We all know that nasty pain. It either starts slowly, gets stronger and stronger, or hits your head like a hammer out of the blue. Depending on how severe it is, most people only know three solutions: the "close your eyes and get through it" method, numbing yourself with medication, or crawling into bed and never wanting to get up again.
Acupressure is a wonderful method to help you with headaches or migraines, strengthen your immune system, and give you important moments of relaxation, which are so urgently needed during these phases. With the right acupressure points, you can at least temporarily relieve your pain.
In this blog article, we would like to inform you about all types of headaches and provide you with alternative methods that can support you alongside conventional medical treatment.
Content
1. did you know that headaches are one of the most common reasons why we go to the doctor?
2. the good news: you can take your headache into your own hands!
3. what yin & yang have to do with nasty headaches
4 Let's move on to the DIY part: The most important acupressure points for headaches
5. Fight headaches and migraines with your Shakti Mat acupressure mat
6. The connection between headaches and stress: Treat yourself to a Shakti moment
7. How the Shakti acupressure headband can help you specifically
Did you know that headaches are one of the most common reasons we go to the doctor?
In Germany, around 54 million people suffer from temporary or persistent headaches. That is around 70 percent of Germany's population. In total, there are said to be over 200 different types of headaches. It is worth taking a closer look here:
Tension headache
Tension headaches top the headache register. 53.6 percent of headache patients report suffering from this type of headache. It seems that this headache is mainly triggered by stress and frustration.
No wonder that when you feel tense inside, this often spreads to your head. This type of headache is often caused by tension in the neck, which in turn puts pressure on nerves or arteries and thus impedes blood circulation in the head.
Acupressure provides relief here, primarily by reducing muscle tension and counteracting tension at nerve endings. It can also stimulate blood circulation and thus provide relief, but more on that later in the article.
Migraine
Migraines affect 38.4 percent of all headache sufferers in Germany. An often really nasty companion that can make it almost impossible to function in everyday life. People who experience migraines often feel dizzy and feel the pain on one or both sides of their head. Sensitivity to light and sound are also known symptoms. Stress can also be the culprit here. However, hormonal imbalances, pulsating light, diet, caffeine, alcohol, allergies and much more can also contribute. The reason given is that either too little or too much blood is flowing through the vessels.
Acupressure can help balance blood circulation, balance hormone production, and relieve stress and muscular tension.
Sinusitis headache
This type of headache usually results from a sinus infection, allergies, or similar conditions. The pain is mainly felt near the nose, cheeks, or forehead. It can lead to toothache, frontal headache, or eye pain. Acupressure can help support the immune system in the long term so that it can fight the infection. In the short term, it can help relieve pain and open the sinuses by releasing endorphins.
Cluster headache
Unfortunately, that's not all, because there are also rare types of headaches, such as cluster headaches. These are actually the most insidious and nasty form of headache. They come in clusters and often at intervals.
The person affected feels a series of hammering pains in the head, which can recur within one to two days. It often involves severe pain behind one eye and—just like migraine—sensitivity to light and nausea. No one knows yet what triggers this type of headache, but it seems likely that it is related to the sufferer's biological clock, as it always occurs on the same days or at the same times.
Headaches may be common and widespread, but that doesn't mean they should be taken lightly. After all, they are a signal from the body that something is wrong. If you are familiar with any of these types of headaches and experience them frequently, you should definitely see a doctor and get checked out.
The good news: You can take control of your headache!
Headaches are nasty and convey one feeling above all: powerlessness. We feel at our mercy and know what to do with ourselves. As with any illness, it helps to look for the cause and to understand how our body works in its entirety.
All points running along the head and neck are yang points. It is therefore worth taking a brief detour at this point to discuss life energy, also known as qi.
What Yin & Yang has to do with nasty headaches
Each of you has probably seen the yin and yang symbol before. It symbolizes the two opposing forces of the universe, which are interdependent. One can only exist with the help of the other. Day can only exist because night falls, and vice versa.
Yin is associated with feminine qualities, while yang is associated with masculine qualities. Nothing in this world is exclusively yin or yang; everything is a mixture of both—just like us humans. Physical health is seen as a harmonious balance of the two forces of yin and yang in the body. From time to time, each of us needs more of one than the other.
For example, if we have to work through the night, we need to activate the yang energy that will help us accomplish this task. Each person must sense for themselves what energy they need at that moment and take it. This will make your body feel healthier. Unfortunately, this is not so easy these days. Every day, many people go beyond their individual limits and regularly force themselves to do things that they feel are not good for them.
Acupressure can help you balance your yin and yang and get your qi, your life energy, flowing again by stimulating specific acupressure points. This could also have a positive effect on your headaches and make you feel better.
Let's get to the DIY part: the most important acupressure points for headaches
Now enough writing, let's get to the main acupressure points that can make your life easier when you have a headache.
LI4 aka best anti pain point
Our large intestine meridian consists of a total of 20 acupressure points, including LI4. This point is known for its pain-relieving effect and is located in the hollow of our hand, exactly where the index finger and thumb meet. In addition to its pain-relieving effect, this point also has an anti-inflammatory effect.
It can help you get rid of excess heat, which we sometimes experience with flu-like infections. It can also help with migraines. Psst, a nice side effect: it also helps with digestive problems.
Important: Pregnant women should not use this point under any circumstances! Because the point is known for its strong dispersing effect, it is also used in obstetrics to induce labor and strengthen contractions.
