Iyengar Yoga Head Wrap For Migraine, Anxiety, & More

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Want Iyengar yoga for migraine? Or anxiety, or a range of other issues? Let me quickly outline a powerful solution for you to consider.

Iyengar yoga for migraine: the short answer

Iyengar yoga for migraine uses quiet, supported poses, slow breathing and, sometimes, the Iyengar head wrap to settle the nervous system between attacks. Research on yoga for migraine is small but encouraging: a 2024 review of 28 exercise studies found yoga reduced how often migraines came and how strong they were, compared with medication alone. Below, Chris explains the head wrap she has used for decades, then the research, the safe way to practise, and how to try it in Darwin or online.

Here is the article in short form:

• Head wrap: a simple bandage, one of Mr Iyengar’s props, to quieten the mind.
• Research: 2022 to 2025 reviews found fewer, milder migraines with yoga added.
• Honest limit: the studies are small and rated low or very low certainty.
• Best used: between attacks, alongside your usual migraine care.
• Safety: skip inversions and strong breathing during or near an attack.
• Next step: a restorative class, in Darwin or live online.

From time to time, I teach an Iyengar yoga head wrap technique that’s especially good yoga for migraine or headaches, as well as for reducing anxiety, sleeping better, getting calmer, getting more energy, and much more.

So check out my post, or read the detailed captions of the pictures, and then try a head wrap for pranayama breath meditation, as well as for Iyengar yoga for migraine, anxiety, and much more. (We’ve separately outlined more about the Iyengar style of yoga).

Content of this post

For a start, here is the content of this post about Iyengar yoga head wraps and the many powerful outcomes they offer you. I will cover:

1. My own story of how I’ve used this wrapping head for headache technique.
2. An outline of some of the many benefits of the so-called Pune head wrap technique. (This also shows some its many uses).
3. How the head wrapping technique is an adapted yoga mudra, developed by Mr BKS Iyengar, as another yoga prop.
4. The Iyengar yoga view of consciousness, and where science currently is with consciousness research.

The head wrap technique can also be used in any of the poses I’ll also show in the pictures with this post. Such yoga poses or yogic practices, include relaxation pose (so-called corpse pose), various restorative yoga poses, and pranayama (breath meditation).

Discovering the power of the Iyengar head wrap technique

In my own yoga and breath meditation practice, I have used this particular technique for many decades.

It’s not something I’ve so far talked about a lot, because some think it’s weird, or undo-able.

That’s because the technique involves wrapping the forehead or eyes, or both, with a bandage. Then, the yoga or meditation practices are done with the bandage on.

However, we do of course lift the edge of the bandage a little, so we can see enough to do the pose, and get into the pose.

Finding peace, & natural solutions, after tragedy

Many years ago, when my partner Peter died of cancer, I used this powerful yogic technique to help me recover from grief.

At that very sad time, it was immensely helpful with eventually moving on with life in a way that Peter would have wanted for me.

Using this Iyengar head wrap technique also helped me quietly reflect, get clarity about what happened, find a new peace, re-order my life, and have the courage to move forward.

Among other things, the technique worked because it’s a highly effective way to quieten the endless chatter of our minds.

Although I’m about to outline some of the many other benefits and uses of this so-called Iyengar head wrap, I do of course also recommend it strongly for managing grief.

Clearly, grief is something that we all face from time to time. As with all the yoga and breath meditation taught at Flametree, natural solutions can be a valuable part of how you meet the challenges you face.

I suggest you try such natural solutions alongside whatever your doctor recommends, and talk to your doctor before changing any medication.

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This particular yoga for migraine is not for total beginners

The yoga head wrap technique has many uses beyond helping with grief. I’ll outline them below.

In my own case, I was fortunate that I already did yoga at the time of my grief. As I’d already learnt the technique, and had some ability to quieten by mind, I was able to use a process I already knew.

However, if you’re just starting yoga, then I suggest you first get underway with some regular beginner classes.

Then, after a while, come to a Restorative Yoga Class, when I teach the use of head wraps. Alternatively, if you have an urgent problem requiring yoga for migraine or whatever, consider a private class.

By the way, if you have any trauma in your background that involves bandages, then I suggest you avoid classes teaching this approach, or even reading further in this blog post on Iyengar Yoga head wraps.

