Tension headaches are those dull achy headaches that often start to develop around mid-day. They are often stress or anxiety induced, and are usually dealt with by taking non-prescription pain relief drugs. However, recent surveys show that many of us aren't comfortable taking a tablet as soon as pain strikes and would rather be dealing with them naturally.

Here's a simple and effective self-help massage routine you can use to chase away tension headache pain...

• sit up straight and place your fingertips behind your earlobes at the back of your head
• begin to massage slowly inwards around the base of your skull until your fingers meet in the hollow where the base of your skull and the top of your neck meet - at that point use the index and middle fingers of one hand to massage in a small firm circle
• lean back into your fingers and breathe deeply as you keep massaging for a minute or two
• now take the index and middle fingers of each hand and find the hollow on either side of your neck just under the base of your skull and again lean back into you fingers and breathe deeply as you massage the area
• turn your head as far to the left as you can, and repeat to the right
• raise your shoulders up towards your ears and then lower them as far as you can
• look left and right again
• finally, take a deep breath and have a stretch

Additional tips for a headache free day:

- Start the day with a cup of hot water with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Try this as a gentle morning detox to start the day feeling fresh and clear-headed.

- Take regular breaks during the day to stretch and walk around. Many headaches can be avoided by taking regular short breaks to move and stretch. Often tension accumulates in the head due to eyestrain or intense concentration when driving or working on computers. A quick stretch disperses accumulated tension in the head before it builds to uncomfortable levels.

Ginger & Lemon Headache Reliever

2 teaspoons of fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons for fresh ginger juice*
1 cup of boiled water

-mix in a cup with honey to taste and sip when cooled

*to extract ginger juice - grate the ginger and squeeze the juice from the pulp

Ginger has anti-inflammatory properties that are effective in easing headache pain. Another popular way to take ginger is in its crystallized form, which can be found at most health food shops.