Yesterday my body gave me a strong reminder that I need to take care of her. It came in the form of a headache. Often times our body speaks to us and it is up to us to recognise the messages. I always try to slow down and take note.
Stop to listen. Breathe into your body. And then take gentle action.
I am grateful that my headache is gone today. I would like to share some of my simple healing tips with you. These work wonders for me and perhaps they can help you the next time you are in a similar situation.
- Grab that bottle of lavender essential oil and dab a drop on your temples and neck. It helps to relax and calm you. This is one of the few essential oils that can be applied directly onto the skin.
- Down lots of water (and lemon juice) to detox. We all know this one, right? Yet I often simply forget. My current aim is three litres a day. Fill a bottle, keep it handy and make it easy.
- Take some Mag Phos tissue salts, as this often helps to relieve the tension; and it is also super for muscle cramps. I am a total fan of tissue salts.
- Give yourself a gentle head, neck and shoulders rub. Gently use your fingertips to massage your scalp slowly, up and down the back of your neck, across the tops of your shoulders and end it off by giving yourself a big self love hug. If you have a soulsister/soulbrother that can help you out, give her/him a shout. Share the healing light.
- Throw a handful or two of Epsom salts into a bath and soak it away. You could add a few drops of that lavender oil to it for a great scent extravaganza. It is a good detox and again, it works wonders for those sore muscles too. I realise this is a big no-no in Cape Town at the moment, given the water crises. So please be extremely mindful of your water usage, particularly if you live in South Africa, and let’s continue to pray and dance for rain. Check out how Nik saves water.
- Take yourself outside, even when you don’t feel like it. Walk slowly, hug a tree, find some water or just a tranquil spot to sit and breathe in the fresh air. Slowing down truly helps. Yesterday I struggled to go out, but it was the real turning point of my day.
Listen. Breathe. Act gently.
- And when all else fails, lie down on your yoga mat or bed, put an eye cushion or damp towel over your eyes and simply rest. The body often only needs to slow down enough so that it can turn it’s focus to healing.
Sometimes the headache is an indicator that something bigger is amiss. Don’t disregard that, and while you can work with your body to figure out what is going on by asking questions, don’t hesitate if you need medical advice.
How do you support yourself when you have a headache? Please share your tips forward with us here. I’d love to hear what works for you, and if you know of someone else that would find these tips helpful, please send them this link.
with big healing hugs, Delicia xxx
(Please note these tips are not meant to treat or diagnose, they are purely shared suggestions from my own experiences in order to support you in your own healing. If you need medical attention, please don’t hesitate to seek professional help.)
Hi my ss Dee
Thanks for all the reminders, you’re right sometimes we just forget to take care of ourselves. Simple and practical.
Love lots
Hello mdssGilli,
Yes, you are so right, we forget. I always appreciate your reminders too. Keep them flowing.
Love lots
Gratitude for sharing your healing tips dear Delicia. As you know headaches are my friends, so during the years I had plenty of opportunities to experiment how to be with them with ease. Several tips come from you and you already mentioned them. But I have few more.
* Your wonderful healing hands. Yes, I came to you and your shiatsu thanks to headaches. I am so grateful to my headaches because they brought me you. Smile. I will never get tired of reminding you that your healing hands are amazing and you are an incredibly powerful healer. Thanks to your treatments and wise teachings headaches do not visit me that often anymore. Gratitude.
* Alternate nostril breathing. It helps to relax and I practice it any time my body needs some help. It works wonders in case of dizziness, anxiety, racing thoughts, fatigue.
* Water. I know, you mentioned it already, both drinking (letting it to detoxify) and bathing in. But I am adding floating in coldish Zürichsee or in definitely cold Seealpsee. I remember several times I jumped in with headache and got out completely relaxed, especially if I spent a bit of time in it with you and the wonderful Water Float meditation you donated me. Plus being in natural water you do not consume any precious water.
* I recently discovered a new way of massaging the neck and base of the skull with the BLACKROLL. I simply rest my head on it and gently turn my head from side to side. This is particularly good if your headache starts from there, in which case it is fairly painful (definitely not as gentle as your message tips). But this is a pain that really helps me to be with the headache. Last Sunday I tried it after a full day of headache and 10 minutes were sufficient to ease me for a good sleep. Some rolling on the muscles of the upper back might also help.
* Just lie on your yoga mat and be with your headache with lots of loving kindness. Do not try to get rid of it. Be with it. I know, when we have pain this is not what comes first. But it is really the best thing to do. Jon Kabat-Zinn explains this very well in his book ‘Full Catastrophe Living’ and provides great suggestions on how to do it in practice. As you write, headaches are a way our body tries to talk to us. If we accept them with gratitude we get great insights.
I agree with you, medical attention should not be excluded. But we should all remember how much we can help ourselves and support us with some loving kindness.
Thanks for the generous healing energy you send my way. Namaste
Thank you for the useful tips you shared Annalisa. And thanks for your sweet words about my healing hands. I am so grateful.
I haven’t tried a blackroll before, so will keep that in mind for future. I have tried using a golf/tennis ball on the floor or against the wall to ease the back muscles though. All you do is gently roll over the ball. I totally agree with your last point about being with the headache, or any pain for that matter. As you say, it is not always easy, yet it brings us unexpected insights.
Healing energy is something we all have and it is there for all. I only share it forward by being a conduit for it. This is something I love and am passionate about. Thank you again. Namaste
Dear Delicia, glad you are feeling better. I’ve a lavender oil by my side right now, I drop few droplets on my pillow before sleeping, it’s great for relaxing. I’ve never heard about the tissue salts before. I have lots of acid reflux and I saw on the link you posted that there is one of these salts for it, I’ll see if I find around here. Hugs to you my dear.
Dear Elizabeth,
Oh yes, I love a drop or two of lavender oil to sleep well too. I hope you can find the tissue salts there as they provide such wonderful support for the body. Let me know how it goes.
Hugs right back to you, sweet soul.