Blood pressue improved
She was quite concerned about things in her life right now like not being able to work and having enough money to survive this lockdown.
She said she occasionally had nosebleeds. Then she produced two prescriptions for high blood pressure she takes every day.
I asked if she had a blood pressure cuff at home; perhaps one that goes around the wrist and is easy and painless to use. She didn’t.
“Let’s take your blood pressure now,” I suggested and had her lie down on the massage table. The wrist cuff said 147/72. Just for fun, I had her do the simple little Nitric Oxide (NO) test. It showed she was “low.” (I wrote about NO in last week’s Tid-bits of Health).
She had come to see me for another reason, but I decided to keep some focus on the blood pressure issue since it had presented itself. I offered her a yummy little chewable tablet that’s made from fruits and vegetables. It contains the nutrients the blood vessels need to make NO (Remember: it’s the molecule that helps blood vessels relax and open up). She liked its sweet-sour “almost-like-candy” taste.
As we discussed our business, I observed how she continued to relax. In about 30 minutes, I had her repeat the NO test. Her body was making NO at the “Optimal” level now.
When there was a break in our business discussion, I took her back to the massage table for another blood pressure check. This time I had her perform an extremely important and simple relaxation technique.
I didn’t explain the reason behind the technique, I just let her experience it. Here’s the explanation.
Our nervous system has two branches; two major control systems. We’ll begin with the Living-sportscar analogy. The car has two major control systems; a gas pedal and a brake/ clutch pedal (two controls in one pedal if your car has an automatic transmission). When we’re learning to drive a car we must master those two controls; along with the steering wheel of course. The gas pedal speeds the car up, and the brake/clutch pedal slows the car down.
In the body, the gas pedal is called the sympathetic branch of the nervous system. It speeds up our body functions, makes us go-go-go like stressing over a relationship, fearing a COVID-19 attack or running from a bear to save our life. It makes our muscles, heart and blood vessels contract as we react to life’s situations. The break/clutch pedal is called the parasympathetic branch. It slows our functions down, helps us relax, become more peaceful, digest our food and go to sleep. As we learn to drive our Living-sportscar and live a balanced, healthy life, we must master these two controls as well; along with our spirituality of course.
The two branches of the nervous system can be controlled with the breath, because the lungs have two sets of muscles that work them. The set of muscles that control the top part of the lungs is controlled by the sympathetic nervous system. When we’re stressing out, feeling pain, running or fighting our gremlins, we breathe with our chest muscles. The set of muscles that control the bottom part of the lungs is controlled by the parasympathetic nervous system. When we’re calm, peaceful, happy and loving, we breathe with our belly muscles. Babies belly-breathe naturally.
To breathe like a baby, I had her lie down on the massage table. She placed one hand on her chest and the other on her stomach. She learned to control her muscles so only her chesthand moved with each breath. Then she switch her control so only her belly-hand moved. As she continued to belly-breathe, the cuff on her wrist measured her blood pressure. It read 118/67. When she saw the reading, she almost fell off the table.
Google lists 10 factors that affect blood pressure. They include weight loss, regular exercise, healthy eating, sodium reduction, limiting alcohol and caffeine, quit smoking, reducing stress, monitoring your blood pressure at home while seeing your doctor regularly, and getting support.
It didn’t take much to reduce her stress. I used a less painful and stressful measuring device, gave a little moral support and added Nitric Oxide to the mix. Her results were huge; not only for the way her blood pressure was lowered naturally, but for her new-found ability to control her stress and feel good about herself.
Now you have another tool to use in your health endeavors.
Until then … TAKE CHARGE! … Sylvia