An hour of Yoga everyday keeps the blood pressure normal

Yoga has been proved effective in dealing with various ailments and it is a very common practice that practitioners of modern medical science prescribe yoga as a healthy living style.  There have been many such studies in the past and recently, a new study conducted by a research team led by Dr. Ashutosh Angrish, cardiologist at Sir Gangaram Hospital in Delhi, India has proved that the daily practice of Yoga can control hypertension and keep the blood pressure normal. It also proves that individuals can prevent pre hypertension from developing into hypertension which is a major cause for cardiac diseases.

Hypertension can be understood as systolic blood pressure of 140 millimeters of mercury per gram (mm Hg) or higher, and/or diastolic blood pressure of 90 mm Hg or higher. Pre hypertension is defined as systolic blood pressure between 120-139 mm Hg or a diastolic blood pressure of 80-89 mm Hg. Without proper changes in the lifestyle and control over various factors in life, pre hypertension would gradually develop into hypertension

They examined the effect of hatha yoga on the blood pressure of 60 patients with prehypertension. Participants were divided into two groups with one group practicing hatha yoga for 3 months along with prescribed lifestyle changes whereas the other half only made lifestyle changes.

The yoga practicing group practiced 1 hour of yoga daily for 1 month with an instructor and for the other two months, they practiced yoga at home for one hour a day.The yoga practice included asanas – physical poses that sometimes involved stretching – as well as breathing control exercises, also called pranayama.

At the end of the study, the researchers found that the practice of Yoga helped them drop both 24-hour diastolic blood pressure and nighttime diastolic blood pressure by about 4.5 mm Hg and the 24-hour mean arterial pressure by almost 4.9 mm Hg.

Moreover, the other group which only made lifestyle changes, did not show any significant change in blood pressure. Though the drop might seem small, it has great medical relevance as even a small drop can reduce the risk of cardiac ailments.

Though the explanation for this mechanism would require further studies, the study would surely be a huge step in the treatment of hypertension.