The many benefits of an Iyengar Yoga head wrap

Some of the many benefits of this Iyengar yoga head wrap technique include:

• Reducing anxiety, and finding inner peace
• Dealing with headaches and migraines
• Sleeping better
• Getting calmer, and reducing or managing stress
• Feeling secure and nurtured
• Reducing the distraction and discomfort of windy or hot weather
• Quietening the mind and nervous system
• Accentuating the energy, clarity, and insight that flows from pranayama breath meditation
• Delving into wonderful aspects of your consciousness.

I find this head wrapping technique so useful that I always take a suitable bandage on my overseas travels.

Again, that’s not something I tell people until they know me a little better!

Below, I’ve explained the benefits in  more detail. In addition, the captions on the pictures give you a quick idea of how wrap the head, and some of the typical yoga poses you can do while using a head wrap.

Quietening the chatter of the mind

Richard Rosen, a well-known Iyengar yoga practitioner and author, describes why it’s useful to use this type of bandage wrap technique.

Rosen says the technique is used:

“… to seal consciousness, to prevent it from leaking out into the world, and stimulate the subtle sound (nada), which serves as a seed for meditation….This helps quiet the brain, and calm the fluctuations of consciousness”.

(This quote, & those below, from R Rosen The Yoga of Breath.)

As you can see in the picture below, the top of the head can end up covered, or not, depending on your crisscrossing.

By the way, some of you may already be familiar with using a yoga “eye-pillow” for covering the eyes.

If so, you’ll already know the extra peace and mind quietening that an eye-pillow creates. A so-celled Pune head wrap (because it was invented by Mr BKS Iyengar), creates a similar, but much more powerful, quietening of your mind.

It’s just another reason why I suggest you try a head wrap for pranayama breath meditation, as well as for Iyengar yoga for migraine, anxiety, and much more.

Another of Mr Iyengar’s yoga prop inventions

Richard Rosen also notes how the technique was developed by Mr BKS Iyengar. He saw it as a variation of the so-called Six-Openings Seal (or Shan-Mukhi-Mudra).

In other words, Mr Iyengar is very creatively using a simple bandage as another very useful yoga prop. It’s also a variation of a so-called mudra.

In class where I use the technique, I will show you how the bandaging technique can either be used across the forehead and ears, or just how it can also include the eyes.

Richard Rosen goes on to say this.

“….the seal is used to partially block outside sounds and light, and soften the eyes and skin of the forehead”.

Exploring your consciousness

Mr BKS Iyengar also of course knew that the brain is the centre of consciousness.

But, as Richard notes below, Mr Iyengar also considered that:

“….our brain and consciousness are everywhere, diffuse throughout the body, and the “head” brain is in fact an object of perception, just like an arm or a leg.”

It’s now well known that at least one major nerve (the vagus nerve), throughout your neck and abdomen, is often considered to be an extension of your brain into such parts. So, for that reason alone, it may well be that Mr Iyengar was onto something.

Whatever the nature of what goes on physiologically, this technique has worked in practice for me and for many of my students. Research has not yet tested the head wrap itself.

That’s why, from time to time, in classes such as Yoga For Immune System, or Restorative Yoga, I’ll be training you in how to use the technique.

All this also means that with the bandage on, there are ways that you can explore such perceptions of consciousness.

Some of you may remember or know of the famous band called “The Doors”. They were in fact meaning the doors of perception. It demonstrates that humans have been curious about such issues for a very long time.

So, this is yet another technique to let you journey into the doors of perception.

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Consciousness is an emerging area of research

By the way, I also note that the nature of consciousness is one of the current areas of scientific research.

In such research, the issue of consciousness is taken very seriously. Although there are various theories about the nature of consciousness, no modern scientist is sure exactly what it is.

Although most of the modern scientists of the mind agree that consciousness exists, it’s still a huge area of exploration.

Obviously, many yogis, like Mr BKS Iyengar, and others, have explored and worked with consciousness for millennia.

Science will one day catch up, describe what it is, and probably outline further ways to use it better.

Pranayama & Iyengar Yoga For Migraine, Anxiety, & More

Does yoga help migraine? What the research says

Yoga may reduce how often migraines come and how bad they are, as an addition to usual care. Here is the research, with the year and what yoga was compared with.

