Help for Headaches

By incorporating yoga into your life, you can reduce the severity and frequency of painful episodes, or ease an ache as soon as it starts.

By Jennifer Pirtle

Although no formal scientific studies exist in the West that directly link yoga with headache relief, it has been proven that progressive muscle relaxation, meditation, and focusing on the breath—activities at the heart of most yoga practices—can bring about a state of deep rest in the body that changes the physical and emotional responses to stress. Nearly four decades ago, Herbert Benson, M.D., professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and the founder, in 1988, of the Mind Body Medical Institute in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, correctly surmised that just as stimulating an area of the hypothalamus can cause the stress response, activating other areas of the brain can reduce the stress response, slowing the heart rate and bringing the body back into restorative mode.

This reaction, known as the "relaxation response," has been used effectively in treatment programs for cardiac disease, chronic pain, insomnia, premenstrual syndrome, infertility, the symptoms of cancer, and depression. It is also thought to be at the heart of headache relief. "The problems with neurotransmitters are very important to the onset of headaches," says Richard Usatine, M.D., professor and vice chair of family medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center in San Antonio and coauthor (with Larry Payne) of Yoga Rx: A Step-by-Step Program to Promote Health, Wellness, and Healing for Common Ailments (Broadway, 2002). "Given that yoga does truly affect the nervous system by increasing the relaxation response," he adds, "it's not a far leap to say that it can affect neurotransmitters in the brain."

Tackling Tension

Although neurotransmitter imbalance may indeed be a catalyst, some experts believe that muscular tension and postural problems often exacerbate the pain. Simply paying attention to posture can go a long way toward preventing strain in the forehead, temples, shoulders, and back of the head. Indeed, a study (published in the journal Cephalalgia) of 60 women ages 25 to 40 found that those with headaches had a significantly different head posture, plus less strength and endurance in their upper cervical flexors, the muscles that allow the neck to bend.

Something as simple as practicing Tadasana (Mountain Pose) can help eliminate bad habits and serve as a reminder to lift the head up and away from the shoulders rather than crunching it into the neck. If the head is thrust forward, gently sliding the chin toward the throat until the ears and shoulders line up will bring it into a more neutral position.

Stretching and strengthening the muscles in the upper torso can also help relieve tension in the neck and head. Adho Mukha Svanasana (Downward-Facing Dog Pose), the mainstay of hatha yoga practices, accomplishes this balance most efficiently. But although some instructors and texts (including B.K.S. Iyengar's Light on Yoga) suggest inverted asanas as part of a headache sequence, many headache-prone people find an inversion even as simple as Downward Dog uncomfortable, due to the increased sense of pressure in the head. Ardha Adho Mukha Svanasana (Half Downward-Facing Dog or Right Angle Pose) provides many of the same benefits without allowing the head to fall below the heart.

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