When talking about any problem it is always wise to consider the “Big Picture” - just like in photography zooming out from the immediate object of interest to include things which surround that object.  In this case I mean employing a Holistic Approach when looking at a specific health concern, such as managing blood pressure.

Definition of Holistic Approach to Health:

*… It’s a wellness approach that addresses the body, mind and spirit or the physical, emotional/mental and spiritual aspects of an individual.

 

In other words body, mind and spirit are interconnected and do not act independently of each other. 

(Note: spirit here has the meaning of the very essence of a person - the core self, rather than referring to anything religious.)

This approach seeks to find underlying causes of symptoms, as opposed to merely treating the symptoms with medication, and it attempts to introduce interventions which will help restore balance in the body as a whole. 

I recently found myself in a situation where the increasing demands and pressures of training for a new position at work put me under enormous stress for a prolonged period of time.  This started to wreak havoc on me as elevated levels of cortisol in my body sent my blood pressure readings sky high.  Finally I decided to pay attention to the symptoms (i.e. the increase in BP), figured out what was really causing it and sensibly withdrew from the training. 

So learning to manage the ongoing stressors in our everyday lives is certainly one thing we can do to help prevent damaging and unhealthy blood pressure spikes.

In this section I am looking at presenting different tools and strategies which may be used to promote the maintenance of healthy blood pressure.  One which I find really beneficial and like to use regularly is to lie down somewhere comfortable and, with my eyes closed, practice deep belly breaths whilst listening to some soothing meditation music for about 30 minutes.  I look forward to exploring other approaches for you, many of which have been used for centuries by different cultures around the world and to great effect.