Can you lower blood pressure quickly at home (no meds)?
Meditation to lower blood pressure
Over the last 10 years or so, modern science has explained why ancient relaxation practices like slow breathing, meditation and acupressure can help lower blood pressure in minutes [1]. In very simple terms it works like this. These practices put our autonomous nervous system into the ‘rest and digest’ mode. In this mode our blood vessels are dilated to allow for a wider blood stream. Blood pressure comes down.
You can try it yourself. When you feel that your blood pressure is rising, take a reading with a blood pressure monitor. Then try IMST exercise without device to lower blood pressure on my YouTube channel. Take another reading after the breathing exercise and you are very likely to see that the numbers have come down.
You may also try 4–7–8 breathing to lower blood pressure. There are several breathing apps to lower blood pressure on the market.
What’s the catch?
If it works so well, how come that hundred of millions who suffer from hypertension across the globe still reach out for an antihypertensive pill instead of performing a slow breathing exercise? Especially given unpleasant side effects that most people experience after taking these medicines?
One reason is that the above mentioned natural relaxation techniques usually produce short term positive effects. The other reason is that unhealthy habits get many people to a stage where their bodies react only to antihypertensive drugs. Finally, a large group of those with hypertension either think of contemplative practices as some kind of mambo jumbo or simply do not have the patience to sit quietly for a few minutes doing basically nothing other than focusing on their breathing.
SO WHAT?
Ancient relaxation techniques are one important tool in the natural tool kit which helps to lower blood pressure. Combined with two other tools, specific physical exercises and nutrition changes, they can lower blood pressure within several months. Or even fix it forever.
How do you know this?
I was hypertensive and managed to fix my condition permanently with natural tools (no meds). I personally know many people who did as well. Some very famous individuals, for example, Oprah Winfrey, shared publicly their path to recovery from hypertension with the help of fitness and nutrition changes [2].
I acquired anxiety and high blood pressure as a result of work related stress in my mid forties while working for a major high tech company. I know first hand what it means to experience hypertension. Headaches, shortness of breath, bad night sleep, irritation at home and work. I had it all. I could hardly get through the day, had no energy, and could not exercise.
I was lucky to meet a doctor who explained to me that antihypertensive drugs only reduce symptoms. If I wanted to fix the cause of the disease, I had to implement certain lifestyle changes. I dug through a mountain of information, tried numerous contemplative practices, like acupressure for high blood pressure, exercise for high blood pressure, nutrition changes. I figured out what combination of these elements and in what order works best. The Meditation-Fitness-Nutrition method to lower blood pressure naturally was born.
What exactly is the Meditation-Fitness-Nutrition method to lower blood pressure?
If you have tried the breathing exercise for high blood pressure at the beginning of this post, most likely you have observed that your blood pressure came down after it. Does it mean that meditation and other mindfulness practices, i.e. 478 breathing for blood pressure provide a permanent solution? For some people they do. But most people need to take further actions to lower blood pressure permanently.
My method for addressing high blood pressure naturally consists of the three elements:
Meditation and several other mindfulness practices
Special fitness workouts, i.e. nitric oxide dump exercise
Adjustment of nutrition practices: what and when we eat
I have read a lot of research on this topic and personally tried many different techniques. It has taken me almost a year after I was diagnosed with anxiety and high blood pressure to get rid of these chronic conditions using my approach.
So, what is new?
None of the elements of this method is new by itself. Each backed by solid scientific research and their effectiveness confirmed by randomised trials done with thousands of patients. You are likely to observe health benefits by introducing these elements into your life in a random order.
But is it enough to do some meditation, exercise and eat healthy to get rid of hypertension forever? Do you know how many Americans comply with the government recommendations for physical activity? Different research produces different numbers but the most optimistic [3] talks about 2/3rds of the population.
The reality is that one has to follow a specific plan to increase the probability of creating daily habits which will help to lower blood pressure in the long run. This is exactly what my method delivers. Its real POWER comes from combining Meditation, Fitness and Nutrition changes in a specific ORDER and TIMING them properly.
The proof that this method works are hundreds of positive feedbacks from subscribers to my YouTube channel, our Anxiety and High Blood Pressure Support Group on Facebook and users of the mobile app BreathNow.
Why is the order and timing of Meditation, Fitness and Nutrition important?
- Meditation and other mindfulness practices. Their goal is to reduce blood pressure in the short term. They also lower our anxiety and by doing so they calm us AND give confidence that we are able to deal with our chronic health condition NATURALLY. You can use them to lower blood pressure quickly at home.
This element requires the least effort and produces evident positive results QUICKLY. However, in most cases these positive results do not last long. This is where I started after being diagnosed with anxiety and high blood pressure. Simple breathing exercises demonstrated to me that I can find a natural solution to my blood pressure challenge.
2. Special fitness exercises. This element requires more effort. We have to walk, do some jogging, short high intensity intervals, and resistance training. Immediate improvement in blood pressure after these exercises for high blood pressure is less evident. The long term effect however is AMAZING! My doctor sent me to a park to walk and jog after work instead of prescribing an antihypertensive drug. After doing some moderate exercise in the park EVERY SINGLE day for a few weeks I started to see that my average blood pressure readings started to go down slowly.
3. Adjustment of nutrition practices. Ya, I know, you’ve heard it many times before. Eat healthy food and you’ll be good. So, what’s new? How many times has each of us tried a new diet? The new twist here is that once you engage wholeheartedly with the first two elements of the method, the Nutrition element becomes MUCH easier to implement.
After I started exercising regularly my body and mind gradually lost interest in consuming junk food. That juicy hamburger just doesn’t look that attractive anymore. The Nutrition element however goes beyond just eating healthy. Those suffering from hypertension have to increase intake of specific foods which really help to lower blood pressure.
Another powerful tool in this area is limiting food intake to specific times during the day. It has been scientifically proven recently that fasting helps to lower blood pressure [4]. Those willing to try feasting have to follow specific steps to gain benefits rather than get harmed by it. A specific checklist is also a part of my method. More details about this can be found in our blog.
Nutrition changes are notoriously hard to stick with. Yet, they produce a long lasting positive effect IF you combine them timely with the Meditation and Fitness elements.
SUMMARY
Meditation-Fitness-Nutrition method is a powerful tool to help lower blood pressure naturally. It amplifies the power of scientifically proven elements to lower blood pressure by putting them in a specific order and timing them properly.
Our blood pressure app BreathNow includes natural activities like breathing exercises to lower blood pressure and more. They can be performed off-line. You can also track blood pressure, see which activities produced most benefits and share the data and progress with your doctor.
Our “Meditation, Fitness and Nutrition to lower high blood pressure” e-course on Udemy describes the method in great detail and includes all the necessary practical exercises to transform the knowledge into daily habits. Please give it a try and share your feedback with me.
REFERENCES
- Mindfulness training may lower blood pressure, Medicalnewstoday
- Health Worries Prompted Oprah’s Fitness Plan, ABC News
- Trends in Adherence to the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans for Aerobic Activity and Time Spent on Sedentary Behavior Among US Adults, 2007 to 2016, JAMA Network Open
- Blood Pressure Changes in 1610 Subjects With and Without Antihypertensive Medication During Long‐Term Fasting, Journal of the American Heart Association
