Headaches that don't heal really make the activity disrupted. You may not be focused on work, lazy to do activities, and you want to sleep. To overcome this, you should not rush to take headache medication. Because, there are natural ways that are known to be effective in dealing with headaches, namely by practicing yoga. How to?
Simple yoga movements to deal with headaches
Lynn A. Anderson, Ph.D., a naturopathic expert as well as a certified yoga instructor, revealed to The Huffington Post that yoga practice can help reduce blood pressure and stress, the two main causes of headaches.
When you do yoga, deep, quiet breathing can help relax the muscles in your body that are tightened. Similarly, when you move your neck, shoulders and spine during yoga, this can make blood flow more smoothly.
As a result, the pain and stress that you feel is reduced. You also feel more relaxed and feel healthier than annoying headaches.
The following are yoga movements that can help deal with your headaches.
1. Cat pose (marjaryasana)
Yoga movements that are similar to the cat's posture can help smooth blood flow to the upper body. This can also relax the muscles of the back, shoulders, and neck that trigger headaches.
Start with all fours as shown above. Make sure your wrists are aligned straight below your shoulders and your fingers are wide open, while your knees are under your hips. Push your back up when exhaling, then pull your spine back to its original position while breathing.
2. Eagle pose (garudasana)
Try doing a yoga pose called eagle pose to deal with your headache. This simple movement is useful to relieve the upper body muscles that are tightened, especially on the shoulders.
First, find your most comfortable position by sitting cross-legged or sitting on a chair. Turn your arms as shown, then let your shoulder and hand muscles become more flexible and relaxed.
3. Seated forward bend (paschimottanasana)
Once the headache comes, try sitting on the floor and straighten your legs forward. Gently push your body forward and try to get your fingers to touch your toes. Make sure your knees are straight and not bent.
This method can help smooth blood flow to the heart. Because the heart must work very hard to pump blood and oxygen to the brain and upper body. The smoother the flow of blood to the heart, the smoother blood flow to the brain and to overcome your headaches.
4. Child’s pose (balasana)
This yoga pose is often the most eagerly awaited position when practicing in a yoga class. Because, this position is very good for resting the body for a moment between yoga exercises.
By doing child poses, you will reverse the gravitational force towards the top so that it pushes more oxygen to the neck, shoulders and back. That's why you can use this movement as a natural remedy to deal with stress, anxiety, and headaches.
5. Legs up the wall pose (viparita karani)
According to Anderson, this pose includes the best yoga movements to deal with anxiety. Positions that require you to raise your feet to the wall can help calm your mind and reduce fatigue.
Again, this is related to reversing the gravitational force so that blood flow to the brain becomes more smooth.
6. Knees-to-chest poses (apasana)
You can try this yoga movement by pulling the knee towards the chest and holding it for 30 to 60 seconds. During this pose, you are encouraged to take a deep breath so that the body becomes more relaxed.
This knees-to-chest pose serves to loosen the back muscles. Blood flow throughout the body becomes smoother, especially when you succeed in pulling and exhaling regularly and more calmly.
7. Seated spinal twist (Ardha Matsyendrasana)
Even though it looks complicated, in fact this one yoga pose saves a lot of benefits that are a pity to miss. Besides being able to deal with headaches, this yoga movement can help smooth the digestive system too, you know.
How to straighten your left leg forward, then cross your right leg to the side of your left foot. Align your right hand by touching the floor, while the left hand rests on the right knee. Repeat the same movement for the right foot.
8. Head to knee pose (janusirsasana)
Not many people know that this yoga pose can help with headaches. Because, head to knee poses can increase blood flow and stretch the muscles of the body that tightens.
The trick, bend your right leg to form a 90 degree angle, while the left leg is straightened. Push your back towards the left foot, and try to get your hands to touch your toes.
Hold this position for 60 seconds, then do the same with the right foot. When done regularly, you can feel more calm and energetic after doing this yoga.
9. Corpse pose (savasana)
Corpse poses might be your favorite yoga movement. Yes, you only need to lie down while taking a deep breath and close your eyes. It's easy and fun, right?
It's so easy, this pose is often a mainstay to calm the mind and body from excessive stress. By closing your eyes and regulating your breathing, you can help reduce the pressure on your head which causes dizziness.
10. Deep breathing (pranayama)
After doing a series of yoga movements above, don't forget to close your yoga session with deep breathing.
This movement regulates breathing makes more oxygen enter the body. The trick, lift your shoulders as high as possible when taking a deep breath, then relax your shoulders as calmly as possible when exhaling.
If you do these yoga movements for one minute each, you will feel your body more relaxed and refreshed. As a result, the pressure in your head becomes less and overcomes your headache.