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In
the Spotlight
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| February
11, 2000 |
Yoga:
How You Can Control High Blood Pressure Without Medication
By
Rao Nanduri, M.D.
Personal MD.com
V.P. of Medical Sciences
By
Professor M. Venkata Reddy
Director Vemana Yoga Research Institute
Hyderabad, India
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High
blood pressure (hypertension) is a potentially serious condition
due to its deleterious impact on many body organs and systems.
In the ancient literature's of India, dating back thousands
of years before Christ, hypertension, which is called and described
as "rakta vata", was quoted as one of the major illnesses of
human body. Herbal medicines, along with meditation practices
were prescribed both for cure and prevention.
In the modern world, in about 80 percent of the cases of hypertension,
the primary or the essential cause has always been found to
be the stresses and strains in life. The other 20 percent of
cases are caused by one or more medically or surgically identifiable
causes.
 As
long as the stress and strain in the normal life remain under
the disease causing threshold limit, there will not be any sign
of this ailment. In the ancient Indian (Hindu) scripts, some
methods were described to raise this threshold level so as to
enable the body and mind to control the precipitation of hypertension.
Ayurveda
According
to Ayurveda, the most ancient system of medicine known in the
world, rakta vata occurs due to disturbances in vata, which
is one of the three major doshas (or defects in health systems)
of the body. Disturbances in vata lead to problems such as metabolic
and circulatory diseases, depression and emotional problems,
and illnesses related to the stresses and strains of life and
tension in the mind.
Hypertension
is one of these illnesses. The other two doshas are pitta, which
means "gall", and kapha, which means "phlegm." Pitta is responsible
for digestion in the intestines, metabolism, and energy, while
kapha is responsible for the functioning of the stomach, limbs,
joints, and sensory organs.
Yoga
According
to yoga, which is also as ancient as Ayurveda, stress is a state
of imbalance of the mind. Yoga is a science of body and mind
practiced in India for thousands of years. It has, in more recent
times, received acceptance around the world, and is used in
the management of stress worldwide.
Yoga
treats stress in a holistic (body and mind) concept of the entire
person. Stress is stated to be a result of bad interaction between
different layers, called koshas, of human existence. Yoga aims
to achieve a totally stress free state. According to yoga, the
mind plays the most important part in causing hypertension and
does so in the following ways:
-
Mental
Causes: Worries of any nature stagnating in the mind for a
long time produce tension in the mind, therefore causing disturbances
in the emotional state of mind.
- Pranic
Causes: Prana means "breath of life." If prana is disturbed, it
will in turn cause disturbances in the energy systems of the body,
known as the "chakras." The chakras produce cyclic changes in
the hormones of the body, and these in turn cause disturbances
in the energy systems of the body.
- Physical
Causes: Abnormalities in lifestyle, such as sedentary habits,
sleep disturbances, unbalanced diet, smoking, and drinking alcohol,
as well as others, also disturbances in the metabolic and circulatory
systems.
Using
yoga to manage hypertension
Yoga
offers a comprehensive and integrated approach for the treatment,
as well as the prevention of essential hypertension. The practice
of yoga integrates the activities of the mind with those of
the body. This approach has been used for over 20 years at the
Vemana Yoga Research Institute, Hyderabad, India.
Clinical
evaluation of the patients using yoga has proved that using
a comprehensive approach was much better than using isolated
yoga techniques in the treatment of various disorders, including
essential hypertension. The comprehensive approach recommends
more than one yoga practices combined with making changes in
lifestyle, performing meditation, and eating a suitable diet
under an expert's guidance and supervision.
 Yoga
practices for managing hypertension
The following yoga practices have been found to be effective
in the management of high blood pressure. These practices should
be taught by a yoga expert and practiced under his or her supervision.
It is also advised that you keep a periodic record of your blood
pressure in order to know for yourself, the result of these
yoga practices.
1.Shavasana
"Shava"
means dead and "asana" means posture, therefore in this position
you would lie in a supine position like a dead person. In this
posture, all parts of the body are completely relaxed.
The
technique is as follows:
a.
Lie down in a supine position on a hard surfaced floor in
a room (preferably a wooden surface.) Have your legs separated
from each other by 60 degrees and your arms separated from
the body by about 15 degrees.
b.
Keep your elbows in a mid-prone position and the hands semi-flexed
with the palms facing the body.
c.
