wellness

Why Yoga is the Ultimate Remedy for Headaches and Neck Pain

24 Feb
Every one of us shares the common feeling of neck tightening and a pounding head that just wouldn’t go away. Painkillers are easy to fall into for relief, but what if it could have been done another way—a better, holistic way? What if your discomfort were reduced and entirely avoided? Here comes yoga—yoga for migraines or headache relief yoga; there’s a treatment for headaches and neck pain that no longer needs any scientific justifications.

This article will also look into a few ways in which yoga can take action on common problems such as migraines to appease and eliminate their sources. Prepare yourself for a journey through the swirling science of yoga for headaches and neck pain, mindful movement, and breathing exercises that transform your body and mind.

Reclaim Your Posture, Relieve Your Pain

Modern life is very deft in keeping our corporeal structure misaligned. Long hours spent hunched over desks or into cell phones create perfectly slumped shoulders and taut necks—a rich environment for headaches and some other perpetually painful sensations such as migraines.

The magic of yoga is only found in its alignment and balance. Each asana or posture is extended in gentle stretching, strengthening, and realignment of the body, which restores natural posture and relieves pent-up tension. As per a study published in the Journal of Pain Research, yoga practitioners were found to show significant changes in posture and pain relief, most especially for neck and shoulder pain. Yoga has been shown to open and align the spine. Relieving tension is usually created by poor posture by engaging the muscles that cause poor posture in the first place.

Tension, Be Gone! A Secrete Of Headache Relief Yoga

The primary reason behind headaches and neck pain is tight muscles. Stress, overuse, or inactivity cause the muscles to tense up in the neck and upper back, which will eventually lead to constant pain. Yoga helps because it involves slow, deliberate stretching that relaxes muscles for release and recovery.

The Science: Yoga has both immediate and long-term effects on anxiety reduction. 4. Furthermore, a study published in The Clinical Journal of Pain revealed that frequent participants reduced the severity and occurrence of tension-type headaches compared with controls. Such differences were likely due to reductions in muscle stiffness combined with improved overall neck mobility with practice. Those yoga classes are gentle yet effective at loosening tender knots often implicated in pain, leaving you feeling lighter and more at ease. Following migraine yoga poses can ease anxiety and help in treating headaches

Savasana: Yoga For Headaches And Neck Pain (Corpse Pose):

  • Lie flat on your back with your arms relaxed at your sides.
  • Close your eyes and focus on your breath.
  • Stay in this pose for 5-10 minutes.

Guided Meditation: Yoga For Migraines:

  • Use a guided meditation focused on pain relief or relaxation.
  • Apps or online resources can help with this.

Breathe Your Way to Headache Relief Yoga

The breath is forgotten, but suffering is not so much suffering if it is connected with maintaining the right and steady breath. As short and rapid breath increases stress and tension, such an increase of stress or tension can make the pain more acute. Yoga for headaches and neck pain teaches deep, diaphragmatic, pranayama breath to calm the nervous system and elicit relaxation responses in the body for pain relief.
The Science: International Journal of Yoga states that deep breathing exercise greatly reduces the intensity and frequency of headaches. Sensible, slow breathing increases oxygen flow to the brain, relaxes the mind, and decreases some physical stress that augments the occurrence of pain.
Breathing Techniques Or Yoga For Migraines (Pranayama):

Diaphragmatic Breathing

  • Sit or lie comfortably.
  • Put one hand on your chest and the other on your abdomen.
  • Deeply inhale through your nose, expand your abdomen, and exhale slowly.
  • Practice this for 5 minutes.

Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breathing):

  • Sit comfortably with a straight spine.
  • Close your right nostril with your right thumb and breathe in through your left nostril.
  • Close your left nostril with your ring finger, open your right one, and inhale.
  • Then, repeat the whole process, concentrating on your breath slowly and evenly for 5-7 cycles.

Boost Blood Flow and Nourish Your Neck and Head

Unfortunately, when the pain comes, you would not imagine anything of circulation. However, reduced blood supply to the brain and neck can further aggravate headache symptoms. Yoga makes circulation dynamic through the motions and inversions, allowing free flow of blood to these regions and hence healing.
The Science: The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine has included a study detailing how some yoga postures, particularly child pose and cat-cow stretch, increase circulation, with the effect being stronger at the head and neck. Thus, increased circulation nourishes tissues, and leads to reduced inflammation, and can, therefore, help significantly with neck pain and headache relief.
The Best Migraine Yoga Poses :

Child’s Pose (Balasana)

  • Take a kneeling position on the floor, sit back on your heels, and extend your arms forward.
  • Hold for 1-3 minutes while breathing deeply.

Cat-Cow Stretch (Marjaryasana-Bitilasana)

  • Start on your hands and begin by positioning yourself on your hands and knees. And lift your spine. (Cow Pose).
  • Exhale, round your spine, and tuck your chin (Cat Pose).
  • Flow gently between the poses for 1-2 minutes.

Evidence You Can Trust

Yoga helps relieve headaches as well as neck pain; then again, it is not just a theoretical conclusion but is strongly supported by research evidence. A systematic review published in The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews revealed that regularly using yoga is an effective treatment for chronic musculoskeletal pain conditions, of which neck pain and headaches constitute some. In fact, research published in The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine found that individuals who practice yoga regularly would have a 40–50% less frequent occurrence of headaches.

Conclusion

According to decades of sound scientific evidence, yoga is not only practiced as a fitness regime; it is an entire lifestyle that offers you an active way to manage your health. The next time a headache is brewing, or your neck begins to stiffen, try a few mindful yoga postures and breathing exercises instead of taking a pill. Your body and mind will thank you.

References

  1. Anava A. Wren, Melissa A. Wright, James W. Carson, and Francis J. Keefe, Yoga for persistent pain: New findings and directions for an ancient practice, PAIN®, Volume 152, Issue 3, 2011, Pages 477-480, ISSN 0304-3959, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pain.2010.11.017. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0304395910007025)
  2. Effects of Yoga on Musculoskeletal Pain. Angela L. Monson, Aubreé M. Chismark, Brigette R. Cooper, Trisha M. Krenik-Matejcek, American Dental Hygienists’ Association, Apr 2017, 91 (2) 15-22;
  3. The International Journal of Indian Psychology ISSN 2348-5396 (e) ISSN: 2349-3429 (p) Volume 4, Issue 1, No. 76, DIP: 18.01.002/20160476 ISBN: 978-93-86162-13-7 http://www.ijip.in October, 2016
  4. Gururaja, Derebail; Harano, Kaori 1; Toyotake, Ikenaga 2; Kobayashi, Haruo. Effect of yoga on mental health: Comparative study between young and senior subjects in Japan. International Journal of Yoga 4(1):p 7-12, Jan–Jun 2011. | DOI: 10.4103/0973-6131.78173

Back to list
Older The Role of Yoga in Boosting Immunity During Flu Season

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

fourteen + 9 =