Breathwork for Headaches:Use Your Breath to Relieve Pain Naturally
Because stress and tension are often contributors to headaches, relaxation techniques can be helpful in reducing or relieving the pain. Breathwork is one of the best overall relaxation techniques. Below is a breathing technique that will allow you to turn off your stress response, relax, and reduce pain.
2. Breathe deeply-- all the way into the lower third of your lungs. Your belly should expand when you breathe in and return to normal when you breathe out. Place your hands flat on your belly to make sure that it expands as you inhale and contracts as you exhale. 3. Breathe evenly, in a nice, smooth rhythm. Smoothing out your breathing relaxes you and helps you feel grounded. You can count your breaths to help you keep the rhythm even. (Unless it makes you tense up to count--in that case, just estimate.) 4. After you've got the rhythm of your breath nice and even, slow down the exhale in comparison to the inhale, to super-charge the relaxation response. Breathe in for a certain number of counts, say 6 (or whatever is comfortable for you), then breathe out for approximately twice as many counts. Do this for a minute or so. (As before, if it makes you tense up to count, then just estimate.) If at any time you start to feel dizzy or faint, you can either return to your normal breathing for a while, slow down your exhale, or lengthen the natural pause between your inhale and your exhale. Caution: Because breathwork can make you light-headed, do not do breathing exercises while driving or operating heavy machinery.
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