• 2022 review, American Journal of Emergency Medicine: 6 randomised trials (studies where people are allocated to groups by chance). Compared with control groups, yoga reduced headache frequency, intensity and duration, and migraine disability. The authors said to recommend it with caution because the trials differed a lot.
• 2023 clinical guideline, Journal of Headache and Pain: a panel of headache and exercise researchers gave yoga a grade B recommendation for migraine, the same grade as moderate aerobic exercise.
• 2024 review, Headache: 28 studies, 1,501 people. Yoga did better than medication alone for reducing how often migraines came and how intense they were. The evidence was rated very low quality.
• 2025 review, PeerJ: 27 trials, 1,611 people. Yoga gave a small benefit (Hedges’ g minus 0.35), with 8 to 10 weeks of regular practice looking most useful. Certainty was very low to low.
• 2025 trial, Complementary Therapies in Medicine: 90 adults with chronic migraine. Adding 12 weeks of daily yoga breathing and relaxation to standard medical care cut headache days by about 7 a month, against about 5 with medical care alone.

In plain terms: the direction is consistent and encouraging, but the studies are small and cannot be blinded. Yoga is best thought of as something you add to your migraine care, not a replacement for it. The head wrap itself has not yet been tested in research; what we know about it comes from long practice in the Iyengar tradition.

Dr Timothy McCall’s June 2019 list of 117 health conditions helped by yoga includes migraine and tension headaches. See it on our benefits of yoga page, and for headaches that start in the neck, see yoga for neck pain.

Practising safely with migraine

• Practise between attacks, not during one. When a migraine is building, rest in a dark, quiet room.
• Leave out inversions such as headstand and shoulderstand on days your head is sensitive, and avoid strong or fast breathing.
• Keep cool and drink water. Heat, dehydration and holding the breath are common triggers, which matters in the Darwin build-up.
• Keep the wrap comfortable. Firm enough to stay on, never tight. Take it off if it brings on any pressure or discomfort.
• See your doctor about any new, sudden or changed headache, and keep taking your prescribed treatment.

Yoga For Immune Class, Or Restorative Yoga Class

As a result, the techniques I’ll be teaching you are a very practical way for you to be guided by that ancient yogic knowledge of your own consciousness.

In addition, you’ll learn how to use the techniques for practical outcomes like managing or reducing anxiety, easing headaches, improving sleep, de-stressing, and the many other benefits I’ve already mentioned.

When I show you these head wrap techniques, I’ll also explain when you should not use the technique, and what to avoid when you do use it.

Online students should bring a suitable bandage

In class, after I show you how to use the bandage as a head wrap, I’ll check you have the bandage on correctly. It’s especially important to ensure that it’s not too tight.

We will then do some suitable yoga poses, and variations of the head wrapping technique, so as to allow you to get the full impact and dimension of the use of this particular yogic prop.

If you’re attending Flametree Yoga classes online, please bring a longish bandage, ideally with a small amount of elastic in it. I’ll give you plenty of notice of when these Iyengar Yoga head wrap classes are scheduled.

As you may know, such bandages are in both chemist shops (or drug stores in USA English), and many supermarkets.

If you’re worried that whatever bandage you have, has too much elastic, then just wash it in hot water a couple of times.

We already have such bandages at Flametree Yoga Studio (which I wash after each use).

For those who may be buying such a bandage, I’ve included a picture of such a bandage above.

At some point soon, I’ll also explain further aspects of the head wrapping technique.

Iyengar Yoga For Migraine, Anxiety, & More

Deals for getting yoga for migraine, or headaches, or whatever

To start, use the links below.

Chris teaches the head wrap from time to time in Restorative Yoga and Yoga For Immune System classes, at Woolner in Darwin and LIVE online. Start with beginner classes if you are new to yoga.

• New to Flametree? Your first class is free. In Darwin, just come along to the studio. Online, click the class time you want and we email you the link to join. See the class times and get your link to join here, or see the beginner timetable.
• Keep going at half price. The beginner deal is 10 classes at half price plus 2 more free, $59.50 in total, in the studio, online or both. No discount code is needed, and it has a 14-day money-back guarantee. It is for newcomers and anyone away three months or more.
• Already practising yoga? The non-beginner half price 10 pass with 2 free is $104.50, no code needed, with a money-back guarantee.

Practising yoga and breath meditation is the super highway to everything you want from yoga, including what you may not even know that you want.

In particular, with the use of special techniques such as outlined in this post, you can get an even wider range of yoga benefits.

