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Yoga for Hypertension. Enrique Saguil, MD. Hypertension. “high blood pressure” “high blood” “white coat response” “stress response” “pressure issues” “renal hypertension” “salt sensitive” “type A personality” “holds a lot of aggression” “old fashion Italian”. Newtonian definition.
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Yoga for Hypertension Enrique Saguil, MD
Hypertension “high blood pressure” “high blood” “white coat response” “stress response” “pressure issues” “renal hypertension” “salt sensitive” “type A personality” “holds a lot of aggression” “old fashion Italian”
Newtonian definition • As per the JNC 7 (2003): Systolic <140mmHg Diastolic < 90mmHg With diabetes or chronic kidney disease: Systolic <130mmHg Diastolic < 80mmHg
Einstein-ean definition • E=MC2 • Everything exists as energy • Even an atom exists as energy not a solid mass • ….thus, the human body is nothing but energy! • Hypertension is too much energy in the wrong place More later!? Back to nuts and bolts…
The “Plumbing” Scenario • Human vascular system is closed. • A house is closed • There is some flexibility to the system • There is no flexibility to the house • If poor blood flow is getting to an organ, heart beats stronger • If water is not getting to a faucet, open the flood gates
Problems with the scenario • Opening the flood gates for one faucet, they all get more water pressure (leaks/wear and tear) • The heart beating harder leads to hypertrophy of heart muscle tissue and the other organs get slammed with high pressure (eye, brain, kidney) • Blindness, stroke, renal failure, heart attack, pulmonary edema.
Leading causes of death US • Heart disease 631,636 • Cancer 559,888 • Stroke 137,119 • Chronic LRD 124,583 • Accidents 121,599 • Diabetes 72,499 • CDC 2006
Silent killer • Pressure fronts in the blood vessel system and be tolerated with the elasticity of the blood vessels • Not for daily encounters with saber tooth tigers • Rips, tears, ballooning, narrowing, an organ has to protect itself. • Tolerance until the organ suffers (dies)
What happens • What makes the “closed” system react this way?
The Stress Response • Fight or flight • Adrenaline, epinephrine, norepinephrine. • Fast heart rate, fast breathing, high pressure, • Hyper-acute vision and hearing • No pain • Diverting blood from gut to muscle • No procreation (viva viagra!)
The Relaxation Response • Coined by Herb Benson • Studied Tibetan Monks • Lower HR, RR, BP, T • Decrease stress hormones
The Love Hormone -Oxytocin -Serotonin -Dopamine
When Parasympathetic > Sympathetic • Civilization prospers • Relationship grow • Humans feel good • Digestion is efficient • Thinking is creative • Sex is good • People find their Dharma
Yoga! • A lifestyle not an exercise • Hot commodity in commercial sales • Predominantly female • Comes from Ayurveda
Ayurveda • Ayur = life • Veda = science of knowledge • 5000 year old system of healing • Health is a balance between environment, body, mind and spirit • Tibetan, TCM and Greek medicine have roots
Yoga • Sanskrit = yolk or union mind body/ soul spirit • Yoga postures or asana formulated to help move energy • Energy/life force/breath = prana
Energy pathways = einstein-ean • When the highways are moving, the city is happy • When the 90 and 53 is bottlenecked, tempers flare, people become late, road rage …..the city is unhappy.
Yoga • Helps to unblock the highway or nadi’s and move energy making the city/body happy. • Helps “still” the mind and bring bliss (consciousness) • Helps secrete the love hormones. • Helps decrease the stress hormones. • Helps improve breathing and oxygenate the body.
Why stretch nadi’s • Stretching nadi’s lets energy flow. • Energy flowing through the nadi’s, flows through the chakra’s • Reflexology? (lazy man energy moving)
Unblocked flow = health When anahata flows hbp goes. The heart chakra is responsible for love and compassion.
Standard “warm up’s” • Only hit major muscle groups • Usually opposing groups • Less than 5 minutes • Then onto body building movements or straight to running
Problem with standard exercise • There’s a “high” with bodybuilding movements enkephalin’s and endorphin’s secreted (short). • No energy flow using the energy models and just the opposite with muscle stiffness . • There’s a “high” with running, (short) but the rhythm and breathwork with running also bring out a “calming” effect (long). • No energy flow using the energy models. E. Saguil, MD
The benefits of yoga over standard: • No short high, there is and endorphin response but included with mind stilling – long, all day for continued tolerance to further stressors. • By stretching the nadi’s/chakra’s, energy moves from the root to the crown and into the universe/consciouness, the spirit stays healthy, body also follows and maintains health.
More benefits of yoga • Due to mind “stillness”, oxytocin flows and the inflammatory response lessens. • Interactions that are presented from the environment becomes less provoking for the stress response. • The breathwork or pranayama takes 4 phases of breath and makes 26 different techniques-more efficient lungs=more efficient heart.