Your Prakriti and Migraine
Ayurveda believes in 3 doshas: Vata, Pitta, Kapha. When they are balanced, we are happy, hale, hearty. The moment any of them gets imbalanced, we start experiencing physical or mental ailments. What people generally think is Vata is gas, Pitta is digestive fire, Kapha is the mucus coming out from the nose and throat but It is very detail oriented.
All the movements happening in the body are because of Vata/Vayu as the air keeps moving. Food going down from our mouth to the digestive system is because of Vayu. Words flowing out of our mouths are because of Vayu. Reproduction, elimination, every movement happening in the body is regulated by Vayu. The messages flowing from brain to the sense organs and back is controlled by Vayu.
Pitta symbolizes heat in the body. The digestive fire, all the breakdown of molecules, metabolism happen because of Pitta. It also symbolizes the inspirations, ambitions of a person. Kapha denotes the density, all fluids, the stickiness, the viscosity in the body.
One dosha is predominant at every stage of life. Like in childhood, Kapha is predominant. If you look at the skin of children, it is soft, tender because of Kapha. Then comes the young adulthood, say from 16 to 40 years- During this period, Pitta is high in the body, you must have heard people saying, his young blood is boiling. So that’s the natural heat in your body. Vata dominates old age. You see the dry wrinkled skin of people of this age because Vayu is dominant here. There is pain in the body because of Vayu.
When we talk of Migraine, it is majorly because of aggravated Vata and Pitta in the body. And the majority of cases of Migraine will be seen in the age group of 16 to 40 years when Pitta is running high. It is not that Migraine doesn’t hit other age groups. We at Migraine Upkram, have treated as young as 7 yr. an old boy with Migraine and as old as a 70-year-old woman but majority of the cases we get are in middle age.With Ayurveda, it is easier to bring down the headaches and get it cured once we bring down Vata and Pitta levels in the body. So, it is important to get your Prakriti assessed and then get treatment done for Migraine.
You can reach us to get Prakriti Analysis done.
Home Remedies for Migraine
Every person who has been handling headaches spends half the time on the internet finding some remedies that can bring down the pain.
If the intensity of headache is severe, home remedies do not work.
If the headache is mild or has just started you can use these home remedies which may make things easier:
- 1. Kokum Juice – Kokum is a fruit found in Western India; If you can get it, drink its juice when the headache starts. It brings down the Pitta and intensity of pain reduces.
- 2. Gentle Massage – Do gentle massage with oils like Sesame oil or Almond oil over temples and behind the ear lobes.
- 3. Ginger Tea– Many migraine patients complain of nausea and vomiting along with headache. Ginger tea is a good option to ease the acid reflux and vomiting symptoms. It also reduces pain to some extent.
- 4. Caffeine – Too much caffeine is a potent trigger of Migraine. This is the reason why people in western countries have more migraines than people of our country as they all are coffee lovers. But drinking coffee while having a headache is a good remedy to relieve pain. Many migraine patients experience low blood pressure during headache episodes. Caffeine is a good nervous system stimulant and hence it increases the blood pressure.
- 5. Try to sit in a dark room– Bright lights trigger migraine and worsen the pain when one is having it. So, during the migraine episode, try to turn off the lights or stay in a dark room for a few hours if possible. This remedy works for many migraine patients.
- 6. Kushmand – This fruit is described in Ayurveda as a treatment for Migraine. It is sweet in taste and cold in nature. It is widely known as Agra Petha.
Home remedies do not work in very severe cases but you can try adopting them and if still, pain does not ease, you can reach us at any time.