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Namaskar Dear Ones,
Below is a question and answer session regarding Yoga for High Blood Pressure (HBP). I hope you find it useful. Please feel free to add suggestions or questions related to holistic solutions for HBP.
Q: My husband was diagnosed with high blood pressure about a month back. He has changed his prescription medication to complete herbal medication. It does help him, but as we know, herbal stuff takes longer to actually work.
I would really appreciate it, if you could give me some advice on diet and exercise that would help him along.
I am subscribed to your newsletter.
Thanking you.
Much love & blessings
A: Attached is a handy booklet with recipes and good ideas for high blood pressure (HBP) solutions.
Any Blood Pressure reading above 139/89 is borderline.
There is much risk if HBP is 140/90 and above for sustained periods of time.
Your husband's condition could be genetic, as well as conditional.
If he regularly exercises and eats right, but has HBP, it is likely a genetic condition.
If it is genetic, he may not be able to stay away from a prescription for long.
This does not mean: Give up, take prescriptions, and live an unhealthy life style.
Exercises that will help: Pranayama, Hatha Yoga (no inversions), and lots of walking (10,000 steps per day minimum) or a swimming equivalent.
Pranayama should not be dynamic, but slow and controlled.
His weight should be optimum for his height category.
He should have none or very little alcohol, caffeine, tobacco, and salt.
A (Sattvic) diet high in fresh fruit and vegetables is wise.
Best of luck to both of you.
Have a nice week.
All the Best.
Namaste,
Paul
Q: The doctor did say that this is a "genetic" problem. Ben is not an over-weight man. He runs his own fitment center and yes, that can get stressful at times. I have browsed through the booklet you attached and we do adhere to much of what is advised. He is not and never has been a salt person. In fact, I cook with very little salt. Ben is a non-smoker, has very little alcohol (only socially, maybe a glass or two of wine) and coffee very, very rarely. We have lots of vegetables and he loves his fruit. He also has milk (I need to change that to low fat) and low fat yogurt every morning. He is an active person - exercises 3 times a week, does motor racing as a hobby and is always on the go.Apart from the herbal blood pressure tablets he also has a multivitamin, magnesium and omega 3 & 6. Do you think that he should start taking the prescription medication again, immediately? His father had a blood pressure problem and also suffered from Alzheimer's disease. Ben is now 57 years old - what are the chances of him having Alzheimer's? What are the signs that I should look out for?He does tend to be forgetful at times but I always put that down to him having a lot on his mind.I thank you again for your help - it is much appreciated!Much love & blessings...Namaste
A: About your husband's HBP: This does resemble a genetic condition. Your husband's lifestyle is a healthy one. That said, this may also be a big source of frustration for him, which further pushes his blood pressure at risk. Most people blame themselves for HBP. Most of us tend to blame medical conditions on ourselves or bad habits, but genetics is an overriding factor.You are both doing the right things with his diet and exercise.
Adding Yoga to his life is a benefit. On the other hand, if his blood pressure is 140/90 or higher for long there are many health risks. The list is quite long, but the Mayo Clinic has an in-depth report on this subject.
My suggestion: Look at prescribed medicine as a bridge or short-term solution. Your husband needs instant help in reducing his blood pressure readings now. My belief is that Western medicine, Ayurveda, and Yoga can work together in harmony. You should both speak to his doctor concerning goals of lowering his HBP naturally. Doctors resort to prescriptions, when it seems to be the best solution.
About Alzheimer's: There are a number of tests including an online test, and so forth. Forgetting is an unfortunate part of aging. To see detailed symptoms, please visit the following link.
All the Best.
Namaste,
Paul
April 27, 2015
Hi Carmen,
Good question. I'd ask the student to get a doctor's approval for inversions. The reason being - what if this student has a stroke in my yoga class? Is the family going to sue me because some guy has HBP, but it was medically controlled by a prescription? Sorry to be so cautious, but the lawsuits fly and the next thing you know your flat broke. Hence be cautious about full inversions like head stand and shoulder stand - even if the student is medicated.
