A recent study from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, published with insights from the American Academy of Neurology, shows that adding yoga to standard migraine medications outperforms drugs alone. Participants reported fewer headaches that lasted shorter times and caused less pain.
“Migraine is one of the most common headache disorders, but only about half of people who take medication for it get real relief,” said study author Rohit Bhatia, MD, DM, DNB, of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, India, and member of the American Academy of Neurology. “The good news is that practicing something as simple and accessible as yoga can help much more than medicine alone. And all you need is a mat.”
The study enrolled 114 adults aged 18 to 50 with episodic migraines, experiencing 4 to 14 headaches per month. They were randomly assigned to two groups: medication alone or yoga plus medication.
The yoga group followed a one-hour program featuring breathing exercises, relaxation techniques, and postures, led by an instructor three days a week for one month, then practiced independently at home five days a week for two months. Both groups received standard medications and lifestyle counseling, including advice on sleep, regular meals, and exercise.
Participants tracked headache duration, severity, and medication use in daily logs.
Improvements occurred in both groups, but the yoga group saw superior results across all measures: headache frequency, pain intensity, medication needs, and impact on daily life.
For headache frequency, the yoga group averaged 9.1 headaches per month at baseline, dropping to 4.7 after three months—a 48% reduction. The medication-only group started at 7.7 and ended at 6.8, a 12% decrease.
The yoga group also cut average pill use by 47%, compared to 12% in the medication-only group.
