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

Beyond general deep breathing, specific pranayama techniques can be useful in easing headache pain and reducing the anxiety that often accompanies it. Catherine Slaton uses Nadi Shodhana (alternate-nostril breathing) to calm her, inhaling and exhaling alternately through the left and right nostrils and using the fingers to gently block the air flow.

Kathy Livingston uses deep and lightly audible Ujjayi Pranayama (Victorious Breath) to take her mind off the pain. And Bell recommends Sitali Pranayama (Cooling Breath), which features an inhalation with curled tongue, followed by a warming Ujjayi exhalation. (See "All Fired Up?," for instructions.) "This technique works because it forces the body to slow down on the exhalation," Bell says. "This has a very meditative, quieting quality."

In the end, all the methods described in this article should be viewed as tools in an ongoing headache prevention plan. If one of them doesn't work, try another—and another—until you find the right mix. Above all, be willing to experiment, and trust yourself to discover an approach that works for you.

Hidden Triggers

While yoga can be a useful part of any treatment program, it's important to consider all the possible contributors to headaches. Some factors are unalterable, such as genetics—people with a family history of headaches are likely to suffer from them, according to Stephen Silberstein, M.D., professor of neurology and director of the Jefferson Headache Center at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia. Gender is another factor: 75 percent of adult migraine sufferers are female. Fluctuations in estrogen levels are partly to blame, says Christine Lay, M.D., director of the Women's Comprehensive Headache Center at Roosevelt Hospital in New York. Women are hit hardest two or three days before their menstrual cycle, when estrogen levels drop; those using birth control pills may also be more vulnerable.

Other factors, however, are changeable. Consider the 10 to 15 percent of the headache population who react to substances in certain foods. Nitrate and sodium nitrite, two preservatives often found in luncheon meats, hot dogs, pepperoni, and salami, can be triggers, as can monosodium glutamate (MSG). Artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame—an ingredient found in certain chewing gums, diet sodas, and weight-loss powders—bother some people; others react badly to tyramine, a substance found in aged cheeses, sour cream, pickled herring, yeast extracts, Chianti, and yogurt.

Other catalysts include disrupted sleep, skipped meals, dehydration, and lack of exercise. To find out which may affect you, keep a headache diary for several weeks and share the results with your doctor. Note the severity of the headaches, the dates of your menstrual cycles, your sleep schedule, what you eat and drink, and any medications (both prescription and over-the-counter), alternative remedies, and dietary supplements you use, along with anything else you feel relevant. (You can download a printable headache diary at www.achenet.org/resources/diary.php.)

Jennifer Pirtle writes about health, fitness, and nutrition for Health, Fitness, Woman's Day, and many other publications.

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