How Yoga Helps Cardiovascular Health

By: Andrew Beaumont, M.D., Ph.D., and Viniyoga Teacher & Yoga Therapist

Have High Blood Pressure? Yoga Can Help

Blood pressure is the pressure of blood pushing against the walls of your arteries. According to the Center for Disease Control, having high blood pressure, also called  hypertension, puts you at risk for heart disease and stroke, which are leading causes of death in the United States*. Andrew Beaumont, M.D., Ph.D., and Viniyoga teacher and yoga therapist, shares his expertise on how yoga can help control or lower blood pressure. 

Yoga Can Complement Other Pathways for Blood Pressure Control

The three most important steps for dealing with blood pressure problems are good diet / weight loss, regular exercise and stress reduction

Yoga is a great form of exercise and a powerful tool for stress reduction. Yoga also can help support someone who is working on diet and weight loss, as often our poor eating habits are tied into stress and tension. Yoga can be a tool that works on all of the core problems that contribute to hypertension. Yoga as a form of exercise, along with dietary changes and weight loss strategy, can lead to a reduction in blood pressure that might avoid the need for medication. 

Having said that, for some people, blood pressure problems are related to other medical issues and taking antihypertensives is also important. In this situation, yoga can be a continued support to reduce the amount of medication needed, or to help the medication work better. 

For everyone with any problems related to hypertension, it is important to regularly check your blood pressure and work closely with your health professional to determine what your blood pressure goals are and to make sure you achieve these. Poorly controlled blood pressure can be a very dangerous problem that leads to heart attack, stroke, heart failure, kidney disease and many other problems.

The Science Behind How Yoga Works to Control Blood Pressure

One of the ways in which yoga contributes to helping reduce blood pressure is by stress reduction. We have an automatic set of neural controls in our body called the autonomic nervous system. The function of the cardiovascular system is driven by two parts of this system called the sympathetic and the parasympathetic systems. 

The sympathetic system is driven by adrenaline and represents our ‘fight or flight response’, so it drives heart rate up and increases blood pressure. The parasympathetic system is ‘rest and digest’, so it reduces heart rate and blood pressure. These two systems work together and provide some balance. 

If we get stressed, the sympathetic system gets more active and our heart works harder and blood pressure goes up. Daily stress in our lives drives sympathetic function up and therefore contributes to blood pressure. Yoga can directly soften or blunt the sympathetic response. With chronic stress, our adrenal glands produce more cortisol, which is a stress hormone that also causes changes that result in higher blood pressure. Yoga can reduce that response too. Yoga can work directly on these parts of the nervous system to reduce the stress response. But yoga also has the ability to help the way the mind handles stress too, and it is our reaction to stressful situations that ultimately drives the sympathetic response. So yoga can work on the net result (the sympathetic system) and on the root cause (the mind).

Discuss Blood Pressure Goals with Your Physician

Before engaging in any exercise program when dealing with high blood pressure, it is always wise to discuss with your physician first. There are very few medical reasons why someone should not do yoga, but it is important that you are working with your health professional to achieve your personal blood pressure goals and have regular health screenings.

Your Yoga Teacher Can Help Guide Practice Accordingly

When taking a yoga class for the first time, you will be asked to complete a health questionnaire, so your teacher will be aware of any blood pressure concerns and can help guide your yoga practice accordingly. Typically yoga poses that are ‘inversions,’ when the head goes below the heart, would be hard for someone with hypertension and should be avoided. ‘Hot yoga’ might be difficult for someone with hypertension. If you ever feel uncomfortable or unwell in a yoga class you should stop moving and rest and discuss with your teacher at the appropriate time to see whether you need some modifications. However generally speaking, yoga is a very safe exercise for anyone with high blood pressure.

Blog Video Practice for Managing Blood Pressure & Reducing Stress, view here   

This 24 minute practice starts on your back with centering, progresses into 4 yoga postures where you focus on exhale while doing the postures and then a short breathing practice at the end.

The focus in breathing is lengthening exhale, and if comfortable, adding some very short pauses after exhale.

This practice could be practiced anytime of the day.

As always, follow the recommendations of your health care provider if your blood pressure is not well controlled at this time. If you have high blood…

If you don’t have a Punch Pass account with 5 Koshas, you can get access to the video by setting up a free account here

 

 

 

Source Reference 

Andrew Beaumont, M.D., Ph.D., is a neurosurgeon specializing in diseases of the spine, with a research background in Physiology. He has a deep interest in Yoga, Ayurveda and other traditional medicine systems. He holds a certification diploma as a 500 hour Viniyoga Teacher from the American Viniyoga Institute. He is currently studying Yoga Therapy with the American Viniyoga Institute. He teaches special programs at 5 Koshas Yoga & Wellness in Wausau, WI and is faculty with the River Flow Yoga Teacher Training School.