Do relaxation techniques and yoga help to lower blood pressure?
Your doctor may suggest lifestyle changes to lower your blood pressure. Many times, that includes an exercise program, quitting smoking and learning stress-reduction and relaxation techniques. For more than 40 years, doctors and researchers have believed that our body’s “fight or flight” response to stress can be dangerous if not controlled. Fight or flight is what the body does as it prepares to deal with danger. But trouble starts when this response is constantly provoked by day-to-day events, such as economic problems, traffic, job issues or family problems. Health problems are one result. A prime example is high blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease. We can’t avoid all sources of stress in our lives but we can develop healthier ways of responding to them. According to studies done at Harvard University over the past 30 years, one way is to invoke a relaxation response – state of profound rest that can be elicited in several ways, including meditation, yoga, deep abd
