ROLE OF NADI SHUDDHI PRANAYAMA ON HYPERTENSION

Abstract

Yoga is the science of human being in depth, the science of conscious evolution or the science of human possibilities. It is a unique science that it encompasses matter, life and consciousness in one sweep and bridges the gap between science and spiritually. Thus Yoga may be considered as a system of mental, physical and spiritual developments. The Pranayama (Prana-breath ayam-pause) is one of the eight steps of yogic practice and is concerned with controlled breathing exercises and in broader sense, the control of vital force Prana. Basically Pranayama consists of 3 phases namely Puraka (inhalation), Kumbhaka (pause), Recaka (exhalation). The best proportion of time to be allotted to these three steps is 1:4:2 respectively for inhaling, controlling, and exhaling the breath. There are numerous studies which have shown that yoga, especially Pranayama, have an immediate down regulating effect on both the hypothalamic– pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) response to stress. Studies show that Pranayama yoga decreases levels of salivary cortisol, blood glucose, as well as plasma rennin levels, and 24-hour urine norepinephrine and epinephrine levels. Pranayama significantly decreases heart rate and systolic and diastolic blood pressure. So with this idea, this study has been carried out on a total of 100 patients having signs and symptoms of stage I and stage II hypertension and Nadi shuddhi pranayama was practiced daily for a period of one month by these patients. Patients were assessed on parameters such as Blood pressure, Headache, Palpitation, Dizziness, Nervousness, Fatigue, Insomnia and Breathlessness. The Significant relief was observed in Blood pressure and sign and symptoms after treatment and it was concluded that Nadi Shuddhi pranayama produces a significant fall in blood pressure level and other sign and symptoms in hypertensive patients.