A yoga exercise called the neck roll (page 627) can help, say Dr. Robin Monro, Dr. R. Nagarathna and Dr. H. R. Nagendra in their book Yoga for Common Ailments. They recommend doing this exercise three times per day to relieve headaches but caution not to do it if you have neck problems or neck pain.

We’ve had good success using stretch-based relaxation to help people who have tension headaches,” says Charles Carlson, Ph.D., professor of psychology at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. See page 602 for one example of a stretch-based relaxation technique. Practice this sequence of exercises whenever you begin to feel a headache coming on.
For some people, other relaxation techniques, including deep breathing, meditation, autogenics, thermal biofeedback and progressive relaxation, are also effective, according to Dr. Carlson. For brief descriptions of each of these techniques, see page 113.

Reflexology’s ability to relax the body makes it a perfect choice for treating headaches, say Kevin and Barbara Kunz, reflexology researchers in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and authors of Hand and Foot Reflexology. They suggest using the corresponding golf ball technique (page 588) to work the solar plexus, eye, ear and head points on your hands. They also say to work the face points on your hands and the lower back points on your feet.
To help you locate these points, consult the hand and foot reflex charts beginning on page 582. For instructions on how to work the points, see “Your Reflexology Session” on page 110.

Here’s a fingertip massage from Elliot Greene, past president of the American Massage Therapy Association, that should help ease the pain of tension headaches.
Start by placing your fingertips on your scalp, with your left hand on the left side of your head and your right hand on the right side. Press down gently, and move the scalp back and forth about a half-inch. “Your fingers shouldn’t slide across the skin,” Greene says. “They should be moving the scalp itself.” After a few seconds, move your fingertips farther back on the scalp and repeat. Do this until you have massaged the entire scalp from front to back. Make sure to massage the sides of your head above and around the ears.
Next, grasp a small amount of hair in one hand. Gently lift the hair away from your scalp and twist it slightly. This will stimulate the scalp, Greene says, and should help relieve tension. Repeat until you’ve covered the whole scalp.
Now use your fingertips to massage your temples and forehead. Make small circles as you massage. Do this for several minutes or until you feel the headache subsiding. You can also rub the back of your neck, especially at the base of the skull.
You can finish the massage with a shoulder rub. Use your right hand to grasp the muscle on your left shoulder and squeeze lightly for several seconds. Release and squeeze several times. Then switch sides, with your left hand grasping your right shoulder. Greene says you should breathe deeply and regularly during the entire massage, so you don’t build up more tension.

“The most common causes of headaches are constipation and liver malfunction,” says Eve Campanelli, Ph.D., a holistic family practitioner in Beverly Hills, California. For those prone to headaches, Dr. Campanelli recommends twice-daily doses of apple-spinach juice for its gentle laxative qualities. “Mix one ounce of spinach juice into eight ounces of apple juice, and you’ll never taste the spinach,” she promises.
Once constipation has been cleared up, Dr. Campanelli advises getting the liver moving with a blend of 8 ounces of carrot juice, 1 ounce of beet juice, 4 ounces of celery juice and ½ to 1 ounce of parsley juice. “Drinking this juice once or twice a day helps the liver filter out toxins more effectively, resulting in fewer headaches,” explains Dr. Campanelli. See your doctor if your headaches persist, she adds.

Imagine that all of the muscles in your head and neck are like tightly coiled springs. Now imagine that all of those springs begin to loosen. As they do, the muscles become more relaxed, and your discomfort decreases, says Dennis Gersten, M.D., a San Diego psychiatrist and publisher of Atlantis, a bi-monthly imagery newsletter. He adds that if you do this for 30 seconds every hour on the hour, it will dramatically relax you and ease your headache.

Water treatments for headaches use a combination of heat and cold to draw blood away from the affected area. Try soaking your feet and ankles in a hot foot bath while applying an ice pack or a cold cloth to the forehead and temples, says Tori Hudson, N.D., a naturopathic physician and professor at the National College of Naturopathic Medicine in Portland, Oregon. When you use an ice pack, many experts suggest wrapping it in a plastic bag and placing it over a towel on the skin. Also, they advise limiting your cold treatment to 20 minutes, since prolonged exposure could damage the skin. This treatment is very effective for tension and sinus headaches and can be used as needed, says Dr. Hudson.

If you have an occasional mild headache, Andrew Lockie, M.D., recommends the following remedies in his book The Family Guide to Homeopathy. He suggests taking the remedy appropriate for your symptoms every 10 to 15 minutes for up to ten doses.
If the headache comes on suddenly, feels like a tight band is wrapped around your head and is worse in cold air and you feel apprehensive, Dr. Lockie says to try a 30C dose of Aconite. Take a 30C dose of Apis, he says, if your body feels bruised and tender and you have a stinging, stabbing or burning headache that feels worse in hot air. If you have a flushed face, dilated eyes and a throbbing headache that is worse in the hot sun, he recommends a 30C dose of Belladonna. And for a headache that feels like a nail is being driven into your skull, he says to take a 6C dose of ignatia.
All of these remedies are available in many health food stores. To purchase the remedies by mail, refer to the resource list on page 637.

For a headache caused by stress, try a soothing cup of this tea recommended by Mary Bove, L.M., N.D., a naturopathic physician and director of the Brattleboro Naturopathic Clinic in Vermont: Blend one part each of the dried herbs wintergreen, willowbark and meadowsweet (available in most health food stores). Pour boiling water over a teaspoon of this blend, steep for ten minutes, strain, let cool to a drinkable temperature and drink.

Try having a cup of coffee, advises Fred Sheftell, M.D., co-founder and co-director of the New England Center for Headache in Stamford, Connecticut. He says that caffeine constricts blood vessels and is an ingredient in many pain relievers. In fact, studies show that having a cup of coffee or tea can boost the pain-relieving powers of aspirin and other such products by about one-third.