Keep your eyes closed. Breathe slowly and shallowly using
your abdominal muscles (expand the abdomen while breathing
in).
d.
Keep your mind focused on your breathing. This act, called
pranadharana, is essential in shavasana.
Do
this yoga practice for 15 to 30 minutes one to three times a
day, either in the morning or evening, every day for one month.
When doing shavasana, you should have an empty stomach, so don't
eat beforehand.
This practice relieves you from high blood pressure, headaches,
dizziness, hot flushes, mental weakness, and insomnia. The only
precaution is if you have low blood pressure. If you do, you
should not do this practice. Also, once your blood pressure
has returned to a normal level, don't do this practice if your
blood pressure drops to a below normal level.
2.
Naadi Shodhana
Naadi shodhana means "cleansing of the nerves." It clears the
airway and nasal passages. Naadi shodhana may be done in either
one of two positions: in shavasana (as described above) or in
sukhasana (described below.)
Naadi
shodhana in the shavasana position:
a.
While lying in the shavasana position, bend your knees so
that your ankles touch your buttocks.
b.
Place the palm of your left hand horizontally over the center
of your abdomen.
c.
Press the thumb of your right hand against your right nostril
and close the right nostril.
d.
Inhale (using abdominal breathing) through your left nostril.
e.
Next, press the ring and little fingers of your right hand
against your left nostril and close your left nostril.
f.
Remove your thumb from the right nostril.
g.
Exhale (using abdominal breathing) through your right nostril.
(You
are inhaling through the left nostril and exhaling through the
right nostril.)
The
inhalation and exhalation constitutes one unit of breathing.
The breathing should be at a ratio of 1:2 (e.g., count from
1 to 5 while breathing in, and count 1 to 10 while breathing
out), and it should be continuous (e.g., no break or holding
of breath.)
Do
five units of breathing. Take a break from this method of breathing
for about two minutes then repeat. Do this yoga practice for
about 15 to 30 minutes, once or twice a day (in the morning
and/or evening) every day for one month. When doing naadi shodhana,
you should have an empty stomach, so don't eat beforehand.
This
procedure improves the respiratory system and concentration
and decreases the blood pressure. The only precaution is low
blood pressure.
Naadi
shodhana in the sukhasana position:
Sukhasana means "comfortable posture", and may also be referred
to as the easy posture. Sukhasana is a suitable position if
you are not able to perform other yoga postures such as padmasana
(the Lotus position), which may be difficult for beginners.
The
sukhasana position is as follows:
a.
Sit comfortably on the floor, resting on both of your buttocks.
b.
Sit up tall. (Keep your spine erect without any bending.)
c.
Sit "cross-legged" (flex or bend both knees, keep one leg
and foot resting on the floor, with the other leg and foot
resting on the opposite leg and thigh.)
d.
Perform naadi shodhana as described above.
Do
this for a total of 5 to 10 minutes, once or twice a day (in
the morning and/or evening) every day for one month. When doing
naadi shodhana, you should have an empty stomach, so don't eat
beforehand.
The
benefits and precautions are the same as for naadi shodhana
performed in the shavasana position.
3.
Chandrabedhana in Sukhasana
Chandrabedhana means "activation of breathing through the left
nostril." It is performed while sitting in the sukhasana position.
This yoga practice activates chandra naadi (the left nostril)
and calms (cools) the entire body.
a.
Sit in the sukhasana position.
b.
Place the palm of your left hand on your left knee.
c.
Press the thumb of your right hand against your right nostril
and close the right nostril.
d.
Inhale (using abdominal breathing) through your left nostril.
e.
Next, press the ring and little fingers of your right hand
against your left nostril and close your left nostril.
f.
Remove your thumb from the right nostril.
g.
Exhale (using abdominal breathing) through your right nostril.
(You are inhaling through the left nostril and exhaling through
the right nostril.
The
inhalation and exhalation constitutes one unit of chandrabedhana.
The breathing should be continuous (e.g., no break or holding
of breath.)
Do
five units of breathing. Then take a break from this method
of breathing for about two minute then repeat. Do this yoga
practice for about 5 to 10 minutes, once a day (either in the
morning or evening) every day for one month. When doing chandrabedhana,
you should have an empty stomach, so don't eat beforehand.
[Continued]
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