Surya Namaskar for low blood pressure

In hypotension, blood pressure is less than normally required for blood supply to the body and brain. One way to increase and improve your blood circulation is to improve your overall cardio-vascular fitness through dynamic exercises. Surya Namaskar is an excellent way of doing this. It improves your blood circulation, lung capacity, builds your strength and vitality, improves your posture, strengthens the spine, and rebalances the whole body. Start with five to ten rounds and then gradually increase the number.

Caution: Should not be practiced by those with heart diseases or hernia. Those with acute back conditions should be cautious and discontinue if the condition is aggravated.

Step 1: • Stand straight, with your feet together and palms joined in front of your chest

• Breathe normally.

Step 2: Inhale, keep your palms together and bend the back, stretching your arms over your head.

Step 3: • Exhale and bend forward from the hip

• Place your palms on the floor and your head on your knees

• Keep your knees straight.

Step 4: • Inhale, take the left leg back and bend the other knee, as shown

• Arch your back and look up.

Step 5: • Exhale and take the right leg back

• Keep the body in a straight line from head to toe, with your toes tucked in and fingers pointing forward. The body weight should be balanced on your toes and palms.

Step 6: Hold your breath and drop your knees, chest and chin to the floor. Keep your hips raised, as shown.

Step 7: • Inhale and stretch the body upwards

• Straighten the elbows, arch your back and look up.

Step 8: • Exhale, push your body backwards using your arms and raise your hips

• Tuck the chin towards the chest and look at your navel

• Keep the heels flat on the floor.

Step 9: • Inhale and bring the right leg forward, arch your back and look up

• In subsequent rounds, alternate between the left and the right leg, as in step four and nine.

Step 10: Bring the left leg forward, stand upright, exhale and bend forward and place the palms on the floor, as in step 3.

Step 11: Inhale, keep the palms together and bend the back, stretching your arms over your head, as in step 2.

Step 12: Exhale and return to the starting position.

Kriyas and bandhas to detox your body

Kriyas and Bandhas help rid the body of toxins and increase endocrine (glandular) secretions. Today, we will practice one kriya and two bandhas. These three exercises help restore hormonal levels, re-balance the adrenal glands, soothe anxiety and improve blood circulation to all the internal organs. It takes regular practice to master them, but once you have done so, you will feel more energised and have a sense of increased well-being.

Cautions: Pregnant women and those with heart problems or high blood pressure should avoid Exercise 1 and 2.

Exercise 1

• Stand straight with your feet placed apart

• Bend your knees, place your palms on your thighs with your fingers facing in, as shown

• Exhale deeply through the mouth, hold your breath and move your abdominal muscles in and out as many times as possible (10-50)

• Repeat thrice.

Exercise 2

• Sit in padmasana - sit with your legs stretched out and back straight. Bend one leg, place the ankle on the opposite thigh, close to the groin. Bend the other leg and place that ankle on the thigh of the bent leg, close to the groin. Place your hands on your knees

• Lean forward slightly and exhale forcefully

• Suck in your stomach to create a hollow

• Hold as long as you can hold your breath comfortably

• Release the contraction and breathe in

• Repeat only thrice.

Exercise 3

• Sit in padmasana

• Exhale completely, pulling up the genital space to close the anal space.

• Keep your abdominal muscles tight

• Relax the lock and inhale

• Repeat thrice.

Breathing techniques to revitalise you

Pranayama in yoga are techniques to control breathing which is the link between the body and the mind and influences every cell in the body. It calms the body and mind and so prepares you for meditation. Today we will focus on two dynamic breathing techniques that will help to clear blockages, create heat in the body and revitalise you. The second exercise will take a little practice but be consistent and regular in your practice and you will see results.

Caution: Those with gynaecological problems, stomach ailments, epilepsy or who have had recent surgery, should consult their doctor before doing these exercises.

EXERCISE 1

•  Sit back on your heels as shown

•  Bend the arms at the waist and keep the elbows close to body, make fists

•  Raise both the fists a bit higher than the head and keep the elbows close to the body

•  Exhale forcefully through the mouth (cheeks puffed out) as you pull the arms down, taking the elbows behind the waist, as shown

•  Repeat 20 times, exhalation should be rapid, movements smooth not jerky

•  Inhale deeply and slowly

•  Exhale slowly.

