Yoga and Blood Pressure
B.K.S. Iyengar
2/22/2003
Yoga
asanas can be effective in different ways. In the
case of blood pressure they can combat the causes,
as well as the effects of high blood pressure and
stabilize blood pressure thus reducing high blood
pressure and regulating low pressure. Asanas calm
the mind and regularize and balance the autonomous nervous
system, the center that controls stress. The
sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system,
which are involved in stress reaction also get stabilized
in the practice of asanas resulting in regulation of
blood pressure.
The effects of hypertension on various systems
such
as the cardiovascular, respiratory and nervous systems and
on various organs especially the heart, lungs, liver and kidneys
can be lessened and eventually
neutralized by the practice of certain asanas and pranayama.
The asanas, which regulate blood pressure,
belong to the forward bends, supine, sitting, and inversions
group. However forward bends are the fundamental asanas to
be practiced by persons suffering from high blood pressure,
whereas Viparita Dandasana is the most beneficial asana for
low blood pressure.
Forward bends should be practiced with bolsters,
blankets and an elasto-crepe bandage wrapped aroundthe forehead
and eyes. In forward bends the frontal brain is pacified and
blood flow to the brain is regularized. Stress gets released
from the sense organs, eyes, nose, throat and tongue. Nervine
stress, chronic headaches and eye pain is also reduced.
The
sympathetic nervous system gets rested and this
has a positive effect on the other systems. Blood
pressure becomes stable when the sense organs,
the brain and the sympathetic nervous system are relaxed.
The horizontal position of the spine in these
asanas allows the heart to slow down, as there is no
stress to pump the blood against gravity to the brain.
The heart rate and the cardiac output simultaneously
slows down and blood pressure is controlled.
Although Uttanasana and Adhomukha Svanasana
are
categorized as standing asanas, they are actually forward
bending standing poses and as such have a similar effect on
the nervous system. When these two poses are practiced with
the head resting on props, the blood flows more freely into
the aortic arch and the carotid sinuses. This extra perfusion
into
these volume sensitive structures inhibits the vasomotor center
and blood pressure becomes stabilized.
Supine poses such as Supta Baddhakonasana
and Supta Padangusthasana 2 allow the abdominal region to
spread and relax. This relaxation is not only beneficial to
the entire organic body, but is also soothing on the nerves.
Those suffering from high blood pressure practice sitting
asanas such as Baddhakonasana, Virasana and Upavista Konasana.
Often hypertensives have difficulty in their breathing and
these poses owing to their erect position, soften the diaphragm
and remove tension from the ribs and the intercostal muscles.
This helps the person to breathe easily.
Inversions such as Halasana, Setubandha
Sarvangasana and Viparita Karani rests and rejuvenates the
nerves and reduce the sympathetic tone immediately. Regular
practice of these asanas keeps the blood pressure under control.
In Setubandha Sarvangasana the diaphragm and lungs are under
control. The diaphragm and lungs are lifted and this helps
to stabilize the blood pressure. Viparita Dandasana rests
the Medulla oblongata, the center that control blood pressure.
However this pose is for those suffering from low blood pressure
and should not be practiced by hypertensives, as it will increase
ocular pressure.
Svanasana and pranayama helps to control
the automatic nervous system and the sympathetic tone gets
reduced. As the mind and senses of perception are withdrawn,
the blood pressure regularizes.
what is yoga?
click
here for an informative introduction to yoga interview
(12 min. total)
host: David Folk Thomas
participants:
Ben Kligler, MD ; Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Deborah Matza, RN, MPH
click here for
yoga and vegetarianism benefits
click here for yoga for cancer
benefits
click here for a few fun tree yoga pictures
Shiatsu
Massage and Its Benefits
Shiatsu
is a Japanese word: "shi" meaning finger, and "atsu" meaning
pressure. But shiatsu is more than acupressure. It is a
combination of many different techniques, including pressing,
hooking, sweeping, shaking, rotating, grasping, vibrating,
patting, plucking, lifting, pinching, rolling, brushing,
and, in one school developed by Suzuki Yamamoto, barefoot
shiatsu, which includes walking on the person's back, legs,
and feet.
In
the practice of shiatsu, each person is primarily responsible
for his or her own health and well-being.
This contrasts with the Western belief that the medical
practitioner is principally responsible for our health.
In Western medicine an awareness of the unique significance
of touch, the essential form of communication between two
human beings in the fight to subdue pain, has all but disappeared;
certainly it has become minimal. Ironically, in all times
and all cultures, the importance of touch, just touch itself,
has been acknowledged as a primary means to mitigate pain.
In the hurried rounds of the Western clinical physician
checking hospital charts at the end of the day, alas, it
has nearly completely disappeared.
Shiatsu
strengthens
the immune system and, if practiced consistently, truly
becomes preventive health care. Who can benefit from shiatsu?
Early on, George Balanchine, Ivan Nagy, Martha Graham, and
many other dancers took regular shiatsu sessions to relieve
their pains and restore and maintain their vitality. It
is well known that Liza Minnelli and Henry Kissinger have
received shiatsu treatments to promote and maintain good
health.
Massage
and your Health & Well Being
The
nervous system controls and coordinates all organs and structures
of the human body. Irritation on any nerve will affect one
or more of the body's functions. The most critical part
of the nervous system is the spine. Any type of stress,
mental or physical, caused by injury, strains, sprains,
muscle spasms, or disease will affect one or more of the
body's functions, whether voluntarily or involuntarily.
Once
the nerves in our bodies leave the spinal column, they travel
through canals in the tissue. If there is any pressure on
these canals, whether created by inflammation, swelling
or misalignment of vertebra, the nerves will send out a
signal in the form of pain to alert the body of a malfunction.
If you suffer from virtually any form of pain or stress,
massage "may"
be benefical to you
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