The power of our breathing has been recognized from the very beginning of human awareness. This is the basis of ancient disciplines such as yoga, meditation, martial arts and various healing arts. First of all, in Eastern cultures, some people have dedicated their lives to mastering their breathing and other physiological processes that allow them to demonstrate incredible feats of physical and mental skill.
Even in the West, the connection between the respiratory and circulatory systems is taken for granted, although we cannot pay much attention to it. “Take a deep breath,” they always tell you about times of great panic, anger, or stress. Breathing deeply and slowly soothes the heart and nerves as confidently as there are bites of a growing stomach. We know this innate.
However, Western tradition is pragmatic. In fairness, few people anywhere in the world these days have the time and patience to master the ancient disciplines. We currently advocate for efficiency and strive to use labels that bring the greatest benefit for the least amount of time and effort. We also tend to trust more drugs or therapies that have stood the test of scientific validation.
Therefore, a new natural method of lowering blood pressure, called therapeutic or slow breathing, is so convincing. Slow breathing draws inspiration from the ancient principle that breathing can affect other physiological processes. Nevertheless, it was designed and optimized for maximum results in the most direct and effective way. However, he does not receive anything that does not give an obvious clinical effect. This will include elements with the sole purpose of ritual or discipline. Thus, slow breathing is a purely western alternative.
According to numerous studies published in medical journals such as the “Journal of Human Hypertension”, breathing with a slow and regular rhythm of less than 10 breaths per minute while extending the expiratory phase by only 10-15 minutes a day leads to a significant decrease in blood pressure. What else, the effect is cumulative and begins to exist a day after several weeks of practicing slow breathing. The result is a significant and sustained decrease in blood pressure.
Using slow breathing using a computerized biofeedback device or in combination with music on a CD or mp3, many thousands of patients with high blood pressure confirmed the effectiveness of the method. In some cases, the results exceed even the best of those obtained with drug treatment, with a documented reduction of 36 systolic points and 20-point diastolic. Results like these have allowed some users to drop blood pressure medication in general. Many of them have used slow breathing to reduce the amount of medication they need, thereby saving both cost and unpleasant side effects.
Another advantage of slow breathing in addiction treatment is its range of side benefits. It has proven to be extremely effective in relieving stress, anxiety, and sleep problems. Over time, it even improves respiratory fitness. Since slow breathing cannot lower blood pressure below normal levels, you do not have to suffer from hypertension in order to enjoy it for other benefits.
How it works? The exact mechanism explaining how slow breathing lowers blood pressure is not fully understood. The most widespread explanation is that slow breathing with a long and relaxed exhalation releases tension in the muscles of the diaphragm. This allows you to open large blood vessels, relieving the load on the heart. This action is similar to that of beta blockers, the most popular class of blood pressure drugs.
Many slow breathing practitioners tend to support relaxation theory, because, as it seems, they can literally feel the chest opening with slow breathing. Fortunately, data from numerous clinical studies also point to this direction.
Dr. David Anderson with the National Institutes of Health is a regular researcher of slow breathing, but he provides an alternative explanation for its effectiveness. Dr. Anderson explains: "Slow, deep breathing temporarily relaxes and dilates blood vessels, but this is not enough to explain the long-term reduction in blood pressure." Instead, he believes that what he calls “retarding breathing” knocks the chemical balance of blood with the keel, making it more acidic. This makes the kidneys less effective in pumping out sodium and, in turn, increases blood pressure. By reversing this process, slow breathing can work just like a diuretic, another type of drug often prescribed to lower high blood pressure.
However, Anderson’s theory does not explain why slow breathing needs to be practiced in a state of deep relaxation in order to be effective. Relaxation, of course, has a role to play, and it is for this reason that slow breathing is the most successful in combination with gentle, relaxing music.
Whether the amazing effects of slow breathing are the result of relaxing blood vessels or lowering sodium levels, these are both powerful mechanisms that mimic the actions of the most effective blood pressure drugs — without any side effects!