EXERCISE 2

•  Either sit as in for exercise one or in padmasana. Sit with your legs stretched out and your back straight. Bend one leg; place the ankle on the opposite thigh close to the groin. Bend the other leg and place the ankle on the thigh of the bent leg, close to the groin.  Keep your head and back straight, eyes closed and the body relaxed

•  Bend the forefinger and the middle finger of your right hand

•  Place your thumb in between your eyebrows; press your ring finger to the left nostril. Breathe in through the right nostril to count a of six

•  Close both nostrils keep the chest high and lock your chin into the jugular notch

•  Simultaneously pull up the genital space and close the anal space. Keep abdominal muscles tight. Hold your breath to a count of six

•  Relax the genital lock, raise your chin and press the right nostril with the thumb. Exhale through the left nostril to count of six

•  Now inhale through the left nostril, reverse the position of the fingers and repeat the steps outlined above

•  When you are comfortable with this, increase the count to eight or twelve

•  Repeat 10 times.

Asanas to deal with low blood pressure

Many people suffer from hypotension or low blood pressure, which happens when the blood pressure is less than is required for blood supply to the body and brain. Not everyone with low BP has ongoing symptoms but yes, when the BP drops one might experience dizziness, light-headedness, fatigue, blurred vision, nausea, depression or might even faint.

Yoga can improve your blood circulation and help keep this condition under control. Today we start with three breathing exercises to energise the mind and the body, and strengthen the nerves.

Caution: Those with gynaecological problems, stomach ailments or who've recently undergone surgery should consult their doctor before doing Exercise 3.

Exercise 1

• Sit as shown in the picture
• Interlock your fingers at chest level, with your palms facing you and elbows at the same level
• Inhale deeply as you turn your palms inside out and slowly stretch your arms out in front
• Exhale through the mouth as you turn palms in and slowly bring palms back to start position
• Repeat five times.

Exercise 2

• Repeat steps one and two of Exercise 2
• Inhale deeply as you turn your palms inside out and slowly stretch your arms, shoulders and chest upwards
• Exhale through your mouth as your turn your palms inwards and slowly bring your palms back to the starting position
• Repeat five times.

Exercise 3

• Kneel down, and place your palms on your knees, as shown, keep your back straight and close your eyes
• Exhale forcefully and rapidly through the nose in quick succession, pulling the stomach in towards your spine as you exhale. Inhalation will be automatic and passive between every two exhalations
• Practise 50 exhalations at a stretch
• Repeat this thrice.

The first exercise given to you today is a simple introductory meditation technique that will help strengthen weak eyesight and eye muscles and also help build focus and concentration.

The second exercise is a chanting, which is yet another way of changing the vibration level of the body to help you destress. Om chanting has been used traditionally in India as a meditation technique.

Caution: Those with moderate to severe eyestrain, myopia, astigmatism and early symptoms of cataract, should use a big black dot instead of a candle flame in Exercise 1.

Exercise 1

•  Place a lit candle at eye level on an arm's length on a table in front of you
•  Make sure that the flame is steady
•  Sit in a meditative asana with your back straight
•  Close your eyes and relax
•  Then open your eyes and gaze steadily at the tip of the wick
•  Try not to blink or move your eyeballs.
•  Close your eyes when they feel tired and try to visualise the after-image of the candle flame in your mind
•  Open your eyes after a minute and continue to gaze at the flame
•  Repeat this two to three times
•  Practice for a total of two minutes, gradually going up to 10 minutes
•  As you are finishing, close your eyes and watch the dark space in front of your eyes. Be aware of any thoughts that come to your mind
•  Open your eyes and blow out the candle.

EXERCISE 1 A

For those with moderate to severe eyestrain, myopia, astigmatism and early symptoms of cataract:
•  Draw a big black dot on a white sheet of paper
Place it at an arm's length at eye level and repeat the steps described in Exercise 1.

Exercise 2

•  Sit as in Exercise 1, with your eyes closed and body relaxed
•  Inhale. As you exhale, chant 'Om' emphasising on the 'M' sound for as long as you can breathe out. Focus on the sound vibration of 'Om' in the body as you chant.

Yogic mudras change the homeostasis (internal environment) of the body and bring about a shift in attitude or mood from a stressed to a relaxed one. So, if you are tense or stressed, your eyes are more likely to get strained. A relaxed person can read for hours without straining his/ her eyes while a stressed person will strain his/ her eyes just by reading for a short while. Here are two mudras that will help relieve eye tension and calm the nerves and mind. They will also strengthen your eye muscles and keep the eyes bright and clear. Follow this with 'palming' to totally relax the eyes. Remember that it will take regular practice to see the difference.
Caution: Don't move your head.

