Migraines often come with throbbing pain on one side of your head that is strong enough to affect your daily living. You might be affected by light and sound and experience nausea and vomiting. If you want to try an alternative treatment, Ayurvedic medicine, which is a health system from India dating back 5,000 years, is an option. Talk to your regular doctor before trying Ayurvedic medicine, especially because some supplements have side effects and might be contaminated with lead and mercury.
Ayurvedic vs. Western Medicine
The National Headache Foundation explains that many factors can trigger a migraine, including sleep patterns, your diet, exercise habits and psychological factors like depression. This goes along with the Ayurvedic viewpoint, which views health in holistic terms and focuses on the mental, emotional, spiritual and physical aspects of a person. Prescription medicine is the main Western treatment for migraines, although your doctor might also suggest identifying your migraine triggers, changing your lifestyle, and trying alternative techniques like biofeedback to prevent migraines. Ayurvedic treatment utilizes natural supplements and lifestyle changes.
Research
An article in the January--March 2010 issue of "International Journal of Ayurveda Research" studied an Ayurvedic Treatment Protocol for migraines that consisted of Ayurvedic medicines and changes to diet, exercise and sleep habits for 90 days. At the end of the study, 35.2 percent of the 204 participants no longer had migraines; 35.2 percent experienced a mild headache without needing to take regular medicines; and 24.5 percent had mild pain and took conventional medicine. Only 3.4 percent did not experience any improvement, and 1.4 percent felt their migraines became worse. However, this was an uncontrolled study so there is nothing to compare these numbers to. More research is needed to determine the effectiveness of Ayurvedic treatments on migraines.
Ayurvedic Personality Types
Ayurveda follows an idea that people fit into different categories depending on their personalities. The categories are vata, pitta and kapha. Vata personalities are quick and creative, pitta personalities are driven and work too much, and kapha personalities are slow but steady. However, yoga instructor Rodney Yee explains that sometimes your personality encourages behaviors that make you unbalanced. In the case of migraines, you might have too much heat and need cooling. He says that pitta personalities are prone to headaches and probably need to slow down and prioritize their lives differently.
Yoga
Yoga follows the same health system as Ayurvedic medicine and is often used in conjunction. When you have a migraine, Yee suggests trying restorative poses like legs-up-the-wall pose, supported cobbler's pose, half plow pose and seated forward bend. Yoga in general might also prevent migraines because it brings awareness to your body and helps you relieve tension. If you cannot do any active poses during a severe headache, perform corpse pose where you simply lie on the floor, focus on your breathing and meditate.
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