Breathe Better, Live Healthier: Techniques to Lower Blood Pressure

Deep Breathing Techniques For Hypertension

Pranayama and doing some yoga everyday can greatly help in the long run. There are different kinds of pranayama too. We have rounded up 5 for you, as they are super effective!

• One is bhramari pranayama or bee breathing. Here, you need to first sit straight and then breathe in deeply, via the nose. When you exhale, you use the mouth to expel air and hum while doing so. Keep repeating this for at least 10 repetitions. The humming should not be too loud but at a comfortable level that you can maintain for a while. 
• The 4-7-8 technique is where you breathe in for  seconds, hold it for 7 seconds and then exhale via your mouth for 8 seconds. If you cannot hold your breath for so long, you can start at a lower number and slowly work your level up. The main thing is you need to exhale for twice as long as you inhale. So, if you inhale for 3 seconds or 2, then you should exhale for 6 or 4 seconds respectively.
• Sama vritti is a method where you inhale and exhale for the same amounts of time- like 4 seconds inhalation and 4 seconds to expel the air. You then wait for 4 seconds, before you take the next breath. You can start with 2-3 seconds at first and then increase as you get more comfortable.
• 30 second breathing-Here, you need to breathe 6 times for 5 seconds each. So when you inhale and exhale once, it is  seconds long. You should do it once a day.
• Diaphragmatic breathing is when you concentrate on the diaphragm, which is an important muscle just below the lungs. It helps the lungs contract and expand as it does the same. When you inhale, your belly should expand. When you exhale, it should contract. Do this when you are lying down for the best results. You can do this a few times in a day for 5-10 minutes each.

Benefits Of Deep Breathing For Hypertension-

Our blood pressure tends to change during the day, though a specific range is maintained. It increases when we are stressed or have too much on our plate, with physical exertion, eating salty foods etc. You can try to regulate it yourself by breathing in deeply. Breath control exercises have been seen to really help reduce blood pressure, when someone is hypertensive. These exercises when done help your heart and body feel calm, helping you compose yourself and also stabilising blood pressure in the process. 

Conclusion

We have given you a list of the best breathing exercises for lowering blood pressure. Breathing properly will ensure that you breathe better, take in more oxygen, which means more nutrition for the cells in your body and also helps improve blood flow, which has a direct impact on blood pressure. To make sure that your blood pressure is maintained, you will need to make changes through the day to different aspects of your routine. So, you can aim to sleep better and for longer, try not to smoke as much and quit altogether, eat and exercise better and try to understand triggers that stress you out. You can then try to work on them. Remember, when you take care of your blood pressure, your cardiovascular system will be super happy and work very well and you will feel great about yourself!