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India.com
17-05-2025
- Health
- India.com
World Hypertension Day 2025: How Yoga Can Help Manage And Reduce High Blood Pressure Naturally
On the occasion of World Hypertension Day, embracing yoga is more than just a wellness trend—it's a step toward a healthier, balanced life. With its gentle postures, deep breathing, and calming meditative practices, yoga offers a natural and effective way to manage high blood pressure and reduce stress. "Hypertension, or high blood pressure, is a global health challenge that often develops silently and progressively," says Indira C H, Yoga Expert at Cult. Indira says, "Fortunately, yoga offers a natural, accessible, and highly effective way to manage and prevent hypertension by integrating body, breath, and mind." Indira lists the importance of yoga on Hypertension Day:- 1. How Yoga Helps with Hypertension Indira says, "Yoga calms the nervous system, enhances circulation, and lowers stress hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline. It shifts the body out of the sympathetic 'fight or flight' mode and activates the parasympathetic 'rest and digest' response—leading to naturally lower blood pressure and heart rate." 2. Effective Asanas for Lowering Blood Pressure "Gentle, restorative poses that soothe the nervous system are ideal. Sukhasana (Easy Pose), Viparita Karani (Legs-Up-the-Wall), Balasana (Child's Pose), Setu Bandhasana (Bridge Pose), Adho Mukha Shvanasana (Downward-Facing Dog), and Shavasana (Corpse Pose) all encourage deep relaxation, better circulation, and mindful breathing. Adho Mukha Shvanasana, when practiced gently, improves blood flow to the brain while grounding the heart—a beneficial posture for those managing hypertension," explains Indira. 3. Yoga and Medication Yoga should complement—not replace—medical treatment. Over time, a regular yoga practice may help reduce medication dosage under medical guidance, but it is not a substitute for professional care. 4. Stress and Hypertension Chronic stress significantly contributes to elevated blood pressure. Yoga helps manage this by promoting self-awareness, mental clarity, and nervous system regulation. The conscious relaxation and presence cultivated in yoga play a key role in controlling stress-induced hypertension. 5. Pranayama and Meditation for Heart Health Indira says, "Breathwork is central to yoga's impact on hypertension. Anulom Vilom (alternate nostril breathing) is especially powerful when practiced with emphasis on longer exhalation. The slow, extended exhale stimulates the vagus nerve, which slows down the heart rate and reduces sympathetic nervous activity. This directly counteracts the 'hyper' state often seen in those with high blood pressure, promoting calmness and balance." Additionally, Sheetali and Sheetkari (cooling pranayamas) help calm the mind and reduce body heat, while Bhramari (bee breath) soothes the brain and alleviates anxiety, offering emotional support for those with hypertension. 6. Poses to Avoid Avoid high-intensity flows, forceful pranayama like Kapalabhati and Bhastrika, and strong inversions such as Sarvangasana and Sirsasana. These can spike blood pressure and overstimulate the nervous system. 7. Advice for Beginners If you're new to yoga and managing hypertension, begin with breath awareness and simple stretches under the guidance of a trained instructor. Prioritize rest, breath, and mindfulness over intensity or performance. 8. Importance of Consistency A steady, daily practice—even 20–30 minutes—is more effective than occasional effort. Long-term consistency in yoga helps sustain healthy blood pressure, improve heart rate variability, and build emotional resilience. 9. Combine Yoga with Lifestyle Changes "For best results, combine yoga with a heart-healthy diet, low sodium intake, adequate hydration, stress reduction techniques, and good sleep hygiene. Avoid smoking, limit alcohol, and maintain a healthy weight," says Indira. On this World Hypertension Day, let yoga be your path to a more peaceful mind and a healthier heart. Through simple daily practices—especially mindful breathing and long exhalation—you can shift from tension to tranquility, and from pressure to peace.
News18
12-05-2025
- Health
- News18
International Mental Health Awareness Month: Using Yoga to Navigate Your Emotions
Last Updated: Yoga offers an integrated approach to emotional well-being by helping us connect the body and mind through breath, movement, and awareness May marks International Mental Health Awareness Month—a powerful reminder to nurture not just our physical health, but also our emotional well-being. Mental health is not just a concern for business professionals or the urban working class; it matters deeply for individuals from all walks of life—homemakers, students, caregivers, and rural workers alike. Our ability to process emotions, manage stress, and find inner balance has a profound impact on how we live, relate, and thrive. Indira C H, Yoga Expert, cult shares all you need to know: The Mind-Body Connection through Yoga Yoga offers an integrated approach to emotional well-being by helping us connect the body and mind through breath, movement, and awareness. It's well known that our emotional states show up physically—slouched shoulders when we're sad, clenched jaws when angry, or tight hips and shallow breathing during stress. These bodily reactions are often unconscious, but they reinforce the emotional states they accompany. The beauty of yoga lies in its power to reverse-engineer this process. By mindfully opening the body through postures and consciously regulating the breath, we can influence our emotional states. Expanding the chest, grounding through the feet, or simply inhaling deeply can signal safety to the brain, thereby calming the nervous system and helping us process difficult emotions more effectively. Asanas to Release Emotional Tension Several yoga poses can help release physical tension associated with emotional stress and promote a greater sense of inner calm: ● Balasana (Child's Pose) – A gentle forward fold that soothes the nervous system and encourages a sense of safety and introspection. ● Viparita Karani (Legs Up the Wall Pose) – A restorative inversion that enhances blood flow to the brain, relieves anxiety, and soothes the mind. ● Setu Bandhasana (Bridge Pose) – This calming backbend opens the chest and shoulders while stimulating the thyroid and calming the brain. Breath as the Bridge Our breath is the most accessible tool for emotional regulation. Throughout the day, we fluctuate between the sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) and the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest). In today's fast-paced world, many people remain stuck in sympathetic overdrive, leading to chronic stress and emotional burnout. Simple breathing practices—like pausing to take a few conscious deep breaths—can restore this balance. A particularly effective technique is to breathe in a 1:2 ratio (e.g., inhale for 4 seconds, exhale for 8 seconds). This rhythm encourages parasympathetic activation, calming the body and mind almost instantly. Practices like Anulom Vilom (alternate nostril breathing) and Bhramari (Humming Bee Breath) further deepen this balance, helping reduce emotional overwhelm and bring clarity. Yoga invites us to meet our emotions with compassion and awareness. By tuning into our body and breath, we can navigate emotional highs and lows with greater ease. Whether you're facing daily stress or deep emotional unrest, integrating yoga into your routine can create the inner space needed to reflect, reset, and move forward with resilience. First Published: May 12, 2025, 19:55 IST
