Most everyone can tell you how unpleasant headaches can be and how they can quickly ruin your day. From minor headaches to migraines, headaches can definitely complicate your plans. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if there was a natural way to help ease these headaches and, at the same time, offer you a calmer and less stressed mind and body?
There are herbs that you can add to your daily regimen that will bring relief. CranioSacral therapy can also help you get rid of these painful occurrences by helping your body function more efficiently.
A few of the herbs that can help lessen headache pain and frequency include Feverfew, St. John’s Wort, Lavender, Skullcap, Valerian, and Holy Basil.
Feverfew is an herb that is mostly known for treating migraines, fever, and arthritis. With continued use this herb can actually stop migraines from happening. Feverfew can be bought as capsules, tablets, or liquid extracts. Feverfew should not be given to children under 2 years of age.
St. John’s Wort is widely known as a natural antidepressant. Through these same effects, headaches can be decreased as well. When we are tensed or stressed our muscles become more rigid and everything tenses up, sometimes causing a headache. By calming our nerves and helping our bodies more effectively deal with stress, we lessen our tension and hopefully decrease our headaches.
Lavender is a popular herb used to treat headaches and migraines. Combining lavender with lemon balm and skullcap can be very beneficial. Lavender tends to have a relaxing and stress relieving effect. It leaves you feeling calmer and better able to handle daily stressors. The essential oil of lavender is also very beneficial to treat headaches – just rub it on your temples or the back of your neck. Lavender oil combined with peppermint oil are two essential oils that work well together for treating headaches.
Skullcap is a powerful herbal nervine. Skullcap is great at reducing headaches that are from built up tension such as when your neck is constantly in spasm from chronic tight muscles. Skullcap soothes the entire central nervous system. It is widely known and used for headaches and nervous stress. By reducing our stress, our bodies can function more efficiently with less pain.
Valerian is excellent for insomnia, headaches, and easing pain. Many headaches can be caused by lack of sleep. Valerian, taken at bedtime, can help you get the much needed rest that you need to function more easily throughout the day. Its calming effects can help your nerves and lessen your stress which helps you let go of tension.
Holy basil is a great stress reducing herb. Holy basil is, in my opinion, one of the greatest herbs out there. Holy basil has many different beneficial properties. Not only is it great at reducing stress, it also has antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. It can be used as a pain reliever and a natural antidepressant. Holy basil helps immune function and may also have a lowering effect on blood sugar. For people with high cholesterol, holy basil may be helpful in lowering your triglycerides and your overall cholesterol. These are just a few of the many beneficial properties of holy basil.
These are only a handful of the herbs that can help you find pain relief and start to ease the mind numbing pain caused by headaches and migraines. This is in no way meant to replace your doctor’s recommendations. If you have any questions, please consult your natural health provider. Always follow dosage recommendations on the bottle or by contacting your natural health provider.
CranioSacral therapy (CST) is a great way to reduce and actually take away chronic headaches and/or migraines. There are many different causes of headaches and migraines. When your autonomic nervous system is interrupted in any way, it can produce a headache or migraine. When our bodies are stressed or tensed, head pain can result. If your cranial bones become restricted and have no way of letting go, pain will most likely result. It is through CranioSacral therapy that these restrictions can be released.
Restrictions anywhere in the body can be causing headaches. When one area in your body is tight or restricted, other areas are going to be affected as well. During a CranioSacral therapy session, your diaphragms, or specific places on your body, are evaluated to see if they are moving properly. If restrictions are felt in these areas, a Craniosacral therapist, like myself, will hold these areas and wait to feel the fascia become free and the cerebrospinal fluid start to flow more evenly. The therapist may also do a technique known as Regional Tissue Release. This is when one of your limbs is fully supported while the therapist follows the movement of your fascia while it goes through whatever movements it needs to go through to fully release. This can be any type of movement such as flexion, extension, abduction, or adduction. The therapist carefully and gently holds the body part and waits to feel a softening to know that the limb has finished releasing for the time being. After these releases are done, the cranial rhythm is usually much stronger and more even in the area. The area also often feels much lighter.
Tension in the neck can be causing a great deal of head pain. A regional tissue release can also be done on the neck. The client is asked to slide back so the head and shoulders are partially off of the table. The therapist fully supports their head and neck and waits for the fascial unwinding to begin. The regional tissue release on the neck is an amazing one to watch. The neck goes through many different rotations and movements until it goes back to the center and then slowly releases straight back, without any restrictions making it move in different directions.
Restrictions in the cranial bones themselves can cause a great deal of head pain. The cranial bones seem to have a ripple effect on each other - when one lets go, the other ones seem to have a much easier time of releasing. The cranial restrictions can differ depending on where your pain is usually located. During a treatment, all of your cranial bones should be evaluated to find out exactly what needs the most work. For example, a headache in the front of your head can be from a compressed frontal bone. When released, the fluid is able to flow through the area and the pain is usually lessened. I have found that people who have a characteristic migraine with a pain behind one or both eyes, usually have compressed frontal bones and their sinus points need to become unrestricted as well. By easing these points, the cerebrospinal fluid is able to flow easier through your cranium and processes within your body can be carried out more efficiently.
I have chosen to not get too deeply into the anatomy of the cranial bones or the membranes. If you are interested in reading a more scientific approach to this subject, you can check out “CranioSacral Therapy” by John E. Upledger & Jon D. Vredevoogd.
As you can see, there are various herbs that can be very helpful in reducing head pain and in lessening your stress and tension that may be contributing to headaches or migraines. If you are on prescription medications right now, you may want to check with your natural health provider about whether there are herbs that could assist. Most herbs are completely safe to use with other medications, but, as a precaution, always check before starting a new regimen.
CranioSacral therapy is a wonderful way to decrease or get rid of any type of head pain. Usually after four or five treatments you will have a good idea of how much CST can help as well as all of the other amazing benefits you can receive from CranioSacral therapy.
