Sonimahealth – Sonima

Yoga for High Blood Pressure

Kimberly Jordan Allen — Mon, 18 Nov 2019 04:00:18 +0000

Whether your yoga practice is more spiritual or physical, there is no wrong reason to spend time on your mat. And while chances are you’ve experienced first-hand some of the health benefits of yoga—such as reduced stress, increased flexibility, or a greater connection to a higher power—you may not realize that the practice appears to be good for your heart.

After reviewing 49 trials, University of Connecticut researchers recently concluded that practicing yoga may help reduce blood pressure in adults with hypertension. In particular, yoga practices that include breathing and relaxation exercises three times a week may reduce blood pressure as much as aerobic exercise does.

While more research is necessary, other studies point to the heart health benefits of yoga. For example, in a 2018 study, researchers assigned 60 adults to practice either yoga, deep breathing, stretching, or relaxation exercises five days a week. After three months, every group except the relaxation group experienced a drop in systolic blood pressure. However, the yoga group saw the greatest decrease.

How yoga causes this positive effect is multifaceted. For one, yoga practices are shown to help reduce stress, a factor linked to blood pressure concerns. “Yoga reduces mental tension by calming the thoughts and focusing the mind on the breath while also observing present-moment sensation within the body,” says Ashtanga yoga teacher Harmony Slater.

Additionally, yoga may improve heart rate variability, which is the variation in time between heartbeats. Reduced heart rate variability is another risk factor for hypertension. Furthermore, yoga increases flexibility not only in the muscles but also in the arteries, and it stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system through the vagus nerve. In turn, this lowers heart rate and blood pressure, Slater explains.

And then there’s the benefits of pranayama. Studies suggest that this “yogic breathing” may be an effective tool for hypertension.

“We are not telling people to use yoga to substitute for aerobic exercise,” researcher Yin Wu of the University of Connecticut said in a press release. “Aerobic exercise is the gold standard for antihypertensive lifestyle therapy. But yoga provides an additional option that can be just as effective.”

So, as long as your doctor gives you the green light, it may be worth starting a yoga practice. And if you’re a seasoned yogi, now you have yet another reason to continue stepping onto your mat on a regular basis.

Yoga Poses for High Blood Pressure

If you have hypertension or want to try to prevent it, Slater suggests the following sequence. Aim to hold each posture for 15 to 20 breaths. If you wish, you can repeat any of the postures as many times as you like.

This entire practice (including the resting posture at the end) takes about 15 to 20 minutes, and you can practice on your own at home. Keep in mind that diet, overall activity, and other lifestyle factors play a role in hypertension, so if you have any heart health concerns, talk to your doctor.

Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)

Lie on your belly with your forehead on the mat, legs close together and the tops of your feet flat and pressing down. Plant your palms by your lower ribs with your elbows pointing up and behind you. Inhale and drag your palms back lightly against the resistance of the sticky mat to lift your face and heart. Feel a width across the front of the shoulders and expand the front of the heart space. Keep your legs grounded and your neck lengthy as you continue to breathe.

Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

From cobra, inhale, tuck your toes, and push up to plank, but don’t stop. Continue lifting your rear and hips straight up and back, coming into an inverted V position. Exhale as you straighten your legs and drop your heels toward the earth. Keep your hands planted, your arms straight, and room between your shoulders and ears. If you have tight hamstrings, bend your knees slightly, press into your palms more, and lengthen the spine.

Child’s Pose (Balasana)

Come to all fours, then move your rear back onto your heels, laying your belly on your thighs and forehead on the mat. Extend your arms on the mat above your head (shown) or lay them along your sides. Breathe across your entire back, but especially the upper back, expanding the back of the heart space.

Half Lord of the Fishes Pose (Ardha Matsyendrasana)

Transition to sitting with your legs extended in front of you. Bend your left knee and place your left foot outside of your right knee. Exhale and twist to the left. Place your left hand behind you to help you sit up tall and, with your right arm, pull your left knee closer to help you twist. On each inhale, sit up a little taller. On each exhale, twist a little deeper. Do the pose on each side of your body.

Bound Angle Pose (Baddha Konasana)

Sit with your back against a wall. Bend your knees and place the soles of your feet together. Press the inner edges of the feet together as you lengthen the inner thighs in the opposite direction. Reach the inner knees toward the sides of the room; draw the outer knees into the outer hips.

Wide Angle Forward Fold (Upavistha Konasana)

Bend your knees into your chest and spread your legs wide apart, but not so wide that you cannot reach your feet with your hands. Lengthen your spine and fold forward as you hinge at the hip creases. Stay rooted through your sitting bones while keeping your kneecaps and toes facing up. Try to resist the urge to move forward, which could disconnect your seat from the earth. Instead, move into the open space gradually by drawing your navel into your spine.

Supported Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)

Place a bolster long ways on your mat. Sit with your lower back pressed against the short side of the bolster and slowly lie down on the bolster with your legs extended and toes pointing. Let your arms rest palms up at about a 45-degree angle from your body and broaden your shoulder blades as you move your chest toward your chin. To come out of the pose, slowly roll off the bolster back onto the ground.

Legs Up the Wall (Viparita Karani)

Bring your seat as close to a wall as possible, so that your butt is pressed directly against the meeting point of the floor and the wall. Extend your legs straight up and recline with your palms facing up so your body makes a right angle or an L shape. Close your eyes and allow gravity to settle your femurs into the hip sockets.

Easy Seated Posture (Sukhasana)

Come to a comfortable cross-legged seat with your shins crossed right in the center. Then practice a simple breathing technique sometimes referred to as “yogic breathing”: Following a ratio of 2:1 (exhale: inhale), make your exhalation twice the length of your inhalation. Sit here for as long as you wish.

