HOLISTIC APPROACH OF YOGA ON BLOOD PRESSURE MANAGEMENT

Background Yoga is an ancient Indian system of exercise and therapy is an art of righteous living or an integrated system for the benefit of the body, mind and inner spirit. Regular practice of yoga can help to decrease stress and anxiety. Forward bends such as the Paschimottana Asana help to increase blood flow to the brain, reduce stress, have a calming effect on the nervous system, and greatly help in reducing hypertension. Aim The aim of yoga is the attainment of the physical, mental and spiritual health and to control the blood pressure. The present study was conducted to determine the effect of yoga training on confirmed coronary artery disease (CAD+) and without coronary artery disease (CAD-) patients. Methods We examined the effects of yoga on hemodynamic and laboratory parameters in a 1- year pilot study. A course of yoga was given to all the subjects for 1.5 Hours six days in week. Systolic and diastolic blood pressures, heart rate, body mass index (BMI) were all studied at before and after starting of yoga practice. Results This prospective cohort study included 200 subjects (mean age 52 ± 2 years), both with (50%) and without (50%) established coronary artery disease (CAD). Yoga training produces decrease in systolic blood pressure (SBP) (average 20%), mean arterial pressure (MAP) (11%), heart rate (HR) (average12.5%) and BMI (8%). SBP, HR and BMI value shows statistically highly significant (p<0.05). These results suggest that there is a significant reduction in blood pressure, heart rate, and BMI in the total cohort with yoga. Conclusion Our finding shows that yoga appears to control blood pressure of CAD patients