Exercise 1

•  Sit back on your heels, place your knees together, overlap the toes, keep the back straight and place your palms on the knees
•  Inhale, slowly raising both arms above your head
•  Exhale and slowly bring your arms in line with your ears. Rest the forehead and palms on the floor
•  Hold the position for 30-60 seconds, eyes closed, body relaxed and breathing normal
•  Inhale, slowly raising your arms and upper body. Then exhale and lower the arms to resume the starting position.

Exercise 2

•  Sit comfortably with your back straight and hands resting on the knees
•  Keep your head straight and body still. Close your eyes and relax
•  Open your eyes to look at a fixed point in front of you
•  Now, focus on the centre of the eyebrow
•  Hold the position for a few seconds
•  Close and relax the eyes
•  Repeat thrice.

Exercise 3

•  Sit comfortably with your back straight and your hands resting on your knees
•  Keep your head straight
•  Close your eyes and relax
•  Open your eyes to focus on the tip of the nose
•  Hold the position for a few seconds
•  Focus on a point or object at a distance
•  Focus again on the tip of the nose
•  Repeat thrice
•  Close your eyes and relax.

EXERCISE 4(PALMING)

•  Rub the palms of both your hands together till they feel warm
•  Place your palms over both the eyes
•  Feel the warmth spread from the palms to the eyes
•  Feel the eyes relaxing and focus for a minute on the soothing darkness
•  Hold the position until the warmth of the palms has been transferred to the eyes
•  Repeat thrice.

Exercises to relax the neck and head region

More and more people are either wearing glasses or contact lenses to rectify their eye problems.  The eyes are like any other muscle in the human body or rather, the lens of the eye is a muscle which needs to be exercised and kept flexible in order to perform its function properly throughout your life

All nerves connecting different parts of the body have to go through the neck to reach the brain. So, today, we will start with some simple neck exercises to relax and exercise the entire neck and head region. These will tone vital nerves, loosen the cervical vertebrae, neck and shoulders, improve blood flow to the brain and therefore, help reduce tension and calm the mind. The eye exercises that follow improve the focusing power of the eye muscles and help develop concentration

Caution: For exercises one to three, move your head very gently and only as far as it is comfortable.  Those with very high or very low blood pressure or with extreme cervical spondylosis should not do these. Those with moderate cervical spondylosis should avoid bending the neck forward.

Exercise 1

• Sit in padmasan (or any comfortable position) with your back straight and the body relaxed

• Slowly move the head as far back as comfortable. Do not strain

• Slowly bring head up and move it forward so that the chin touches the chest.

Exercise 2

• Gently turn the head left so that the chin is in line with the shoulders

• Now gently turn the head to the right as far as it is comfortable.

Exercise 3

• Raise your arm keeping the fist clenched and the thumb at eye level

• Focus on the tip of the thumb without blinking

• Now, keeping the eyes focused on the top of the thumb, move the arm to one side as shown

• Now move to the other side

• Repeat three to five times.

Exercise 4

• Rub the palms of both hands together till they feel warm

• Place the palms over both eyes and feel the warmth spread from the palms to the eyes

• Feel the eyes relaxing and focus for a minute on the soothing darkness

• Hold the position until the warmth of the palms has been transferred to the eyes

• Repeat three times.

We use our eyes every day and yet, unless we develop an eye problem, infection or disease, we rarely consciously take care of them or exercise them. The eyes are no different from any other part of the body. To stay healthy, they also need to be exercised and relaxed. Common eye problems like short and long sightedness can be triggered by mental and emotional tension, the weakening of muscles due to prolonged TV and computer screen use.

Eye diseases on the other hand are due to changes in the eye itself and can be affected by toxin build-up in the body and a poor diet. Whichever you are suffering from, yogic exercises and practices can help detoxify and relax the mind and body and counteract the effects of eyestrain.We will start by washing the eyes and performing jalaneti to stimulate the nerves of the eyes and then two exercises to help relax the mind and body. If you are relaxed, the eyes will not get as strained.

EXERCISE 1

•  Fill a small bowl with clean, lukewarm water

•  Cup your hand, fill it with water and wash the right eye

•   Repeat with the other eye

•  This can be done several times a day or when your eyes are feeling tired.

•  Add one tsp of salt to half a litre of lukewarm water and fill the neti pot

•  Stand relaxed with your legs apart, bend forward and tilt your head to one side as shown. Keep breathing deeply, exhaling through the mouth

•  Place the nozzle of the neti pot in the nostril that is facing upwards and slowly pour water into it. The water will flow out through the other nostril

•  Straighten up, blow your nose gently to remove any mucous

•  Repeat with other nostril

•  Now close one nostril, and rapidly exhale 10-15 times through the other

•  Repeat with the other side.

