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Certain yoga postures are beneficial for certain kinds of headaches. Sinus, for example, which often causes headache, may be greatly benefited by Sirshasana, the headstand.
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By Swami Kriyananda
Certain yoga postures are beneficial for certain kinds of headaches. Sinus, for example, which often causes headache, may be greatly benefited by Sirshasana, the headstand.
Headaches caused by impurities in the blood may be overcome by deep yogic breathing, feeling the air coming up close to the brain, cooling it. Sitali Pranayama may also prove helpful in such cases. (Fold up the partially protruded tongue. Press the lips round the tongue. Inhale, making a hissing noise. Hold breath and exhale through both nostrils.)
It may help you to stimulate energy in the brain by rapping the skull all over with the knuckles, drawing energy mentally from the medulla oblongata. You may also rub the scalp briskly, stirring up energy in the cells while affirming, "Awake, my sleeping children, wake!"
Yogis say that long hair draws more energy to the brain. They describe the body as an inverted tree of which the spine is the trunk, the nervous system the branches, and the hair the roots. This is why many yogis let their hair grow long.
There are pressure points on the skull that can be felt, subjectively. On the sides, these points are located about an inch above the ears. In the forehead, the pressure point is in the middle of the forehead. In the back, it is about an inch above the depression at the base of the skull. Ask someone to find these pressure points on your head, and press inward upon them with the heels of his palms (or with his fingers). This helps overcome certain headaches. The person should feel, as he presses, that he is forcing the pain up through the top of the head and out of your body.
Headaches are often caused by alimentary disturbances such as constipation. The stomach should be kept clear and functioning well, for the sake not only of the stomach, but the head and the whole body too.
Many headaches are due to pressure on the nerves in the neck. A chiropractic adjustment may sometimes be indicated, but a variety of yoga postures may serve the purpose as well. Specifically recommended are: Halasana (Plow pose); Sarvangasana (shoulder stand); Bhujangasana (Cobra pose); Chakrasana (circle pose); Matsyasana (Fish pose); Supta-Vajrasana (supine firm pose); and the first position of Sasamgasana (Hare pose).
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