Role of Bhramari Pranayam in Management of Hypertension

Essential hypertension is a rise in blood pressure and in 90%it is of unknown cause. Secondary hypertension which is the result of a pathology, chronic kidney disease, narrowing of the aorta or endocrine disorder. The predisposing factors may be single or multiple are genetic, environmental, behavioural including work stress and food habits. the first 6 lines of yog sutra control body mind and soul. atha yoga-anuśāsanam, yogaś-chitta-vr̥atti-nirodhaḥ, tadādraṣṭuḥsvarūpe-'vasthānam, BHRAMARI – HUMMING-SHABAD-is a phonatory respiratory exercise releases nitric oxide. Bhramari increases the production of nitric oxide by 16 times. Nitric oxide is omnipresent a pleiotropic signalling molecule, plays important role in almost every biological system and controls hypertension Material and method We randomly selected 82 patients of essential hypertension from the outdoor of hospital, out of which 40 were of uncontrolled hypertension. Detailed case history, family history, duration of illness, drug type, regularity and diet pattern were questioned and recorded. Blood Pressure (BP), pulse rate (PR), Oxygen saturation (Spo2) were monitored before and after meditation. Results The most common aggravating factor was sedentary life style (90%) followed by work stress (30%) commonest warning symptom was tiredness. There was reduction of 18mm systolic and 12mm Hg in diastolic blood pressure. Conclusion Bhramari Pranayama, focused concentration (Shiv Dhyan) and slow deep abdominal breathing with extended exhalation leads to calmness reduces hyperactive sympathetic activity and enhances parasympathetic activity. The average lowering of blood pressure was observed by 18/12mm of Hg. and pulse by 8/minutes. Regularising the life style, avoiding excess salt, processed food, adding potassium and chlorophyll enhanced diet with timely 8 hours sleep may further reduce the overall prevalence of hypertension and prevent associated, cardiac and other complications.