People who are affected by recurring migraine attacks often have a long ordeal behind them. In Switzerland alone, around a million people suffer more or less frequently from the throbbing headache and other symptoms. There is currently no panacea for migraines. However, the holistic healing approach of Shiatsu can help migraine sufferers to find more relaxation, to let go of stressful habits and thus to alleviate the symptoms.
Reflect on habits and release tension
People who regularly suffer from migraines often visit a Shiatsu therapist on the recommendation of a doctor. Shiatsu therapy, with its holistic approach to recovery, can help alleviate suffering. Together with the client, the therapist identifies habits and behavioral patterns that could promote migraine attacks. Energetic blockages and muscular tension are released by means of body work. This stimulates the ability to self-regulate, so that those affected can better compensate for stressful living conditions and face them with more resilience.
A practical example
A 55-year-old client has suffered from chronic migraines for many years. The attacks have recently occurred two to three times a week. So far, no recipe has been found to alleviate her symptoms in the long term. After the neurologist could not find any medical causes during the last examination, she referred the patient to a Shiatsu therapist. In the introductory conversation, the therapist clarifies the exact symptoms. Before a migraine attack, the client finds it difficult to concentrate and often feels flickering in her eyes. During the migraines she often feels sick, sometimes she even throws up. The next day she often falls into a depressive mood and feels great sadness. In addition to the migraine attacks, the client is burdened with physical and mental complaints. She is tense, has stomach problems and is constantly worried.
Open room
The Shiatsu therapist clarifies the treatment goal with the client and focuses on strengthening self-regulation. The characteristically gentle pressure allows the space in the client’s chest to open. In addition, she can relax during the treatment, let go of thoughts and arrive in the moment, which relieves tension in the neck. The client notices how her well-being increases just by consciously lying down. During the treatment series, it turns out in the accompanying conversation that she has the feeling that she takes up far too little space in her family and that she formulates her needs too seldom. She realizes that for a long time she would like to have her own room where she can paint and where she can retreat.
Change habits carefully
Accompanied by the Shiatsu therapist, she learns to recognize her own needs and to address them. Your emotional state improves. The frequency of migraine attacks decreases, but the intensity remains the same. At one of the following sessions she complains of burning in her stomach. Together, the therapist and client find out which life situations or which foods upset her stomach. She mentions that she drinks up to six cups of coffee a day. The therapist suggests she abstain from coffee altogether for a few days to find out whether changing her consumption behavior would have a positive effect on her stomach and migraine symptoms. After four days without coffee, the client is free of migraine attacks for a week. Motivated by this, she looks for a substitute drink and finds a grain coffee. At the same time, she set up her own painting room in the weeks that followed and continued her Shiatsu therapy on a weekly basis. The conscious perception of one’s own center, the associated better access to her body sensations and the accompanying therapeutic discussions help the client to let go, to relax and to adjust their living conditions. Her migraines have now been reduced by half.