Next time your head starts to ache, instead of popping a pill, use your body as a natural healer. You can do the following pain-relieving moves anywhere…and these techniques often works faster than drugs…

Bite your tongue: Stick out your tongue about one-half inch, and bite down as hard as you comfortably can…continue for five minutes.

Press these healing acupoints: Using your fingers, thumbs or knuckles, press the muscles just under the base of your skull. At the same time, slowly tilt your head back so that the angle of your head relaxes these muscles. Press forward (toward your throat), upward (underneath the base of your skull) and slightly inward, angling the pressure toward the center of your brain. Continue to apply pressure for two minutes, breathing slowly and deeply.

Get a little help from a friend: Ask your partner or a friend to slowly move one thumb down the right side of your back, heading from your shoulder blade toward your waist and stopping to exert steady pressure for one minute on any tender spots.

Swing away the pain: Hand swinging redirects blood flow away from your head, relieving the pressure on artery walls that have contracted with tension. This exercise also releases endorphins—the body’s own natural morphine—helping to ease pain. What to do: Extend both arms out in front of you, then relax and let your arms swing naturally back behind you. Keep swinging your arms back and forth like this in an easy pendulum-like rhythm at least 100 times. Just be sure you’re an arms-length away from any furniture when you work your pendulum.

Caution: If headaches recur regularly or are severe, seek professional medical help.

Related Articles