Analysis has found that 25 minutes of yoga a day can cut blood pressure as much as some medications. Researchers looked at 30 studies with more than 2,600 overweight adults who regularly did yoga. Most people did three 60-minute workouts a week, the equivalent of 25 minutes a day. After 12 weeks, people had significantly lower blood pressure levels. The lower pressure can lead to fewer strokes and heart attacks.
Experts say the significant reduction in blood pressure is similar to the results of some medications. However, they caution that medications can have more drastic results depending on the person, their starting blood pressure and the medication they take.
Researchers from the Univ. of Edinburgh wrote, “Yoga is often seen mainly as a wellbeing practice, but our findings suggest it may also support certain cardiometabolic health outcomes in adults with overweight or obesity.”
The analysis also showed that yoga was linked to a modest improvement in cholesterol levels. The reductions in LDL cholesterol could lower the risk of heart attacks and strokes. The research was unclear about why yoga would impact the body this way. It could be because of the way yoga reduces stress. Lowering stress lowers blood pressure. But that wouldn’t explain the change in cholesterol.
Researchers said that yoga is not a replacement for a more physical workout. A combination of aerobic and resistance training is the most effective workout for lowering blood pressure. Endurance exercise or resistance training both outperformed yoga for helping blood sugar.
Yoga is helpful and has a place, but it isn’t the king of workouts. If pain has held a person back from exercising, yoga can get them into a rhythm. It’s a form of exercise people will actually stick with. And a workout people will do is better than a perfect one that isn’t done.
The researchers wrote that, “Our review suggests that yoga may offer a helpful additional option for improving some aspects of cardiometabolic health in adults with overweight or obesity, particularly blood pressure.”
We are always looking for more ways to help our bodies naturally. Medication plays a huge role in health. But we also like taking a natural route when we can, as well as pairing medicine with healthy habits for the best results. If you have blood pressure concerns and are either trying to avoid medication or medication alone isn’t enough, consider adding yoga to your routine for added benefits.
