Poses and low blood pressure

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hello All

Two questions if you please… After 5 years of no yoga, I want to slowly return. I was looking at my old favorite poses online and ran across some with contraindications of low blood pressure. As mine runs normal low to low, I was wondering if this is a true concern. It didn’t seem to bother me in the past but I’m 5 years older and while I’m still very flexible, I’m basically starting over.

Also, I’m now dealing with fibromyalgia and costochondritis. Any particular poses that would help with these conditions or cause more pain?

Thank you for any thoughts.

#2

As someone who has been suffering from costochondritis for about three months now (I feel your pain, literally, and it sucks), rest assured I have tried just about every pose in the book. As far as I can tell, none have made much of a difference. In the last three days I have taken to:

  1. Utilizing a punching bag
  2. Using VERY light weights to strengthen my chest and some specific muscles I’ve found are weak and damaged in my back.

Thus far, I’m liking the results, but considering my costochondritis ebbs and flows in intensity, it may just be coincidental. I’ll keep you updated.

The BIG thing I’ve been focusing on for my costochondritis (which will no doubt help your fibromyalgia) is diet. Have you begun exploring diet and specifically eliminating foods that cause inflammation and adding more that reduce it?

Oh, and anything forward bend related hurts my costochondritis like no other. I’m sure you figured that one out already though :slight_smile:

#3

I have more experience with fibromyalgia than costochondritis and one of the most effective ways of curtailing the symptoms is to calm the nervous system… to move it from a high-stress, fight or flight sympathetic state to its calm, parasympathetic sibling.

Chronic stress can cause chronic inflammation. The ‘fight of flight’ state diverts blood and nutrition away from body-sustaining organs, such as the digestive organs, and pumps them into the muscles and the heart. Fibromyalgia can be the result of being in this state of chronic high nervous system activity.

Different things work for different people. Pranayama can be great, particularly calming techniques like nadhi sodhana and savitri pranayama are great for calming the nervous system. Meditation is great for some… punching a punching bag or dancing around to great music is effective for others.

Healing has a lot to do with getting in touch with those deep, internal sensations in your body, responding to them, honoring them and learning from them.

#4

Hello Shannon.

There is profound feedback in both Davids’ posts preceding me above.
And they have managed to cover two ends of a particular spectrum.

I’m on another continuum altogether

I am often slightly disheartened by questions about which poses will heal something. To me it is like asking ‘what third of a thing can I employ that will be 100% effective for this or that?’. This is heightened for me because asana doesn’t heal. Asana provides support to the things inside your carcass which do the healing. Adding to that is the fact that the latter issues here are related to inflammation and very rarely does inflammation abate from a physical “doing”.

In order to really respond to your LBP inquiry I’d need to know which “favorites” you’re referring to as the answer might be different for each.

Since costochondritis ends in “itis” it equals rest in a yogic outlook. Inflammation is controlled by what my cohorts have outlined; a pristine diet of what to eat and what to avoid and those things which shift the central nervous system from a sympathetic to parasympathetic state. The highly skilled yoga teacher you’re studying with should be able to direct you on both fronts.

I would also offer these two tidbits for further thought;
connective tissue represents connection, and that which is in front of the heart can either open us up to love or close us off to it.

Warmly,

gordon

#5

Shannon,

First of all, I’d like to say “Congrats!” about your return to Yoga. It is unequivocally the very best thing you can do to heal your fibromyalgia.

Regarding your question about asanas that are okay for low blood pressure, fibromyalgia, and costochondritis all together - well, that’s a bit complicated. Even just the blood pressure question is complex. The answer depends on why your blood pressure is low and on whether or not you have had other medical problems like stroke, heart disease, or osteoporosis.

My advice is to find a qualified Yoga therapist to work with at least a few times. You can go to the International Association of Yoga Therapists website to find one near you. Or find an MD/DO knowledgeable in Yoga and work with them.

In general, if you have idiopathic (no known cause) of your low blood pressure and you don’t have other medical problems, then this is the time the proverbial “listen to your body” advice really rings true. If your blood pressure drops too low, you will feel lightheaded and dizzy. If that happens, stop whatever you are doing and sit down or lie down immediately - right where you are.

For someone with idiopathic low blood pressure and no other medical problems, the main concern is regarding falling. If you get lightheaded and dizzy, then you might fall - either because you pass out or because you lose your sense of equilibrium. Falling can result in broken bones, bruises and concussions. That’s the danger.

Prevent the drop in blood pressure and light headed feeling by:

  1. Maintaining hydration. Drink lots of water with fresh squeezed lemon or green tea before practice, and if your practice is the kind that makes you sweat, keep water with you at all times. This keeps your blood volume up so that pressure drops are less likely.

  2. MOVE SLOWLY. Don’t stand up too quickly. Don’t rise to a sitting position from head down asanas too quickly. Be very, very slow and careful. If you feel lightheaded, sit or lie down immediately.

  3. If you can, practice in a group or with a friend. They can help if you fall - or look like you are about to do so.

  4. Surround yourself with carpets, cushions, pillows - anything soft in case you go down.

Warm regards,
Kathleen

#6

First of all, let me apologize for posting then disappearing. Life and a dying laptop got in the way.

Second, I want to thank you all for the replies.

The yoga instructor I have recently signed on with (but not yet met) did not have much knowledge on costo but will be researching.

My blood pressure is idiopathic and I don’t have any major circulatory problems. I think as yogadr suggested, I’ll just stay aware (especially since I’m OLDER now LOL). The specific pose I was referring to in regard to blood pressure was the tree pose. It’s one of my favorites and was quite surprised and a little nervous to see that it should not be done with headaches and lbp even though it had never bothered me.

The idea of yoga being an overall healer as opposed to specific issues is one I should focus on, along with calming and diet.

All of your kind posts contain some very good information and things to consider. I appreciate the help and again my apologies for taking so much time to return.