Lately I've been experiencing the worst headaches. But I'm not really into over-the-counter medications so I researched other alternatives for remedies and quick cures. Standing in the check out line at Whole Foods, I noticed an article featured on the cover of Pilates Style Magazine (Headaches? make 'em history) and decided to read it.

According to the National Headache Foundation (NHF) 45 million Americans get chronic, recurring headaches. Headaches are defined as pain ranging from mild throbbing to excruciating agony above the eyes, ears, back and bottom of the skull or back of the upper neck. Treatments can be over-the-counter medications, acupuncture, biofeedback, dietary restrictions and herbs. A tool that is gaining recognition for its power to tame headaches is Pilates, which increases awareness, relax neck muscles, mobility of the spine, oxygenate cells and reduces stress. Ninety-eight percent of all headaches fall into one of three types: tension, migraine or cluster.

A tension headache usually occurs on both sides of the head and comes on following a stress-driven day, usually lasting from 30 minutes to several hours. If you've had a fitful night's sleep or spent hours on the computer, there is a good chance you have a tension or stress headache. Studies show that women are twice as likely as men to suffer from chronic tension headaches (go figure!). I feel that it is always best to look for natural relief for any pain. However, if you are trying over-the-counter medications and overusing them, they can cause rebound headaches, which is pain that commonly bounces back once the medication leaves your system.

A migraine headache is the most common kind of headache, and the most painful. Migraine triggers can be extreme sensitivity to light, sound and odors. Facial pallor, cold hands or feet, nausea or vomiting may also accompany a migraine. Migraines are also known to be brought on by fluctuations in estrogen, which is typical with PMS, menopause and pregnancy. Some culprits include sulfites in red wine; the phenylethylamine in chocolate; aged cheese (with the additive tyramine); fermented, pickled or marinated foods; aspartame; the yeast in beer; caffeine; monosodium glutamate (or MSG, a common additive in many foods, particularly Chinese); as well as nitrites, a preservative frequently used in cured meats. All these ingredients can cause the blood vessels in the brain to expand or contract, resulting in head pain.

Mark Green, MD, (director of headache medicine at Columbia University and co-author of Managing Your Headaches) explains that serotonin levels drop during a headache. Researchers believe this causes the trigeminal nerve to release substances called neuropeptides, which then travel to your brain's outer covering (meninges). Once there, they cause blood vessels to become dilated, inflamed and painful.

Cluster headaches are less common than migraines but just as painful. The most common symptoms are searing aches over one eye, a runny nose and tearing eye, and throbbing on one side of the head. Breathing pure oxygen-a therapy available at headache clinics or by prescription for home use-causes blood vessels to contract for 10 to 15 minutes and may also be effective. Anything that can relax the back neck muscles or relax the muscles overlying nerves in the occiput, the area in the lower back of the skull, has the potential to help chronic headaches, according to Howard Derman, MD, director of the headache clinic at the Methodist Neurological Institute in Houston.

The article Heal Your Headache in Pilates Style Magazine (August 2008) talks with Lynne Robinson who was told that her severe headaches were the result of temporomandibular joint (TMJ) syndrome (an affliction of the joint that connects the jaw and the skull). "I came to realize that the real issue was poor posture and lack of mobility in the area around the back of my neck and spine, which led to terrible tension headaches", she states. Robinson is also co-founder of the Body Control Pilates Center in London and co-author of 13 best selling books on Pilates. "Gentle Pilates exercises unraveled the problem, increased my postural awareness, helped mobilize my spine and ultimately resulted in headache relief."

Pilates helps to oxygenate cells, improve circulation and relax tense muscles. It also helps to release feel-good brain chemical endorphins, which in turn halt the loop of negative, obsessive thought- the kind that feed stress and can bring on headaches. Studies have shown that blood pressure is lowered when people are touched. High blood pressure can trigger a headache, but a lot of stress is released by simple touch. Pilates induced perspiration, an intermediate or advanced session sweats the stress out, gets the blood pumping and detoxes the body. Doing vigorous Pilates twice a week for a year, will dramatically reduce or completely resolve your headaches. From the article written by Robin Westin reads that a combination of Pilates, lifestyle changes, natural remedies and medication might turn that noggin knocker into a once-in-a-blue-moon misery.

After taking this information into consideration I pulled out my pink GAIAM floor mat and tried a few of the quick Pilates stretches that I saw on a youtube video. After properly breathing and then aligning my spine I actually began to feel a difference. I became way more relaxed and focused on my breathing rather than on the agony going on in my head; I even found that I was more flexible and had more energy as I lifted from the mat!