Mira Kapoor shares ayurvedic hack for migraine relief; know about its effectiveness

“I’ve noticed when I train in the peak sun (regardless of season) I’m down with an annoying headache that sets in not a minute later after I’ve stepped out of the shower. Despite hydration and stable sugar levels, it’s annoying how it kicks my day out of whack,” she mentioned in an Instagram post.

 

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A post shared by Mira Rajput Kapoor (@mira.kapoor)

“Maybe it’s the pitta-aggravation that is to blame — mid-day is the pitta time of day and that probably aggravates the pitta dosha in my body,” she added.

To understand how pitta dosha works, we reached out to ayurvedic expert Dr Dixa Bhavsar. Here’s what she had to say:

“Migraine is definitely related to aggravation in pitta. Ayurveda doesn’t recommend mid-day training. In fact, it believes that exercise should be done only before 10 am. The pitta time is between 10 am-2 pm, and exercising during that time can increase pitta which could, in turn, lead to burnout, excessive tiredness, acidity, etc. That time is best for eating, and anytime before 10 am is best for exercising,” she told indianexpress.com.

To manage the same, Mira also revealed the remedy — channa sek. “It’s essentially kaala channa (black chickpeas) toasted on the tava wrapped up in a cloth napkin. Nicely warm, once placed on the eyes gives enormous relief. The channa easily fall into the crevices of the eye region (like those tiny marbles in eye pillows) and can be reused and re-toasted several times,” she expressed.

However, she also shared that she did not really know why the hack worked. “Now I’m not sure whether it’s the gentle pressure on the eyes, or the warmth (strange because pitta aggravation seeks cooling) or some funny kind of placebo effect that I’ve fallen prey to, but it works every time,” she mentioned.

As per Dr Bhavsar, while channa sek is not specifically mentioned in Ayurveda for pitta headaches, any kind of fomentation (sek) helps with a headache as heat reduces vata (which is responsible for pain). “Vata is responsible for pain in any part of your body. For migraine, the predominant dosha is pitta but the site of pitta in the body is the stomach. When vata is aggravated, pitta dosha moves towards the head which causes pain. So, chana sek, or fomentation with sand/salt can help with pain in different areas,” she described.

“Roasted chana/sattu is cold in nature so when we use it for headache due to migraine (where pitta/heat is involved), it gives quick relief (being cold in nature),” she added.

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