Over 25% of the Indian population above the age of 40 years is diagnosed as Hypertensive, which needs lifelong medication & multiple visits to hospitals/Clinics which is inconvenient & an economic burden to the families. The time tested ancient Indian medical science interventions offers simple, yet powerful solutions for wellbeing. ‘Yoganidra’ (meditating in sleeping posture) has emerged as the best, easy, cost-effective tool in controlling blood pressure (hypertension). The pilot study was conducted by 9 eminent Scientists lead by Dr. Devraj Parsannavar of ICMR-National Institute of Nutrition, Hyderabad. ‘Yoganidra’, if continuously practiced under close supervision of experts can definitely control Blood Pressure. It is a good news & relief for patients with uncontrolled blood pressure.
Introduction:
The study was conducted by scientists of ICMR-National Institution of Nutrition, Hyderabad after obtaining ethical clearance from NIN IEC(ICMR). The study included 74 subjects (participants) in the age group of 35 to 70 years (both male & female). Participants were diagnosed as hypertensive whose blood pressures were recorded as 140/90 mm Hg or above. These 74 participants were divided into two groups as Experimental Group consisting of 31 participants and the remaining 43 identified as a control group. Both the group participants were on their regular medication as prescribed by their treating physician.
How the study was conducted?
‘Yoganidra’ intervention was administered to 31 participants for one hour daily from 5.30 pm to 6.30 pm in a semi-dark room for 12 weeks. Before ‘Yoganidra’ participants had light exercise with brisk walk for 2-3 minutes to ensure better attention & compliance. Blood pressure was measured in the sitting position before starting ‘Yoganidra’ every week for 12 weeks. Yoga teacher in the presence of researcher, participants were advised to take a position of Shavasana (relaxed lying down on the back) for 35mins. The instructions were passed on audio system.
‘Yoganidra’ is attained by following step-by-step instructions;
Step 1;
Body and mind were relaxed in ‘Shavasana’ by instructing right posture, position, speed, rhythmic breath, and listening to the external sounds & participants are in the state of witnessing the activity.
Step 2;
Participants were directed to take strong resolution (Sankalp) to keep their body & mind in relaxed position. They were advised to perform ‘Yoganidra’ with full determination, conviction, and confidence
Step 3;
Participants were taught to remain aware, listen to the instructions, and move the mind very quickly according to the instructions without making any physical movements.
Step 4;
Participants were asked to become conscious of the natural breath without changing the breath flow. They were aware of each inspiration and expiration by counting them mentally.
Step 5;
Pairs of contradictory feelings/sensations were practiced by asking participants to imagine the heat and cold, heaviness and lightness, pain and pleasure, love and hate, etc. In the visualization stage, the participants could visualize some objects, stories or situations as advised by Expert commentator.
Step 6;
In the last step participants become aware of the external sounds, objects, and persons. For first 3-5 days, most of the participants fell asleep for 5-10 min. After 5th day, they got used to the practice of ‘Yoganidra’.
Results: After 12 week practice of ‘Yoganidra’, significant reduction of mean Systolic Blood Pressure from 142.9 mm Hg to 118.68 mm Hg and Diastolic Blood Pressure from 89.84 mm Hg to 77.03 mm Hg was attained in this study. The study also identified that, there were no significant differences between triglycerides and total cholesterol levels, however LDL-C and HDL -C showed a trend of improvement in the experimental group after intervention. There were no adverse events associated with intervention.
Conclusion: This pilot study cond
ucted on small group of participants for 12 weeks highlights that ‘Yoganidra’ can control Blood Pressure. It is also simple, non-invasive and also improves the overall quality of life of an individual. The researchers have also suggested further studies in different cities, and different age group can be conducted. Authors concluded that this can be used as standalone for newly diagnosed Hypertensive patients before initiating pharmacological therapy and add on therapy for those who are on medication which will be helpful to avoid side effects of long-term medication usage and beneficial in reducing cost of medication.
For full text of research, article click; https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8739171/
The lead author can be contacted at his email ID: jpdevraj26@gmail.com
You can download ‘Yoganidra’ video/audio on YouTube; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_ce66a9MV0
Compiled by;
Dr. Pramod N Sulikeri, Ph.D
Sr. Transplant Coordinator
KLES Dr. Prabhakar Kore Hospital & MRC
Belagavi (M) 98443 66188
