Three Surprising Tips to Lower Stress & Heal Your High Blood Pressure

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If you don't think your anxiety, depression, sadness and stress impact your physical health, think again. All of these emotions trigger chemical reactions in your body, which can lead to inflammation and a weakened immune system. Learn how to cope, sweet friend. There will always be dark days.

— Kris Carr

You’ve probably learned by now that dark days are inevitable no matter how well you prepare for the future or how much money you accumulate in your bank account. None can escape. 

And with these challenging times comes stress. When you feel threatened or under pressure, your body sounds the alarm and goes to red alert—a defensive position meant to protect you. Stress is the body’s natural response to anything it perceives as a threat. 

A world filled with constant sunshine, where everyone wears a smile, drives a Mercedes, and lives in a mansion on the hill with an infinity pool is as real as the last unicorn. We have to be prepared to manage change and challenges when they come. We must learn to cope so that our stress, which is meant to help us survive threats, doesn’t become chronic and uncontrolled. 

You see, stress, per se, isn’t a bad thing. Chronic stress is what kills you. The link between stress, poor health, and high blood pressure is humungous and lit up in neon. Countless medical studies spotlight stress as a significant factor in aggravating hypertension. 

You see, stress, per se, isn’t a bad thing. Chronic stress is what kills you.

 

How do we deal with it? Our post-pandemic world throws change and disasters at us nonstop. If ever there was a time to have simple stress-busting tools in our toolkit, it’s now. 

The fabulous news is there are dozens of easy tricks you can use to stay un-frazzled and serene however crazy the world around you becomes. Moreover, scientific studies prove their efficacy in normalizing hypertension.

Today, I’ll share three fun and easy tips to manage stress and heal your high blood pressure. They don’t take a lot of time, and they don’t require any money. 

• Pet Your Dog

Dog lovers can rejoice over our first tip. Petting your dog or your cat is excellent for your health. Have you noticed that you feel good when you do? It releases a relaxation hormone in your body that lowers your stress response and your high blood pressure. Your pet feels safe and soothed as well. No wonder people with dogs tend to have lower blood pressure than those who don’t. Studies show that having a dog also makes you more likely to live longer after a heart attack than people who don’t. 

If you don’t have a dog or a cat, don’t worry. Just visit a friend who does and cuddle up with their pet for a while. Volunteer to walk your neighbor’s dog. You can find apps online connecting you with pet owners looking for dog walking and sitting services. Find a local pet shelter where you can lend a hand and heal your heart along the way.

• Shake It Off

Did you know that shaking for stress relief is an actual thing? Known by some as therapeutic tremoring, it’s a simple, super effective way to shake stress, tension, and trauma out of your body. You’ve probably seen an animal shake off rainwater, or tremble for a second after a fright. It soon settles down again as if nothing had happened.

Humans can benefit in the same way to expel tension, worries, and bad juju from our bodies. You instinctively know this when you gently rock a baby in your arms to soothe its cries or lull it to sleep. Shaking is a natural, primitive mechanism that resets stuck muscle tension and old stress patterns, allowing you to relax, recharge, and reboot. 

As the Taylor Swift song says, just “shake it off.”

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’Cause the players gonna play, play, play, play, play

And the haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate

Baby, I’m just gonna shake, shake, shake, shake, shake

I shake it off, I shake it off

Put on some music and shake your waist, or do the twist. You can experience therapeutic shaking in my signature workshop, Transcendent Flow™—Soulful Dance & Moving Meditation. Enjoy a free session when you subscribe and get instant access to your Free Well-Being & Happiness Toolkit. Or visit the On-Demand Workshops page on my website, YogiAlicia.com, for a more in-depth session. 

• Get Some Blue Medicine

    

Blue Medicine is my term for the therapeutic power of the ocean and water. Surfers and divers will tell you about the blissful peace they find in the water, letting the waves wash away the cares of the world. 

An island girl from the Caribbean, I’ve always loved the ocean. Some of my happiest childhood memories are of being with my family at Maracas Beach in Trinidad. I made a few of my most significant life decisions at the beach, seeking the serenity and wisdom of the waves as I tuned into my heart. Whenever I felt stressed and overwhelmed, I sought the solace of the ocean, sitting on the beach or floating on the water, letting my worries wash away on the tide.

Exciting research reveals the scientific reasons for the calm we feel in the presence of water. Being near bodies of water triggers our involuntary attention, fostering mindfulness, creativity, and problem-solving. Water stimulates the happiness hormones dopamine and serotonin while decreasing the stress hormone, cortisol. Something about the color, touch, and sound of water lowers your heart rate and increases your feeling of calm. 

Not everyone loves the beach, I know. You may be more of a mountain or country person. Or you may not be able to swim or dive. You can still benefit from water’s peaceful effects. It’s enough to stroll along the beach, a nearby river, or a lake. Luxuriate in a warm bath, with some scented bath oils or candles if you like. Enjoy one of the thousands of nature meditation videos on Youtube featuring stunning beaches, rivers, and waterfalls. Tune in to the soothing soundscape of an audio recording of waves or rain.  Drink a glass of water and let it refresh you.

Something about the color, touch, and sound of water lowers your heart rate and increases your feeling of calm. 

For beach lovers, how about treating yourself to a 1:1 VIP Private Yoga & Wellness Retreat with me in the beautiful Algarve, Portugal? Send me an email if you’d like to learn more at [email protected].

So, which of these tips surprised you the most? And which will you try first? Now you know how easy it is to lower your stress and high blood pressure, go out there, and take control of your health and happiness today.