dr Pakhare.
Takeaways
- While there are many ways to deal with headache, relaxation techniques help with headache relief by promoting mindfulness.
- Experts advise using techniques like deep breathing, meditation, and progressive muscle relaxation to alleviate headaches.
- While relaxation techniques address the underlying causes of problems and offer solutions, it is important to practice them consistently for effective and sustained outcomes.
