What Causes Headaches?

Headaches can be triggered by various factors, including stress, muscle tension, dehydration, or poor posture. Understanding the root cause of your headache is key to finding relief.

Can Yoga Help with Headaches?

Yoga is known for its calming and meditative effects, but did you know it can also help relax tight muscles and improve blood flow, offering natural relief from headaches? It turns out, that specific positions like Child’s Pose and Forward Fold are particularly effective.

If you’re thinking about trying these poses at home, a yoga block can be a great addition to your practice. Using a block can make poses like Child’s Pose and Forward Fold more comfortable and accessible while still giving you all the headache-relieving benefits!

Is Stretching an Effective Way to Alleviate Pain?

Physical therapy-based stretches can release neck, shoulders, and upper back tension—common areas where headache pain originates. Check out these stretches and exercises for extra relief:

For more insight into headaches and migraines, Dr. Jono Taves also hosts 'The Headache Doctor' podcast. In the episode "What Causes, Triggers, and Maintains Headaches and Migraines", he explores common causes, triggers, and ways to manage them. We recommend a listen for anyone looking to understand and alleviate their headache symptoms!

Strengthen Your Posture: Simple Headache Prevention

Improving your posture can reduce tension headaches by alleviating neck and upper back strain. Somatic exercises can help you reconnect with your body and develop better movement patterns.

What are the best Workout Plans for Long-Term Relief?

As we've learned, finding the right workout plan tailored to your body can make a significant difference in managing and preventing headaches. From Pilates to guided stretching, the options are almost endless.

Save this video from Jessica Valant for the next time you have a few minutes to spare:

Jessica is a licensed physical therapist and pilates teacher with over 24 years of experience! You can sign up for Jessica's guided workouts here.

Additionally, why not explore these resources for personalized stretching and workout plans:

Pliability

Pliability is an online platform offering over 10,000 targeted mobility and stretching programs which can reduce your muscle tension and support your headache recovery! They offer routines tailored to many areas including your head and neck, with options for all fitness levels to enhance performance and overall movement. You can check out more about their personalized plans and try it out for 7 days free.

Yoga-Go provides personalized yoga and fitness plans designed to suit your individual needs- which includes headache relief. The platform offers accessible programs tailored to your goals, fitness level, and preferences, offering you a totally customized experience.

We went and found some of their testimonials from their customers.

You can try it out for like 50 cents/day. Just need to fill out the questionaire so that they can customize the program so that you hit your weight and fitness goals.

Wouldn't it be AMAZING if you could afford a Personal Trainer...What if you could?

So we all want to make a change, get into the gym, fix our diet and get healthier - we all KNOW it will make us feel a lot better. However, we've also all walked into a gym and felt really overwhelmed and unsure and just needed some guidance. We want to help changing that by recommending you get a personal trainer. I know that's crazy expensive like $50 - $100 an hour. How are you supposed to train a few days a week like that?

So we went looking for a better alternative and found this Personal Trainer platform Kickoff that can get you your own online Personal Trainer for just $170/month ($95 for the basic). So that's like the cost of 2 sessions and you get DAILY help from your own trainer!

I filled out the questionaire and they narrowed down the style of coach I'm looking for, and what gender I wanted the coach to be. It just feels like it's a lot more personalized than when I got training at a regular gym. My old gym just put me with someone without asking me what I wanted. So this is better already!

Here's the meat and potatoes of how much it costs, and everything you get in the program.

So I got to this point and logged off, and funny enough I got a text from Sam asking if I wanted to do an intro call to find out more about it. It already feels really personalized and I'm keen to see how the call goes. I'll report back in the comments!

It's really the daily accountability that we are paying for. But I'm curious how the custom workouts and nutrition plan will look like. How tailored the programs will feel if I have some specific issues with wheat, and also a sore back and tight hips and shoulders from working at a desk all day.

Overall I think I want to give it a try. It's basically all the 1 on 1 coaching you would get with someone face to face but a fraction of the cost.

Which Massage Techniques Work Best for Immediate Relief?

Who doesn't love a good massage? Thankfully, targeted massages can help loosen muscle knots and increase circulation to reduce headache pain quickly!

Dr. Levi shares a variety of wellness tips, exercises, and techniques to help with pain relief, injury prevention, and overall health on his YouTube channel. It’s a great resource to keep exploring ways to feel your best.

Finding Your Perfect Solution

As we've gone over already, if headaches are a recurring issue for you, exploring holistic approaches like yoga, pilates, and tailored workout routines can improve your life drastically. It can just take a few simple changes in your daily routine to lead to long-lasting relief.

Another fitness plan we recommend is WeShape. They offer a personalized fitness experience that prioritizes body awareness and movement over rigid exercise routines. You can create customized workout plans tailored to your individual needs (like headache relief) focusing on functional fitness, flexibility, and pain-free movement. Check out this awesome video from them to get a little taste of what they're all about 👇:

We went through the questionaire and they really determined where I was having mobility issues and they will create a custom program to my issues. They gave me a sample program and I really liked it and was comfortable signing up the for the free trial to see if I like it.

Coming Up Tomorrow: Gua Sha for Headache Relief

Be sure to check out tomorrow’s post, where we’ll dive into the fascinating ways to support your lymphatic system—your body’s “waste management” network. We’ll cover how clearing out the lymph nodes and promoting proper drainage can ease headaches by helping flush out viruses and bacteria. One of the most intriguing methods we’ve come across is the ancient practice of Gua Sha, which uses a smooth-edged tool to massage tension points. Not only can it relieve pain and improve circulation, but it might also help reduce dark circles and even tone your jawline. Stay tuned—you won’t want to miss it!

Which of these programs are you excited to try out for a month?

Let us know if you have started using any of the programs and how they are- your fellow BooHDers want to know in the comments!