Yoga for High Blood Pressure

Otherwise known as hypertension, high blood pressure is a silent killer that takes life with no prior notice. Unlike other illnesses, high blood pressure doesn’t display any symptoms. It just causes heart attacks, strokes, and eventually death. If you are at risk of having this dangerous health condition, you might want to consider yoga for high blood pressure to reduce the risk.

Can Yoga Reduce Blood Pressure?

Yoga involves deep breathing exercises and combinations of asanas to calm the body system and alleviate stress. When done periodically, it is known to help reduce diastolic blood pressure which is one of the major culprits responsible for increased blood pressure in your body system.

Additionally, the practice of yoga provides a natural means of increasing the emotions of a person positively, regulating sleep habits, and reducing obesity. The provision of all these makes it possible for you to reduce your blood pressure and reduce the risk associated with having high blood pressure. This clearly shows how effective yoga exercises can be when it comes to managing your blood pressure.

8 Best Yoga Poses For High Blood Pressure.

There are hundreds of yoga poses, each designed to give specific results. If you intend to practice yoga for high blood pressure, we will be sharing different types of yoga that can help you achieve this without issue at all. These routines are easy to learn, you just have to follow all the guidelines that we will be sharing here to learn how to use them to reduce high blood pressure.

1. Child Pose or Balasana:

Child poses is a special type of yoga that provides a lot of health benefits if done properly.  It’s a counter asana that many specialists promote when it comes to reducing high blood pressure. For the best result, it is recommended that you perform this pose before other poses. The following steps will put you through how to do this pose and gain all that it has to offer.

How to Perform Child Pose:

• To perform child pose, the first thing you need to do is kneel. While in this position, your big toes should be brought together in a straight position with your body
• After doing that, you will need to seat on your heels with your knees separated as wide apart as your hips.
• While in that position, you will need to exhale and lean forward with your head touching the ground.
• In this relaxed position, try to lift your palms upward and stay relaxed. Do this repeatedly until you feel very relaxed and calm

The benefits that child pose yoga has to offer are endless. It provides a natural way of relieving stress and regulating the circulation of blood in the body system. Also, it provides a systematic way of calming the muscles around the lower back of the body and reducing the accumulated stress in the abdominals.

2. Sukhasana or Easy Pose:

What we have here is another effective yoga for high blood pressure that will do your body a lot of good. Sukhasana or Easy Pose is a meditative asana that requires concentration and detailed attention while in a seated position. You will need to follow the process thoroughly if you are to get the best out of this posture.

How to perform Sukhasana or Easy Pose:

• To perform this pose, you will need to use your mat or any other comfortable place as a place to sit instead of sitting directly on the ground. While in a seated position, keep your legs stretched out straight.
• While in that position, you will need to fold your right leg and tug within your right thigh
• Repeat the same process for your left leg while the right leg is still in the same position described in the second step
• Now, you will need to gently place your two hands on your knees and then meditate. While meditating, you will need to sit down erect with your spine in a straight position
• Maintain this position as long you remain comfortable and maintain your normal breathing.

Easy pose is a powerful pose that helps to relax the mind and reduce the stress levels in the body. Reducing your stress level provides what you need to reduce your blood pressure and other possible risks of hypertension.

3. Shavasana:

What we have here is another effective yoga for high blood pressure that could provide all that you need to improve the state of your health. Shavasana yoga pose involves every aspect of your body and it provides an effective way to calm your mind and relax your body. With the following, you should be able to practice this yoga and get the best of what it had to offer.

How to Perform Shavasana:

• For this yoga, the first thing you need to do is lie fully on your back with your hands relaxed by your sides and your legs straight. While in this position, let your body loose and stay relaxed.
• Still retaining this relaxed position, gently close your eyes and slowly separate your legs and keep them while your arms remain at the initial position which is a few inches away from your torso.
• Lastly, make your palms face the sky and slowly breathe in and out while maintaining that posture on the floor.

Shavasana yoga pose helps to calm the brain, relax the body, relieve stress, reduce headaches, and managed insomnia and fatigue. With this, you will be able to reduce the risk of developing high blood pressure. 