GB20 aka "Wind Pond"
This point is located at the lower back of the head, where the skull ends. If you run your fingers from the center of the neck toward the ear, the point is located in the hollow. It is essentially the first hollow you find when you move from the ear toward the neck.
This point is one of the most important points on the gallbladder meridian and can be your secret weapon against headaches and migraines. Once you have found it, you can press it for one to three minutes, preferably on both sides at the same time. So whenever things get too much for you—at the office, at home, or anywhere else—you can stimulate this point to provide some relief.
You can also press this point to relieve pain if you have eye, nose or ear pain. It can also help with difficult mental states and a stiff neck.
LU9 aka "Lique"
If you spread your thumb away from your hand and run the finger of your other hand from your thumb toward your wrist, you will eventually come across a depression. From this depression, move one thumb's width further along the side of your arm and you should come across a protruding bone. You have now found LU9.
Pressing this point will also help with head and neck pain. It also has a soothing effect on coughs, asthma, sore throats, and colds. LU9 is a true all-rounder, as pressing this point alleviates sadness caused by loss and grief or inner emptiness.
Yang Bai aka GB14
Finally, we would like to give you GB14, another gallbladder point. You may be wondering what the gallbladder has to do with all this. Well, the gallbladder often seems to be a cause of headaches.
You will find this point about a thumb's width above the center of your eyebrows. You can press both points above the eyebrows simultaneously for one to three minutes.
You will notice how your muscles around the eyes and also the skin of the forehead relax when you apply this acupressure point. It helps with frontal headaches, migraines and can balance your eye energy, which is particularly helpful for tired eyes at the office. It also has a supportive effect on visual disturbances, twitching eyelids or nausea.
Declare war on headaches and migraines with your Shakti Mat acupressure mat
Surely you already know the concept of acupressure mats, otherwise you wouldn't have landed on our website. So if you are the owner of one of these gems, the mat will help you to relieve your headaches or migraines.
All people are different and therefore each person needs individual treatment when it comes to their very own type of headache. Below we would like to give you a few examples of how you can use your Shakti Mat or our acupressure cushion for headaches or migraines.
1. relaxation for the neck
Many people complain of headaches that radiate from the neck. Here you can roll up your Shakti Mat with the tips facing outwards (you may want to use a towel to help). If you have one of our acupressure pillows, you can lie on it. This works just as well when lying down—for example, in bed or on the carpet—as it does when sitting, e.g., on the couch. You can then either relax, read a book, or watch TV. This usually stimulates GB20 at the same time.
2. Carefully place your forehead or face on the Shakti Mat.
Yes, it sounds damn prickly and it really is. But some people dare to do it. Especially if your headache or migraine is in the forehead area, this could be a way to loosen up your forehead muscles. You can stimulate the GB14 point at the same time. At this point, it is important to emphasize that you should perform this exercise very consciously and carefully, as the tips of the Shakti Mat are very sharp and should therefore never come close to your eyes!
3. the power combination of Shakti Mat and Pillow
If you want to give yourself the full program, you can use the Shakti Mat for the back and the Pillow for the neck at the same time. Some of our Shakti Mat colleagues from the team swear by it and are happy to fall asleep this way. Don't worry if you nod off and stay on the mat and Pillow for longer than you want, there are no side effects. Simply pull the mat and/or the Pillow out from under you at some point and go back to sleep.
The link between headaches and stress: treat yourself to a Shakti moment
Many surveys show that headaches often occur in connection with stress and that those affected often find themselves in situations that they consider stressful or challenging. This is understandable, as our world is becoming increasingly fast-paced. Thanks to technology, we are now able to accomplish 100 tasks a day instead of just 10, and everything is moving at an ever-increasing pace.
That's when it's especially important to take time for yourself and simply slow down. Many Shakti users agree on one thing in particular: the Shakti moment is a moment when you let go and just be. To avoid giving in to the urge to fidget, you have to concentrate on your breathing, which in turn has a meditative aspect.
Many of our customers lie down on their mats in the evening and associate this ritual with "calming down" or using it to prepare for bedtime. We have even put together a playlist for you that will help you fall asleep with meditative sounds and transport you deep into the land of dreams.
How the Shakti acupressure headband can help you specifically
You are probably familiar with the feeling that your headache comes from a specific angle of your head or rises up from the back of your neck. It is not uncommon for people who suffer from regular headaches to describe how they can sense when a storm is coming. Everyone develops their own routines for these moments. For some, the only thing that helps is darkness and going to bed, while others can actively do something about it. Our headband with 780 innovative mini spikescan be a real help here, because you can use the flexible Velcro fastener to tie it as tightly as you need to around your head. Whether around your jaw, classically around your forehead, or with the acupressure tips on the back of your neck—you can use it however you want.
The best part is that you can walk around and do whatever you want while wearing it. So, put it on at the slightest twinge in your head and go about your soothing routines to escape the headache.
That's all from us on the topic of headaches, migraines, and acupressure. We hope that this blog post will help alleviate your symptoms and inspire you to try other methods of pain management.
The most important thing: don't get discouraged. Every beginning is difficult, and it takes a while to get used to new things. But let me tell you, once you start setting aside time for yourself in your daily routine, you will find yourself becoming a little more relaxed every day and giving your mind a break. And then, at some point, your headaches will surely disappear.
