One out of three Americans over 40 have high blood pressure. That’s 70 million in the US alone, and more than a billion worldwide. While men tend to develop high blood pressure earlier in life, women become increasingly likely to have high blood pressure once they reach 60 and above.
High blood pressure is often known as ‘the silent killer,’ says Dr. Baxter Bell in this free download. There are no symptoms associated with high blood pressure, so many people don’t even know they have it. However, when left unaddressed, high blood pressure leads to numerous serious health issues, including heart disease, stroke, kidney issues, eye problems, and more.
It’s well worth it keeping an eye on your blood pressure, because there are many ways to prevent high blood pressure, Baxter notes. In addition, even if you already have high lood pressure, addressing the issue early on has tremendous health benefits, A ten-point drop in blood pressure on the high end of the scale reduces the risk of stroke by 50-60% and the risk of heart attack by 40-50%. On the other hand, if left unaddressed, high blood pressure can lead to a lot of problems.
Many people hesitate to take blood pressure medication, and wonder if yoga can help either prevent or regulate high blood pressure. Increasingly, doctors are trying out lifestyle recommendations, including yoga, before resorting to medications, Baxter notes.
Some of the causative factors for high blood pressure include chronic stress and chronic anxiety, both of which are known to be positively affected by yoga. Yoga also leads to more effective self-regulation, another factor that has been shown to be helpful in making positive lifestyle choices.
He finally talks about what to pay attention to when practicing yoga with high blood pressure. Yoga is generally safe, but there are special considerations for people with Stage I or Stage II high blood pressure.
Baxter talks about specific yoga poses to avoid if you have high blood pressure and which poses can be practiced safely be everyone.
Also, check out Baxter’s course on YogaU Online: Yoga for Healthy Aging: Yoga Tools to Keep Your Blood Pressure Balanced.