Yoga is a
mind-body therapy based on movement, breathing, and mindfulness. Over the last
few years, many small studies have found that practicing yoga is good for heart
health as well as mental health. A recent
small study adds to findings that regularly practicing yoga can significantly
improve blood pressure.
The new study
included 60 people who had pre-hypertension but were otherwise healthy. Blood pressure is made up of two numbers. The
top number, the systolic pressure measures the pressure in the arteries when
blood is pumped from the heart. The
bottom number, the diastolic pressure, measures the pressure between
heartbeats. Persons with pre-hypertension have a systolic blood pressure of
120-139 millimeters of mercury (mmHg) and/or a diastolic reading of 80-89
mmHg. Pre-hypertensives are at high risk
for developing full-blown hypertension which is defined as having a systolic
pressure of 140 mmHg or higher and/or a diastolic pressure of 90 mmHg or
greater. Both pre-hypertension and
hypertension increase the risk of heart attack, stroke, and heart failure. In the U.S. approximately 1 out of 3 adults
have pre-hypertension and nearly 75 million have hypertension.
To investigate
the impact of hatha yoga on blood pressure, researchers assigned half of their
participants to practice hatha yoga for 1 hour daily while the other half did not take up yoga.
Both groups were advised on standard measures to lower blood pressure
including increasing cardiovascular activity, reducing salt intake, and
quitting smoking. The yoga treatment
group received yoga instruction for a month and then did the activity at home. The
yoga practice included breathing control exercises, physical poses that involved stretching and
strengthening components, and meditation.
After three
months, those in the yoga group had notable decreases in blood pressure, while
those in the control group did not. Participants
in the yoga group had 24-hour diastolic blood pressure and night diastolic
blood pressure decreases of about 4.5 mm Hg, and 24-hour average arterial
pressure decreases of about 4.9 mm Hg. These
were clinically significant results as it is estimated that among
pre-hypertensives, every 2 mm Hg decrease in diastolic blood pressure decreases
the risk of coronary heart disease by 6% and the risk of stroke by 15%.
What to do: Consider adding some yoga into your life. Hatha yoga, the type of yoga in this study is a more gentle form of yoga with more emphasis on breathing and
mindfulness. It is appropriate for
persons at all fitness levels. If making
it to a yoga studio is not practical for you, there are many yoga DVD’s and resources
online for streaming yoga. Also, cable
television providers often offer exercise-on-demand or feature regular yoga
programming. Many area senior centers
and recreational centers offer very affordable class options. Also, studios often offer a “community class”
midday at reduced rates.
Information adapted from articles available at:
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/PhysicalActivity/FitnessBasics/Yoga-and-Heart-Health_UCM_434966_Article.jsp#.WFmDT_krLIU
Source
Manchanda SC,
Narang R, Reddy KS, Sachdeva U, Prabhakaran D, Dharmanand S, Rajani M, Bijlani
R. Retardation of coronary atherosclerosis with yoga lifestyle intervention. J Assoc Physicians India. 2000 Jul; 48(7):687–694. Abstract available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11273502
