High blood pressure is one of the results when we are constantly stressed due to our uncontrollable thoughts. Your experience in such a situation is that your anxious thoughts go into an unstoppable loop and guess what? You think it is normal!
Studies have shown that constant stress increases the blood pressure and high blood pressure might affect our brain. If the brain gets affected, this in turn can affect our cognitive abilities.
One in three American adults have pre-hypertension which if not dealt with, can lead to brain strokes, which in turn adversely affects the cognitive abilities in a person. Studies have also shown that people with high blood pressure, in the age group of 40 and early 60s have a higher chance of cognitive decline.
Nieca Goldberg, M.D., medical director for the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health at NYU’s Langone Medical Centre said that “Stress can increase hormones like adrenaline and cortisol, and can impact your blood pressure and heart rate,”
Just as patients with depression have a high chance of high blood pressure, similarly people with high blood pressure (as a fallout of heart disease, stroke, etc.) also suffer from anxiety. This means that a person is more likely to suffer from anxiety and depression after getting a stroke or a heart attack Sit straight on a chair or cross-legged on a yoga mat. Put away your electronic devices, so the waves from these devices do not interfere with the process.Keep your spine straight Close your eyes Do Anulom Vilom yogic breathing – refer my last blog for the steps of this unique breathing technique Once you have completed the cycle of “Anulom Vilom”, start observing every sensation in your body Just watch these sensations – do not think about them or judge them.While you are sitting calmly observing your body sensations, start observing your breath too Observe how your breath is touching your nostrils while going in (inhaling).Then observe how the breath while going out (exhaling) is touching your nostrils Observe how the air you inhale is cool Observe how the air you exhale is warm Keep observing your breath and the body sensations for 20 minutes. (keep a timer if it helps)
While you are doing this meditation, you might find some thoughts arise that drift you away … not to worry – just bring your focus back to observing your breath and body sensations. Tell your thoughts that you will deal with them later – you will see that your thoughts will slow down, thus slowing down your urgency to act on them.
Once you continue practising this every day, you will be able to keep your focus on your breath and body sensations longer and longer, and with more and more ease. The more you keep your attention on these 2 aspects, your thoughts will slow down… this will calm your heart, soothing your being and controlling your blood pressure.
Some scientific bytes: Different researches have shown that meditation increases the telomerase genes expression. Telomeres are stretches of DNA at the end of the chromosomes that protect our genetic data. Shortening of Telomeres is directly related to aging, cancer and a higher risk of death. Also, it is associated with controlling the blood pressure in a high-risk population. These findings suggest that meditation may be a mechanism of stress reduction which in turn, improves cardiovascular health.
When I see people racing their horses of thoughts, I get reminded of myself when I was in my teens. I was fond of playing sports. I used to love playing Chess and Cricket. I became good in playing chess. Unfortunately, we were playing traditional chess where time was unlimited for opponent to make his move. I was not able to keep my cool as I was thinking too many permutations and combinations to defeat the opponent while waiting for my turn.
The excitement was too much for me to handle. My Blood pressure used to rise, and my nerves use to get so much agitated that my hands use to shake. To avoid the strain this game was putting on my nerves, I could not think of any other solution except to stop playing chess.
In the cricket field excitement and noise of the crowd used to affect me differently. Here my thoughts use to create paralyses and I used to get out while batting.
I came to my guru with these problems and he laughed and said, “You have a monkey mind, that is jumping from one branch to another. It is out of control. It is not focusing on the work-at-hand but focusing at everything for short periods of time. This is causing stress in you, which in turn, is making you incapable of thinking and acting clearly and promptly.”
This got me thinking real hard and I asked him “Please guide me how I can channel and control my thoughts, so I can function calmly in the most challenging situations.” He graciously obliged …
That day he taught me how to take deep breaths and how to create focus through Meditation. From that day onwards till date, I have practised deep breathing and meditation as part of my daily ritual.
The difference was showing: In the later stages of my life when I used to play cricket, I would only focus on my breath and body sensations till the point when the bowler is just about to deliver the ball for me to strike, my full focus would effortlessly shift to his hand, and I could clearly see where the ball was landing.
My experience and intuition would move my body effortlessly to play the ball. In that moment, the crowd and the fielders did not exist for me.
It was the same with chess. I had found the key now…I would silently go inwards while the opponent was making his move. This kept my blood pressure and nerves steady – it just always worked to my advantage and became my USP!
So, mark the date today and start:
- Practicing Anulom Vilom or Deep breaths twice a day
- Meditating 20 minutes once or even better, twice a day
- Going inwards for a few seconds with the meditation technique I have shared with you in this article, whenever you are in a stressful situation
- Focusing on the tasks and actions you have planned for the day
- Taking the necessary action according to your intuition and experience and the need of the hour
With this you will see that your wandering mind will be leashed, and your stress and blood pressure can be tamed.
See you with another insight next week… Keep Breathing, Stay Healthy, Stay Stress-free!
