Holistic headache helpers: six natural, drug-free ways to beat headache pain right now and prevent it in the future

IF MISERY LOVES COMPANY, THEN headaches throw one heck of a party. In attendance: the 45 million Americans who endure migraine, tension, and sinus headaches on a regular basis. Whether they last a few minutes or a few days, headaches interfere with your work, distance you from your friends and family, and drain the joy out of your activities. According to the American Council for Headache Education, the discomfort can be triggered by stress, emotions, foods, pollution, noise, light, odors, changes in the weather, infections, hormone fluctuations--in other words, life.

Medical science offers a host of drugs to treat headaches, with varying levels of success (and risks). But there are other options for those of us who want to avoid or reduce our reliance on pharmaceuticals. These alternatives--which encompass changes in the way we move, eat, and live--will not only lessen the pain of a headache once it's started, but may keep it from happening in the first place. If you get headaches, consider these six natural approaches.

1

aromatherapy

FOR NEAR-INSTANT, LOW-IMPACT RELIEF, just follow your nose. According to Michele A. Miller, president of the National Association for Holistic Aromatherapy, inhaling the essential oils listed below will generally ease headache pain within 20 minutes. It's easy to do yourself: Just add one or two drops to a bowl of hot water and inhale. You can use a single essential oil, or create a blend of two or three.

Eucalyptus: Great for treating sinus headaches, this uplifting oil stimulates the respiratory system.

Sweet Marjoram: Calming to the nervous system. It's Miller's No. 1 remedy for tension headaches.

Peppermint: A boon to migraine sufferers in search of cooling, refreshing relief. It can also be rubbed into the temples and back of the neck (but do a patch test on the inner elbow first to gauge skin sensitivity).

Geranium: The go-to treatment for hormone-related headaches, Miller says. As a bonus benefit, it relieves depression and emotional tension. One caveat: It's an anaphrodesiac.

Lavender: A good all-around stress reliever. Helps with insomnia, too.

2

yoga

"STRESS IS A MAJOR FACTOR in causing tension headaches," says Larry Payne, Ph.D., a Los Angeles-based yoga therapist and author of Yoga Rx: A Step-by-Step Program to Promote Health, Wellness, and Healing for Common Ailments. Yoga works by reducing the physical symptoms of stress, such as tight neck and shoulder muscles. You can use yoga as both a treatment for headache and as a preventive measure. Payne recommends starting with this simple sequence, which unwinds the upper quadrant of the body.

GET MORE HELP: The Yoga Alliance is a national organization that registers yoga teachers who have met its educational standards. To find a registered instructor, go to yogaalliance.org.

A Wing-and-a Prayer Sequence

1. Sit in an easy cross-legged position on the floor, or sit in a chair, with your hands in prayer position at the center of your chest.

2. Slowly inhale and extend your bands toward the ceiling, keeping your palms together and your eyes on your thumbs, straightening your elbows and tilting your head back.

3. Exhale and lower your hands to prayer position at your chest.

4. Inhale and fully extend your arms out to the sides, palms down.

5. Exhale, returning your hands to prayer position.

6. Repeat this sequence 8 to 10 times. Imagine your arms are wings, and that with each "flap" you're flying farther and farther away from your headache pain.

3

the feldenkrais method

CREATED BY AN ISRAELI PHYSICIST to ease the pain of his own knee injury, the Feldenkrais method helps people move in a free-flowing way that reduces joint pain, boosts flexibility, and expands range of motion. "A common type of headache is a tension headache, which is the result of tightening the neck muscles," says Sam Nelson, a certified Feldenkrais practitioner in Rochester, N.Y. "This tightness restricts the flow of blood to the brain, resulting in a headache."

Feldenkrais lessons teach you how to recognize the presence of excess tension, and release it through simple movement. As tension dissipates, vessels become less constricted, proper blood flow to the brain resumes, and pain disappears, Nelson explains. He designed this mini lesson to allay tension headaches, though it may even derail a migraine if you do it before nausea sets in. Don't use this method if you have a sinus headache--you'll feel worse, not better--and don't force any movements. Pause between exercises with the head in a neutral position. To finish, alternate looking up and down a few times. Slowly stand, then walk around for a minute.

Tilt your head back as far as it will comfortably go, and look up.

Hold the position and open your mouth; you may feel your head drop back a little.

Close you mouth. Repeat this sequence 2 more times, then return to neutral.

PAUSE

Tilt your head as far forward as it will comfortably go, ad look down.