Particular types of yoga, like Gentle Yoga, or Back, Neck & Shoulder Yoga, or Easy Restorative Yoga, are also especially good. They help address common problems like bad backs, stiffness, or anxiety.

The above classes, are excellent beginner classes when you have not been exercising for a long time, or if age or menopause is causing additional stiffness. As well as improving flexibility, these classes help reduce stress and correct imbalances.

Pranayama breath meditation is taught step by step in our classes.

Ideally, as soon as you’ve done at least 6 months of yoga come to Flametree’s yoga retreat in Bali. It’s also another way to quickly access healing yoga options, and much more.

All Flametree classes are both online and in-the-studio, including private classes. There is also a large selection of yoga video courses and classes.

See our most popular passes at the orange links below.

Plus, for any occasion or event where you need a gift for a friend or loved one, check out Flametree gift vouchers.

So try a head wrap for pranayama breath meditation. In addition, use it for Iyengar yoga for migraine, anxiety, and much more.

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Yoga classes for all levels, including online.

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Yoga, exercise and migraine: questions people ask

Does exercise help migraines?

For a lot of people, regular gentle exercise cuts how often migraines arrive. Regular is the word doing the work there.

Hard or sudden exertion is a different story, and for some people it sets one off. That is one reason a slow, supported practice suits migraine sufferers better than a fast class.

Can exercise cause migraines?

It can. Straining, holding the breath, getting too hot and getting dehydrated are the usual triggers.

All four are avoidable. Keep the breath easy, keep the room cool, drink water, and stop before you are wrung out.

Can yoga help migraines?

Research suggests it can, as an addition to usual care. Reviews in 2022, 2024 and 2025 found yoga reduced how often migraines came and how strong they were, though the studies were small. The poses most often used are the supported forward bends and the restorative ones, where the head is resting on something rather than held up.

Taking the weight of the head off the neck, and quietening what you can see and hear, is a large part of why they help.

Can yoga trigger a migraine?

Occasionally, and usually for the same reasons any exercise does. Inversions, strong breath work and overheating are the ones to watch.

If you get migraines, say so before class rather than pushing through and finding out.

How soon after a migraine can I practise again?

When the headache has gone and you feel steady, start with something restorative rather than something strong.

A supported forward bend or lying over a bolster is usually welcome long before a standing sequence is.

What is the head wrap for?

It applies gentle, even pressure around the skull and covers the eyes, which in the Iyengar tradition is taught to settle the nervous system and quieten the constant work the eyes do.

It is one of Mr Iyengar’s ideas, and it is one of the simplest tools in the room. This post explains how to use one.

Is this suitable for a complete beginner?

The head wrap practice is not the first thing a beginner should try. It asks for a bit of familiarity with lying in supported poses and staying there.

Start with the beginner classes, then come to the restorative and yoga for immunity classes where the wrap is used.

Where can I try this in Darwin or online?

Flametree teaches at Woolner (near Parap), Coolalinga, Casuarina, Palmerston and the CBD, and online. Online students should bring a suitable bandage. Your first class is free if you are new to Flametree. See the class times here.

This article is general information, not medical advice. See your doctor about any new, sudden or changed headache. Flametree Yoga Studio, Darwin and live online.

Sources: Long C and colleagues, Effectiveness of yoga therapy for migraine treatment: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled studies, American Journal of Emergency Medicine, 2022, doi 10.1016/j.ajem.2022.04.050. La Touche R and colleagues, Prescription of therapeutic exercise in migraine, an evidence-based clinical practice guideline, Journal of Headache and Pain, 2023, doi 10.1186/s10194-023-01571-8. Reina-Varona A and colleagues, Efficacy of various exercise interventions for migraine treatment: a systematic review and network meta-analysis, Headache, 2024, doi 10.1111/head.14696. Xie J and colleagues, Efficacy and optimal dosage of various exercises for migraine, PeerJ, 2025, doi 10.7717/peerj.20254. Sujan MU and colleagues, Yoga-based breathing and relaxation as adjunctive therapy for chronic migraine: a randomized controlled trial, Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 2025, doi 10.1016/j.ctim.2025.103291. Rosen R, The Yoga of Breath. McCall T, 117 Health Conditions Helped by Yoga, Yoga As Medicine, June 2019, DrMcCall.com.