To all of you suffering with hypertension (high blood pressure) there are other things you can do to help yourself. You may already know about these things so forgive me if I'm telling you things you already know about. I assume that you are alrady keeping your salt intake down. Make sure you or your wife/partner checks the labels.
1. You could buy yourself a "biofeedback" machine to use.
2. You could go to meditation classes and practice at home. This calms the mind and body and has been shown to bring blood pressure down. If you can't find a class near you then try a Buddhist centre who might have teachers near you. You DO NOT have to be or become a Buddhist to join in their meditations classes. Just go along and try and see for yourself how you feel about it. Give it a chance, I say and then decide.
I understand that "trascendental meditation" has shown that it has the ability to lower blood pressure although I can't remember where I read that so if the Buddhist meditation is not available in your area you could try that.
3. Massage, if you can get it, is also, if properly done, a wonderful way to destress the body and if you can find a properly qualified Aromatherapist then the essential oils used will be an added bonus.
4. You could try using mind power too. If you have a blood pressure monitor at home try taking your BP normally and then use your mind (as you would in biofeedback) to "think" your BP lower and take again. See what happens.
5. When taking your BP then remember not to tense up but the take about three deep breaths before taking your BP. If, like above, you measure it first then do the three deep breaths and measure again you might find it lowered. Many of us just breathe in the top part of our lungs which tenses the whole of the upper part of the body and thus restricts the chest cavity. Deep breathing, into the abdomen, stops this happening. Just stop and think when you are feeling "tense" and ask yourself how you are breathing. Is it up in the top of the chest or do you dilate your lungs lower down? Of course you should not "over breathe" as this can cause other problems but doing deep breathing at times of tension can help.
Hope these ideas help you guys.
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