Migraines can be severely painful, and often debilitating for a lot of people. In this post, we’ll take a closer look at some of the underlying causes behind the condition, how it can impact different internal systems, and also how to cure migraine headaches with the techniques of yoga and meditation.

Headaches & the Human Body

The human nervous system is an extremely complex and intricate network, which governs every single stimulus that we experience in our daily lives. Given how nuanced the system is, disruptions to it naturally results in different ailments and disorders – headaches being the most common of the lot.

While headaches that most of us suffer in our daily lives are fairly innocuous, migraines bring with them a deeper level of discomfort and underlying imbalance. Migraines are often lifelong afflictions and can affect people in varying degrees of frequency and severity. Before we look at how to cure migraine headaches, let’s examine some of the common causes and symptoms associated with the condition.

Causes and Symptoms of Migraine Headache

• Recurring attacks, from once a year to once a week
• Throbbing headaches affect one side of the head more severely than the other
• This can lead to nausea and vomiting
• More common in women by a factor of 2:1 in women, due to hormonal influences

There are so many conditions for which doctors have yet to identify a singular cause, and migraines are no different. However, we do know that the symptoms of migraine headache are broadly brought on by disruptions to the nervous or circulatory systems, or chemical or blood flow imbalances in the brain.

People may also have specific triggers which cause migraines. These triggers are typically sensory stimuli, such as bright lights and sun glare, or strong smells like perfumes or secondhand smoke.

Furthermore, with around 14.7% of the global population estimated to be suffering from migraines, there is evidently a widespread need for effective migraine relief solutions.

How to cure Migraine Headaches with Yoga & Meditation

While migraine patients need to live with the condition their whole lives, there are certain remedies they can explore that can provide them with a modicum of comfort in their daily lives. Yoga for migraine relief, combined with different meditation techniques, can help keep these painful headaches at bay, and in some cases, possibly provide patients with a clear direction on how to cure migraine headaches altogether.

Restoring Balance to Bodily Systems

Systems in our bodies are very intricately connected, and sometimes, even the slightest of imbalances can be a migraine trigger for some people. The cardiac system is especially delicate, and there are a number of different congenital as well as lifestyle factors that could cause disruptions in its regular function.

These disruptions can in turn affect overall circulation, restricting the proper flow of blood to the brain, resulting in migraines. In some instances, simple yoga postures can prove to be the best treatment for migraine. They help to strengthen the cardiovascular and circulatory systems in the body, restoring their regular balance, and provide tangible migraine relief.

Balancing the Nervous System

Dysfunction in the nervous system is often cited as another potential cause for migraines – in simpler terms, it could be labelled as “faulty wiring” in the network or nerves within the body. The autonomous nervous is especially disadvantaged by this, as it functions in the background, with no direct control from the individual.

The imbalance in this system can result in it becoming hypersensitive to external stimuli, causing it to react adversely, and consequently trigger migraines. Yoga for migraine relief, combined with meditation techniques for high-awareness relaxation, can go a long way towards reducing these occurrences, by helping to stabilize and bolster the autonomic nervous system.

Alleviating Stress & Anxiety

High levels of stress can also be a significant migraine trigger for many people. In the modern age, stress is a tremendous factor for a lot of people, both young and old. The extreme pace of daily life contributes to this significantly, and this has been further compounded in recent times by the fallout of the global pandemic.

Cortisol, a stress hormone, the primary driver of stress in the body, can be limited effectively through the use of yoga poses for headache relief as well as meditation techniques such as visualization and breathwork, thus alleviating symptoms of stress, and reducing the chances of it acting as a trigger for a migraine.

Yoga for Migraine Relief can Supplement Medical Intervention

There may be severe cases, where migraine relief requires prescribed medical attention. For these patients, physiological relief may not be enough, and the problem may require pharmaceutical intervention at a deeper level, to properly get to the root of the problem.

However, a recent study found that yoga and meditation for migraine relief are still relevant to the conversation, and can be a very effective supplement to medical care. And needless to say, building a long-term yoga routine is the best way for people to get the most out of their practice.

Now that we’ve broadly seen how to cure migraine headaches with yoga and meditation, let’s take a closer look at specific yoga poses for headache relief which you can incorporate into your daily exercise routine.

Useful Yoga Poses for Headache Relief

• The Standing Forward Bend helps to stretch the entire range of muscles in the spinal column, enhancing blood flow throughout the nervous system, and helping to alleviate the levels of stress in the body.
• The Bridge Pose helps to lift the heart to a position above the head, which can help to increase blood flow to the brain. This also eases tension in the shoulders, neck and upper back.
• The Child’s Pose helps to activate various pressure points with the forehead touching the ground. It also helps to open up the spine, leading to a greater sense of relaxation in the upper body, and can ease the throbbing pain in the side of the head.

These three simple yoga can help set you on the path towards building a regular routine to help you manage the symptoms of migraine headaches more effectively.

Ultimately, people who have migraine problems need to battle this condition for their entire lives. But that’s not to say they necessarily need to suffer from them the whole way. Yoga & meditation can very much be part of the best treatment for migraine relief and can provide people with a natural and sustainable solution, to ensure that the condition does not hamper their daily lives in any way.