Use Shiatsu For Headache Relief
Shiatsu is a Chinese technique to relieve tension headaches through applying pressure at vital points in the head. It works on the principle that when pressure is applied at the base of the skull it helps release the blocked energy stored inside the head, and persistent muscle strain. It also calms the nervous system. Here is how you can do it.

Step 1: Relax the muscles at the back of your neck, shoulder and head. Make yourself as relaxed as possible.

Step 2: Place the middle of your thumb right in the centre of the base of your skull. Gently apply pressure at this point. Steadily, move your thumb to the right side and place it at a distance of one finger's width from the original. Apply some more pressure at this point and repeat the motion further towards the right.

Step 3: With your left hand, beginning from the central point, gently apply pressure at the points lying on the left side of the base of the skull.

Step 4: To release neck and shoulder pain, try to relax and smooth out the tendon muscles that curve upwards at the point where your neck joins your shoulder. Trace out the path of the muscles going up. Apply pressure once you find the points where tension can be sensed the most.

Step 5: Now move to the temples. In a clock-wise manner, and only gently touching the skin, perform circular motion with the tip of your thumb. The pressure applied to the skin should not be too much. Just lightly touch the skin. Do it simultaneously on both the sides of the skull and continue the motion for 20 to 60 seconds.

Steps 6: Shift your focus onto the inside of the eyebrows. Tension also gets accumulated in the muscles located in this region. To relieve them of the tension, place your index finger on the inside of the eyebrow and then gently rub the area for about 60 seconds. Remember, quite unlike the temple region, you are allowed to rub vigorously at this point.

Step 7: The muscles from the inside of the eyebrows extend to the outside. Tension headaches also occur here. To rid yourself of these headaches, all you need to do is to trace out the path of the muscles. Once you do so, you will be able to figure out the point where it hurts the most. With your middle or index finger, you can apply pressure at this point. Do this for about 40 seconds.

Step 8: If tension headache still persists then provide an outlet to the stored energy in neck and shoulder muscles by applying pressure on the outer heel bone.

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