Headaches are about so much more than pain. And not all headaches pertain to a specific illness. We can experience a headache because of an energetic blockage, such as from frustration, anger, guilt or mental concentration. The same way you get a stomach ache when you feel nervous, headaches can come on due to stress, overwhelming or unsaid feelings, and a lack of connection, among many other things. There is even an expression to back this up: “Worth the headache” or “Not worth the headache.”
If you have a headache right now, take a moment to go within and see how you are feeling. What thoughts are going through your mind? What is weighing you down? Did you remember to eat or drink or move, ground yourself or breathe deeply or smile or say something positive? While over-the-counter pain relievers can address the symptoms of a headache, shiatsu can help you weed out ‘what’s ailing you’ by addressing the root cause directly.
How Shiatsu treats headaches and migraines From a TCM point of view, imbalances in the liver and gall bladder channels are the cause of migraines especially if a lot of mental decision making is happening. Stomach and digestive imbalances can cause fore headaches. The role of Shiatsu therapy for these ailments is to disperse stagnant Ki (i.e. blocked energy) in the head and neck, particularly on the gall bladder channel to the side of the head, would be the initial treatment to relieve symptoms.
By releasing the point at the back of the skull (known as gall bladder 20) will have a strong action in clearing stagnant Ki from the head. Gentle fingertip pressure applied to the space between the eyebrows (known as the Yin Tan point) also shifts stagnant Ki and will lift a cloudy mind accompanying a headache.
I would also help you ground yourself by holding your feet which brings the energy down out of the head and into the earth. Learning grounding techniques helps clear many headaches and migraines.
