Got high blood pressure? You are not alone. It is very common and potentially harmful, but treatable. Blood pressure is meant to be variable: it should be able to increase when you need to get blood quickly to your brain and muscles, and it should decrease when you are at rest.
Medications and supplements may be needed.
If your blood pressure is consistently too high or too low, your body is out of balance. Medications and supplements may be needed.
However, my favorite easy, nontoxic, and free method to lower blood pressure is to BREATHE! Check out the heart pranayama (pranayama is Sanskrit for “breathing exercise”) below. You can also look into the FDA-approved biofeedback machine that’s been clinically proven to lower BP as well as most hypertension medications!
Do the heart breath exercise
Lie comfortably on your back. Focus on and feel your heart area. Inhale for a count of 8, hold your breath for 8, then exhale for 8. Continue for 3 to 11 minutes, depending on your comfort level. This breathing pattern both calms and energizes the heart, physically and emotionally.
Try RESPeRATE
Check out RESPeRATE,[1] a device that’s been FDA approved to lower high blood pressure. There are other products like it on the market. Find the one that’s the best fit for your lifestyle and budget.
Drink Hibiscus Tea
My dad drank Ruby Mist tea from Celestial Seasonings in the late ’70s. I got sick of it, but he didn’t! He drank it for a decade.
I didn’t know then about the health benefits of the sour red tea. Hibiscus has many healing properties, one of which is to lower your blood pressure and support healthy lipids.
I personally love hibiscus as a summer cooler drink (with honey, lemongrass, and mint). It has potassium in it and naturally replaces this necessary salt when you sweat. A better option than Gatorade!
If using a tea for medicinal effects, i.e., to lower your blood pressure, a usual dose would be three cups a day. Check with your doctor: if you add the tea to your regimen, you may need a change in your prescription.
I love the power of the simple things. Tea and breathing. There is so much we can do to improve our health naturally!
P.S. Wondering how many ways there are to make hibiscus tea? I found this link to a website with a ‘jillion’ recipes: https://www.yummly.com/recipes/hibiscus-tea-drink.
RESOURCES
[1] “Breathing Easy Lowers Blood Pressure,” WebMD, July 17, 2002, http://www.webmd.com/hypertension-high-blood-pressure/news/20020717/breathing-easy-lowers-blood-pressure.
[2] A. L. Hopkins, M. G. Lamm, J. L. Funk, and C. Ritenbaugh, “Hibiscus sabdariffa L. in the treatment of hypertension and hyperlipidemia: a comprehensive review of animal and human studies,” Fitoterapia 85 (March 2013): 84–94, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fitote.2013.01.003.
READ MORE IN THE HEART SERIES
How is your energy? The stronger and healthier your heart is, the more vitality you’ll experience. How can you increase your heart’s strength so you have more energy?
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