High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
For controlling your
hypertension, there are two effective yoga exercises that helps lower the blood
pressure:
Inverted Yoga
Inverted yoga
reverses the action of gravity on the body. The most profound changes brought about
by Inverted Yoga is in circulation. In inverted poses, legs and abdomen are
placed higher than the heart.
Lengthening up
through the legs and keep them very active so your spine opens and the entire
body actively involved in the pose.
One of the reasons
for this is simply because the force of gravity is reversed and venous return
becomes significantly greater.
Normally, the muscles
of the calf and other skeletal muscles in the lower extremities must contract
in order to pump unoxygenated blood and waste back to the heart through the
veins.
In inverted poses,
gravity causes the blood to flow easily back through the veins and this brings
the blood pressure in the feet to a minimum. This in effect gives skeletal
muscles a chance to rest.
In Inverted poses,
drainage of blood and waste from the lower body back to the heart is increased
and disorders such as varicose veins and swollen ankles are relieved.
Rhythmic Breathing
It's time to learn
about breathing, because inhaling and exhaling has the power to nourish the
body and calm the mind.
Not just any old
breathing will do. If you're like most people, you take shallow breaths, pull
in your stomach when you inhale and never empty your lungs of carbon dioxide
when you exhale.
Here's the physiological
explanation: Long, slow breaths are more efficient than short, fast ones.
To take in a good
breath, your lungs must first be basically empty. Thus the key to efficient
breathing lies in exhaling completely. A full exhalation begins with the upper
chest, proceeds to the middle chest and finishes with tightening the abdominal
muscles.
Only
after a good exhalation can you draw in a good lungful of the oxygen-rich air
your blood needs for nourishing cells.