4. Cobra pose:

Cobra Pose is a modern yoga in the hatha yoga that involves a reclining back-bending routine. Unlike other yoga exercises, the cobra pose involves your back and the muscles around your spine. When done properly, it helps to stretch out your spinal column and increase the uptake of oxygen in your thoracic area.

How to perform the Cobra Pose:

• The first thing you need to do here is to lie down on the floor with your stomach facing the ground
• After doing this, the next thing you will need to do is place your palms on the floor and make sure they are beneath your shoulders.
• Slightly bend your elbows close to your body and inhale air while you lift your chest.
• Retain the neutral position of your neck as you use it to keep your legs in contact with the floor.
• After completing this, you will need to exhale and return to your initial position
• For best results, you can repeat this for 15 to 20 minutes

This is a therapeutic yoga that helps to increase the flow of blood to the upper side of the body and helps relieve stress in your body. Aside from this, it also helps to regulate your heartbeat and keep you calm. With all of these, you will be able to balance your blood pressure.

5. Bridge Pose:

If you are looking for yoga for high blood pressure, the Bridge pose is one of the most effective yoga poses that you can practice to boost the health of your heart. Yoga Pose involves different muscles in your body, this includes rectus abdominis, gluteus maximus, transverse abdominis, and hamstrings. With this, you will be able to relax your muscles and increase the flow of blood through your arteries and veins, taking out obstructions in the process.

How to perform Bridge Pose:

• To perform the bridge pose, the first thing you need to do is to lie down on your back and use your legs to lift your body with your knees bent and facing upwards.
• As you inhale, hold your buttocks off the floor and draw your pelvis. When you do this, you will be able to lift your hips off the floor and maintain the position
• To support your movement, you can use your hands to hold your body while you continue the movement
• While maintaining the pose, hold your breath for a few seconds and avoid straining your back or other parts of your body involved in the process
• Lastly, exhale and relax your body. You can repeat this process until you feel your spine is properly relaxed.

Unlike other yoga exercises, the Bridge pose doesn’t just help to manage your blood pressure. When used properly, it also helps you to strengthen your glutes, abdominals, and hamstrings. With this process, you will be able to improve your health condition.

6. Legs Up the Wall:

Legs Up the Wall is a calming inversion pose with the ability to boost your health. Although, many yoga teachers consider it an unsafe pose because of the inversion of the head. Before you set out to practice this yoga exercise, check with your doctor to know if it is safe for you to add it to your yoga routine.

How to perform Legs Up the Wall:

• To start this routine, the first thing you will need to do is to perpendicularly place your yoga mat to the wall and sit parallel to the wall in a relaxed state
• Then lie down on your mat, keeping your feet on the ground and knees bent
• The next step is for you to use your tailbone and the muscles in your lower back to pick your feet up and gently place them on the wall. While maintaining this perpendicular position, try to best your sitting bones to the base of the wall that you gave your legs on
• After these, you will need to extend your legs on the wall and retain this position while you breathe in and out.

7. Head to Knee Forward Bend:

Head to Knee Forward Bend is another therapeutic pose that doesn’t just help improve the health of your blood pressure. When done properly, it provides all you need to calm your brain, stretch your legs, groin, shoulders, and spine, and improve digestion.

How to perform Head to Knee Forward Bend:

• Start by sitting on the floor with your legs stretched out and your legs in close contact with each other
• Then you will need to bend your right knee and take the sole of the right leg that you bend towards the thigh of your left leg
• As you bend your hips to grab the extended right sole, exhale and use your other hand to hold your left foot.
• Keep that pose for about one minute and switch sides repeating the same process. 

8. Bound Angle Pose:

Bound angle yoga pose for high blood pressure is very similar to Sukhasana. Being a meditative pose, it offers all that you need to reduce your stress levels and blood pressure. With it, you will be able to stay strong and agile.

How to Perform Bound angle pose:

• Start by sitting straight and stretching out your legs
• While keeping your feet joined together, bring your heels to your pelvis and inhale air
• Use your second and thumb to hold the big toes that are in the direction of your pelvis and straighten your spine.

Getting the right knowledge of yoga for high blood pressure is the best way to give your heart a fighting chance. With all that we have shared here, you shouldn’t have a problem practicing this yoga and getting the best out of it.