One third of Americans has hypertension, or high blood pressure in layman's terms. Often referred to as the 'silent killer', hypertension's effects on the body commonly surface only after it has caused significant damage to the organism.
Untreated blood pressure increases the risk of stroke, heart attack, heart failure, kidney failure and death. The majority of those diagnosed with hypertension are commonly found to have developed unhealthy responses to life stressors through behaviors such as overeating and lack of proper rest.
My hypertension was found at age forty-eight. I've always had routine physicals, and it was during one of them I received the shocking news. My physician took time to educate me on the situation, and I was surprised to learn that high blood pressure commonly surfaces when a woman reaches her late 40's, especially when there's a strong family predisposition as there was in my case.
She placed me on a beta blocker drug, and I've done very well on it since my initial diagnosis. But recently I've committed myself to a more holistic approach to health. I still take the medication, but I'm supplementing it with increased exercise in conjuction with better food choices, positive thinking and meditation.
What do all these have in common? They're totally natural and absolutely free! The current unstable state of health care here in the United States has me worried. As a result, I've decided to take a more proactive approach to my health in anticipation of my current health insurance coverage changing ... and not in a good way.
Readers will agree that increasing the level of my daily ecercise and dietary vigilance is a wonderful idea. A fair number would also concede there might be something to the current positive thinking trend. But meditation? Too hard and too weird.
The most common misperception regarding meditation is that one needs to sit on a cushion, in a pose that few people my age can accomplish comfortably, and remain silent for a ridiculous number of hours in order to be effective. In short, not a practice for 'normal' folks with modern, busy lives.
My life is as busy as are most others these days, and I admit to being impatient for quick results. So it would seem that my resolve to meditate daily will inevitably die on the vine. That would have been the case in my middle years. But, at age 59, I'm wanting to slow the train down a bit and smell some of those roses along the way. Not to mention, hoping to be able to encourage creativity and short-term memory retention.
Internet research led me to some fascinating articles, both formal and informal, on the subject of meditation. The January, 2012, issue of Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging reported: " ... those who meditated for thirty minutes (two coffee breaks) a day for eight weeks had measurable changes in gray-matter density (healthy brain tissue) in parts of the brain associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress. A control group that did not practice meditation showed no such changes." Further, a 2009, study suggests that meditation may reduce blood pressure in patients with coronary heart disease.
By far the most helpful article I came across was within the Mayo Clinic's website, It clearly lays out the many benefits of meditation and offers a sampling of methods and ways to get started. I was encouraged by its down-to-earth advice: 'Don't let the thought of meditating the right way add to your stress. Sure you can attend special meditation centers or group classes led by trained instructors (expensive!); but you can easily practice meditation on your own. All you need is a few minutes of time ...'
This myth-busting article went on to mention that prayer, mindful walking, reading poems, listening to sacred music (or any kind you prefer) and practicing daily gratitude are all forms of meditation.
My current meditation routine consists of setting aside ten minutes in the morning and evening to sit/lie in a quiet, comfortable spot and place my focus on my breathing. Gently I invite my conscious awareness to do nothing more than observe how it feels to breathe deeply, how my lungs react to the air filling its cavities and the way my body relaxes as a result of this purposeful vigilance. It really can be that simple! Even if you do this for five, ten, fifteen or more minutes once a day, you will come to appreciate, as I have, the difference in your attitude and energy.
'Meditation is purification -- not of who we are, but of the filter through which we see and experience who we are. As that filter is purified everything in our universe is purified with it and our lives become filled with peace and happiness.' This quote by the inventor of The Holysync Solution, Bill Harris, echoes my own experience. Exponentially, the amount of effort expended is far outweighed by the benefits when we take our health into our own hands and find ways to honor this sacred, albeit temporary home that is our human bodies.
My goal, with my physician's approval, is to be able to reduce my blood pressure medication levels with the aim to eliminating it. I know that this means a life-style change, not a temporary fix. But I'm excited about the prospect of reducing, by one, the current number of folks -- sixty-six million -- tied to daily doses of blood pressure medication.