Peace,
Lea
April 27, 2015
Hi Carmen,
Getting advice from your doctor is the wisest decision you could make. She or he knows all of the specifics related to your health. Your definition of inversions is correct. The only difference in inversions is the angle. So a headstand is referred to as a "full inversion," while downward dog is an inversion, but not a full inversion.
Full inversions place the most stress on the head with blood pressure rushing to the brain. If someone has an unmedicated BP condition, he or she could be at risk for a number of potential problems including stroke. In your case - you are young (at least from my viewpoint) and your doctor may clear you if your HBP is under control. Please let us know what your advice is because all yoga teachers want classes to be safe for everyone.
As to why you have HBP - It could be genetic (family history) or conditional due to stress overload. Your lifestyle is healthy, but if you have recession worries - they can take a toll. With genetics, we have to accept it if everyone in our family has HBP. In my case, my family has a history of heart disease. I have eaten carefully and exercised all my life. Guess what - my doc discovered heart disease four years ago.
At first, it made me angry and so frustrated that I wished I had visited McDonald's or Burger King for my meals. To think that a vegetarian can get heart disease was a bitter pill to swallow. Heck, I thought Yoga would protect me from everything forever. Back to reality - later, I got over it, still eat healthy, and exercise every day.
Good Luck and Namaste,
Gator
April 27, 2015
Dear Carmen,
Namaskar!
I agree with Gator's opinion. Each case is slightly different, but your age indicates that you may not have had HBP for long. With that said, your doctor is more likely to clear you for inverted Yoga asanas than someone Gator's age (no offense Gator), who may have had HBP for decades. This does not mean your doctor will approve full inversions, but he or she may put less restrictions on you than someone who is 2 or 3 times your age.
Hari Om,
Nasreen
April 27, 2015
Sometimes medication can compensate for high blood pressure. Lots of individuals in the present day are afflicted by hypertension, or even high blood pressure. It is a very common happening which looks like it's going up in prevalence every day. This condition could get people at high risk for dangerous health difficulties, for instance heart disease and heart stroke. Quite a lot of these types of victims need to use medication to manage their particular problem. Still, it has been determined that doing yoga can help to manage pressure. Many have also experienced being able to get rid of their maintenance drugs right after following a yoga schedule for some months. The reason for this is actually the favorable benefits which might be obvious of yoga exercises on blood pressure level.
Yoga exercise is really a 100 % natural stress reliever. The positions along with inhaling and exhaling techniques you utilize with this type of exercise enables you to clear the mind. Breathing just how yoga exercise demands really helps to give a lot more oxygen to the blood stream. This will help you feel much more clearly regarding conditions that could be causing anxiety. By means of relieving these types of negative feelings, you possibly can lessen your pressure readings. Yoga exercises could also help reduce anxiety as it assists lower producing hormones inside the brain which often can trigger us to stress and become anxious relating to various situations in life.
Yoga exercise is also a great exercise in assisting individuals shed extra pounds. When you have a smaller amount fat gathered within your body, your blood circulation has been enhanced. This can help to reduce high pressure. Obesity is really a major cause in high pressure; therefore if you can reduce your weight, you may also decrease your pressure levels. For a lot of, yoga exercises has get rid of enough pounds they no longer worry about taking their drugs or even observing their blood pressure levels each and every day.
The advantages of yoga exercises are certainly not simply hearsay. There was clearly several experiments performed to prove that yoga can indeed decrease high blood pressure. In one trial, twenty hypertension patients adhered to a yoga exercise program designed to benefit their hypertension ranges. Of such individuals, 5 were able to quit their blood pressure medicine. Another 5 had the ability to have their medicine dose diminished. Last of all, four from the members said diminished levels of blood pressure when compared with that they recorded before commencing the yoga research study.
It is very important for everybody that's being affected by hypertension learn the positive effects which yoga exercises can have on the problem. It could successfully ease stress, which is a principal reason why many people currently have high pressure. Additionally, it can cause a reduction in weight, which can be another leading reason for this problem. Studying an appropriate yoga exercise plan that will help lessen high pressure will allow you to handle your condition much better.
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