The post Yoga for High Blood Pressure appeared first on Sonima.

Understanding the Relationship Between Your Diet and Inflammation

Paige Fowler — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 18:52:27 +0000

With autoimmune diseases on the rise and the connection between inflammation and leading causes of death becoming clear in recent years, more attention has been focused on inflammation in the body and how it can be controlled. While the occurrence of chronic inflammation and related diseases are somewhat mysterious and can be quite serious, the good news is that some of the most powerful tools for managing it are completely in your control.

What Is Inflammation?

Some level of inflammation in the body is essential as it is a key component of the immune system’s response against invaders, explains David Katz, M.D., M.P.H., author of Disease-Proof: The Remarkable Truth About What Makes Us Well. “The immune system sends white blood cells and other chemical messengers to protect the body against threats such as pathogens. Inflammation refers to the friendly fire or collateral damage that occurs during this process.”

The difference between inflammation that protects your body and what Dr. Katz dubs “dysfunctional inflammation,” the disease-causing kind, is that the white blood cells and other compounds don’t retreat once the threat has passed. Your immune system remains in overdrive and erodes the lining of blood cells, damages healthy tissues, and sets the stage for chronic medical conditions.

“If we turn off the inflammatory response, we’d have no immune system to protect us against viruses, bacteria, pathogens, parasites, and cancer,” Dr. Katz says. “We wouldn’t live very long. We need inflammation to survive.” But if our immune system doesn’t function properly, inflammation can kill us. Research shows that inflammation is connected to some of the leading causes of death in the U.S., including heart disease, stroke, and cancer, as well as obesity, diabetes, and dementia. Today, up to 50 million Americans are affected by autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, multiple sclerosis, and irritable bowel syndrome, to name a few.

What Causes Inflammation?

Plenty of factors in the environment and daily life can lead to excessive inflammation. Cigarettes, pollution, lack of physical activity, obesity, inadequate sleep, stress, and even loneliness can push your immune system into overdrive. Diet, however, rises to the top as one of the factors most likely to cause out-of-whack inflammation as well as a path toward healing it.

“Diet is the construction material for white blood cells, chemical messengers, and hormones that run the show,” Dr. Katz says. “Certain elements in food can be used to build inflammatory compounds, and certain elements can build anti-inflammatory compounds. If you have an imbalance in your diet, you’ll have an imbalance in the products of your diet.”

What Can You Eat to Fight Inflammation?

Just as inflammation isn’t inherently good or bad, Dr. Katz emphasizes that when it comes to your diet, it’s not about focusing on good or bad foods. “People have a tendency to approach diet with religious fervor,” he says. “But it’s all about context. It’s about balance.” For example, we know that foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids are anti-inflammatory. Harvard researchers found that the body converts omega-3 fatty acids into compounds that trigger an “off” switch on an overactive inflammatory process. But that doesn’t mean you should gorge on them. “The Inuit culture, who live on marine foods and have a huge intake of omega-3s, mostly die young because of intracranial bleeding,” Dr. Katz says. “In addition to being anti-inflammatory, extremely high levels of omega-3’s inhibit platelets, so they prevent clotting.”

For the typical American, however, consuming more omega-3s makes sense because we live in a world where inflammation-promoting omega-6 fatty acids—found in fried and processed foods—are rampant. So minimizing those foods and reaching for more omega-3-rich choices like sardines, salmon, flaxseeds, walnuts, and soybeans serves us well.

Approaching an inflammation-fighting diet from the vantage point of seeking balance, rather than good or bad foods, gives you a greater chance at fostering a healthy immune system. “Nothing needs to be eliminated,” Dr. Katz says. “My personal advice and approach is to eat wholesome foods. If you eat a diet mostly made up of nutritious foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, lentils, vegetable oils, fish, meat, and eggs, you end up getting the nutrients you need to keep inflammation in check.” You also leave little room for inflammatory items like saturated fats and refined starch. But, if you have them occasionally, your body is already primed to brush away inflammation-causing compounds thanks to the nutrients that make up the majority of your diet.

Fact is, there’s no miracle food for fighting inflammation, Dr. Katz says. When eating an overall wholesome diet, you’ll naturally get omega-3s from nuts, seeds, healthy oils, fish, and seafood. You’ll also consume fiber from fruits, vegetables, whole grains, beans, and lentils. “Fiber prevents a blood sugar surge, which is what happens when you eat refined starch and processed foods,” Dr. Katz says. “When your blood sugar spikes, your body releases high levels of insulin into your bloodstream, and insulin is a pro-inflammatory hormone.” Meanwhile, monounsaturated fats in nuts, seeds, avocados, and vegetable oils are also part of a well-rounded diet and have an insulin-stabilizing effect, too, he adds. Fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are also key sources of antioxidants, plant compounds that sop up free radicals before they have a chance to damage the linings of blood vessels and tissues. So, without focusing on any one food or any one nutrient, approaching your diet from a balanced, holistic standpoint ensures you’re getting the inflammation-fighting goodness your body needs.

The “wholesome” diet Dr. Katz refers to reflects many of the foods found in a Mediterranean-style Diet. Research shows that eating in this way may reduce markers of inflammation and slash your risk of disease. A study published in the journal Blood found an association between following a Mediterranean Diet and lower levels of platelets and white blood cells. Other research has attributed the Mediterranean Diet to a decreased risk of Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, stroke, heart attack, coronary artery disease, and more.

“In the end, controlling inflammation through diet can be quite simple,” Dr. Katz says. “Consuming wholesome foods in sensible combinations along with exercise, getting enough sleep, and spending time with people, is the formula for living a longer life. People who live this way aren’t just healthier, they’re happier. In the end, balance is what will get you there.”

The post Understanding the Relationship Between Your Diet and Inflammation appeared first on Sonima.