8 Quick & Effective Exercises For Chronic Migraine Headache Relief
Cure your chronic migraines with your own two hands!
Getty Are you tired of suffering from chronic migraines?
You may think you’ve tried everything, but I bet you haven’t tried one of the easiest (and free!) holistic techniques available for getting rid of those painful headaches naturally — Energy Medicine exercises.
What is Energy Medicine and how does it work?
Here is the definition offered by David Feinstein, Ph.D., a thought leader in the field of Energy Healing therapies:
"Conventional medicine, at its foundation, focuses on the biochemistry of cells, tissue, and organs. Energy Medicine, at its foundation, focuses on the energy fields of the body that organize and control the growth and repair of cells, tissue, and organs. Changing impaired energy patterns may be the most efficient, least invasive way to improve the vitality of organs, cells, and psyche."
Changing impaired energy patterns is the most effective path to healing because you are working directly on the root cause of the imbalance, whether it has manifested in a physical or emotional way.
Once proper alignment and balance has been restored to the energy patterns, your physical, emotional and spiritual health can also be restored.
If this sounds too good to be true, give it a try and see for yourself. But remember, doing something once isn’t going to change a chronic pattern.
You should expect to put some effort into this, and practice these exercises for at least two to four weeks before you make a judgment call about whether or not they work. That may sound like a lot of time to invest, but if it gets rid of your chronic pounding headaches, it will be well worth it!
Now, let’s begin!
Here's how to get rid of chronic migraine headache using are the 8 best Energy Medicine exercises.
I've outlined each exercise below, and estimated how long it should take, along with photographs and this video of the full sequence.
Important notes before you begin:
- Chronic headaches are often the result of a chronic, elevated stress level, so rushing through these exercises on a five-minute break will give you a totally different experience, and likely a different result, than if you make the time to go through them calmly and mindfully.
- As you go through them, take advantage of the opportunity to notice your breath, and intentionally take slower, deeper breaths while you move through the exercises, breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth.
- Be sure to notice how your body responds. Did you involuntary sigh or yawn? Does your body seem to soften and relax? These are all positive signs that energy is releasing and rebalancing!
1. 8’s Around The Eyes
This exercise calms and soothes your system by releasing the excessive build-up of energy around the eyes and in the head. This is particularly good for people who spend a significant amount of time staring at a computer screen.
Using either hand, draw slow figure 8s around your eyes. Breathe.
Continue for about three minutes.
2. The Vagus Nerve Hold
This easy technique calms the vagus nerve, which in turn calms the nervous system and the stress response.
Hold both sides of the neck, up to the base of the mastoid bone (the bone around the back of the ear), bringing the base of the palms together in front of the neck.
Hold for two minutes.
3. Throat to Ear Stress Reducer
This hold also calms the vagus nerve, and directly targets the Triple Warmer Meridian, which governs the body’s stress response.
Hold one had over either ear on same side of body being sure to cover the mastoid bone behind the ear, and hold the other hand over the notch at the base of the throat.
After about three minutes, switch sides and hold for another three minutes.
4. Belly To Soft Spot Hook-Up
This quick hook-up soothes the nervous system and moves energy along the central channel.
Make a three-finger notch with each hand, combining the thumb, index and middle fingers. Place one three-finger notch about one inch below your belly button, and the other at the top of your head on the soft spot.
Breathe and hold for about one minute.
5. The Occiput Hold
This hold hooks into the nervous system and the body’s electrical energy system, and will seal in the soothing effects of the last few exercises.
Move the middle finger of the hand that was holding below your belly button into the belly button and push in and pull up. Now move the other hand from the baby soft spot to the occiput (body ridge at the base of the skull), and flatten the palm along the occiput (i.e., the back and lower part of the skull).
Hold both hands in these positions for about one minute.
6. Circle the Neck
This simple neck massage helps move stuck energy in the neck and relieve tension headaches.
With both hands, rub the pads of the fingers in circles just below the occipital ridge at the back of the head, working your way out from the center to the sides. Then, continue down the neck in the same manner, rubbing in circles from the center out to the sides, working your way down to the bottom of the neck.
This takes about 30 seconds.
7. The Homo-lateral Crossover
This is one of my all time favorite exercises, and one of the most life-changing when it’s done consistently. In fact, here’s a testimonial by a woman who used this to rid herself of chronic migraines! This exercise works on a crossover pattern in the energy field which is the essential pattern of movement of energy. Simply put, stuck energy creates discomfort, pain, inflammation and growths. Energy that is moving feels good.
If you want your energy to move well throughout your entire body, this exercise will create solid patterns to support that movement.
Begin by marching in place, bringing your hand to your knee on each side as you do. Count twelve steps. Stop, turn your palms parallel to the ground and take a deep breath in and out.
Now, march in place for twelve counts again, but this time twist at the waist and bring your had to your opposite knee. Imagine that you are literally pulling the energy in your field from one side of your body to the other. After a count of twelve, stop, turn your palms parallel to the ground and take a deep breath.
At this point you’ve completed one full round!
Do two more rounds and finish with a final round of twelve steps bringing the hand across to the opposite knee. Turn palms toward the floor once more and take a final deep breath.
This exercise takes about three minutes.
8. The Crown Pull
This exercise releases built up mental energy in the head, and opens the crown chakra so that you are more open to higher thought, inspiration, and spiritual experiences!
Begin by bringing your hands to your hairline, fingers meeting in the center of the top of your forehead. On a deep inhale, push your fingertips into your head with firm pressure, then on the exhale, pull your fingers apart, about an inch down on either side.
Continue over the top and down the back of the head and neck. When you reach your shoulders, squeeze the muscles of the shoulders on the inhale, and drag your fingers to the front of the body on the exhale.
This exercise takes about 30 seconds.
That's it! This entire routine will likely take around 20 minutes to complete.
You can go as slowly or as quickly as you like while you do the exercises, but I strongly suggest that you stick with the recommended times. As you become more accustomed to the exercises you will move through them more quickly and can cut back the times of some of the longer holds.
Congratulations. You’ve taken a positive first step in learning how to change your own health by changing your energetic patterns.
In the world of energy healing, persistence pays. If you stick with it, you’re bound to experience changes!
If you’d like to start working on your overall energy patterns with a daily routine that supports healthy immune balance and overall wellness and vitality, try Donna Eden’s Daily Routine.
Paige Apgar is an Eden Energy Medicine Advanced Practitioner and a Certified Transformational Life Coach who works with clients over Skype and in person to help them reclaim their vibrant, healthy glow and connect to their soul’s purpose. For a full evaluation of your energy systems and specific challenges you experience, find an Energy Medicine practitioner in your area or find out about distance work by visiting her website or contacting her via email.