EXERCISE 3

•  Sit in padmasan. Sit with your legs stretched out, your back straight. Bend one leg, place the ankle on the opposite thigh close to the groin. Bend the other leg and place the ankle on the thigh of the bent leg, close to the groin

•  Close your eyes and relax. Gently insert your thumbs in your ears and place the fingers on the head, as shown

•  Inhale deeply as you count one to five

•  Chant ‘hun’ as you slowly exhale through the mouth. Listen to the sound vibrations in your body and feel the head, eyes and face relax

•  Repeat three times.

EXERCISE 4

•  Rub the palms of both hands together till they feel warm

•  Place the palms over both eyes and feel the warmth spread from the palms to the eyes

•  Feel the eyes relaxing and focus for a minute on the soothing darkness

•  Hold the position until the warmth of the palms has been transferred to the eyes

•  Repeat three times.

Chants to help you relax

The most obvious evidence of life in an individual is his or her heartbeat and breathing. The ancient yogis devised a simple but amazing method of using these two things as a means of calming the mind and raising an individual’s level of awareness and understanding. They realised that chanting a mantra brings about an incredible focus for the mind that changes an individual’s vibration level and helps to expand his or her awareness, soothe the mind and calm and relax the person.

Both exercises may be difficult at first but stay with them. If both are difficult, then select one and do it every day.

Remember, change is required and it only comes with commitment and regular practice. A few minutes practice every day can make a big difference to your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being.

Exercise 1

•  Sit with the left leg stretched out

•  Bend the right leg and place the foot between the left thigh and the calf muscles

•  Bend the left leg and place the left foot underneath the right thigh

•  Press the right thigh to ground

•  Place the hands on the knees, the palms up, then place the tip of the forefinger on the centre of the thumb

•  Keep the back straight and breathe normally.

Exercise 2

•  Sit in padmasan, keep your back straight, close your eyes and relax the whole body

•  Focus on your breath. Be aware of every incoming and outgoing breath

•  Let your breathing gradually become slower, rhythmical and deeper

•  Imagine a passage between your navel and the front of your throat

•  Imagine you are breathing in through the navel and the breath rises from the navel to the throat. As you exhale, the breath goes from the throat to the navel. Practice this for a while

•  Now as you inhale, chant ‘so’ as the breath goes from the navel to the throat

•  As you exhale, chant ‘ham’ as the breath goes from the throat to the navel

•  If your mind wanders, be aware that it is wandering but maintain the mantra for the time of your practice.

Exercise 3

•  Keep your eyes closed, your body relaxed. Gently insert your thumbs in your ears and place the fingers on the head as shown

•  Sit and listen to the silence in your body. Just be aware of any thoughts and continue to listen to the silence.

 

Yoga nidra to help you relax

To help your high blood pressure, you have to learn to relax completely. You must realise that this involves an attitude change in relation to yourself and external factors.

A relaxed man is able to view life from a different perspective to a man that is tense and stressed out.  I have already given you many exercises that will help you calm your mind and today I give you one more.

Yoga offers one of the most potent forms of stress-relief in yoga nidra or awareness sleep. Recent research has shown that it can help relax you and lower blood pressure. Build it into your daily life or when you are starting to feel stressed or anxious. Start by having someone read out the exercise to you and then begin to practice it on your own.

Caution: Avoid falling asleep while doing this.

Exercise 1

• Lie on your back on a mat or on a hard mattress

• Concentrate on your breath. Breathe deeply from the abdomen and just be aware of yourself inhaling and exhaling

• There are sixteen vital points in your body which can relax you totally if you concentrate on them. Start concentrating on the forehead, move progressively to the nostrils, lips, chin, neck, shoulders, elbows, wrists, fingertips, chest, abdomen, thighs, knees, calves, ankles and toes. Repeat this cycle two to three times

• Now imagine your limbs are detached from your body. Only the head, chest and abdominal area exist now. As you breathe in, feel the air entering your spine and cleansing it

• Concentrate on the different vital nerve plexus or nerve junctions called chakras and breathe in and out five to ten times while concentrating on each point

• Start with the root plexus or mooladhara in the space between your anus and your genitals

• Move to the solar plexus or swadhisthan, four fingers above the navel

• Then to the midpoint of the chest, anahat

• Move to the throat, to visudhi

• Move to the point between the eyebrows, ajna

• Finally move to the crown, the suryachakra

• Imagine your limbs are once again attached to your body.  Be aware of your whole body as one unit for about two minutes

• Slowly open your eyes, stretch and get up.