How to Maintain Normal Blood Pressure With Meditation

The link between stress and high blood pressure is well known and your physician will suggest controlling your stress level as a part of an ongoing program of maintaining a normal blood pressure. With daily meditation, you can learn to relax naturally and as a result, your blood pressure will benefit.

Instructions

• 1

  Find a quiet place where you will not be disturbed for at least 20 minutes every day. Some therapists suggest meditating in the morning before you start your day. At any rate, try to schedule the same time every day for your session.

• 2

  Sit, rather than lie down. It's too easy to fall asleep when you're lying down to meditate. You can sit on the floor in a cross-legged position if you like or you can use a comfortable chair.

• 3

  Begin by taking deep slow breaths. Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth. Pay attention to the way the air feels as it enters and leaves your body. Image that the air you inhale is sparkly white and cleansing. As you exhale, pretend your breath has captured all the toxins in your body and they flow out easily with your breath.

• 4

  Start with your head and feel a wave of relaxation gradually descend through your body all the way to your toes. It's okay if you don't actually feel this; just imagine your body relaxing bit by bit.

• 5

  Use visualization to lower your blood pressure further when you are very relaxed. The Academy of Guided Imagery in California suggests that you imagine taking ice from your freezer and pretend you are holding it and allowing the coolness to seep into your body. You may create your own cooling visualization technique if you like.

• 6

  Create a scene in your mind during meditation that you can recall during the day when you experience stress. Imagine a relaxing place, perhaps a deep cool forest or a beach at sunrise. Fill your scene with as many 'real' details as you can; hear the leaves rustling, smell the surf. Commit your scene to memory and recall it during the day when you need to de-stress.