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| Hi there all, I'm new  and happy to have found yoga.com! yay!
I've been practicing Bikram for about 5 months and loving it. Now a friend of mine who is on blood pressure medicine and has been for years would like to try a class with me. I don't want to encourage her too much if people have had negative experiences with Bikram who are on bp meds.
Some questions jump to mind after having observed my own practice:
Would it be healthy to be in a situation like a Bikram class where the heat alone would raise the heart rate, yet the bp meds keep it down?
My friend has been doing aerobic exercise 6 times a week at Curves (if you know it...) and says that because of her medication her heart rate always stays the same during these workouts. Is this also okay for Bikram?
I have gone through so much so far in my practice, and I think my friend would love it, too--I want her to have the best, most informed try at it as possible.
Any input/suggestions/stories??
Thank you so much,
Rebecca
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Regular
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Location: The City of Brotherly Love | Hi Rebecca and welcome,
Here is info staight from the Bikram home site. I think it is sound information and is how I generaly instruct students myself in regards to backbending especially. Be sure to have your friend discuss their condition with the teacher prior to class. Tell your friend to go easy, treat the first few classes as a "first date" as I like to say and to not feel intimated to push too far. In other words, "listen to your body first, the dialogue second." Bikram yoga has been very effective for people I know personaly for high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholelsterol. Most at the very least reduce their meds if not eliminate entirely.
From the site:
A. Unstable high blood pressure responds so quickly to diligent Yoga practice that doctors sometimes doubt their instruments. (This quick response of the blood pressure is one of the most telling demonstrations of Yoga's ability to regulate and synchronize body systems.) If you are tested about a week after starting Yoga, you may see a slight rise in pressure. Don't be alarmed. By the second week, that pressure will be normal or close to normal and will stay there as long as you maintain your yoga regimen.
Consult your doctor, use common sense, and don't push hard in any of the poses the first three days. The poses in which high blood pressure patients must continue to exercise caution until their blood pressure checks out normally are these: the backward bending portion of Half Moon, the Standing Bow Pulling, Balancing Stick, Cobra, the third part of Locust, Full Locust and the Camel.
Depending on the severity of your condition, the above should be done for a count of no more than five at first, building to ten counts only after two weeks. If you are supple enough to do the Fixed Firm fully the first few days, limit that to five counts as well. Be absolutely sure to rest between each set. It is also essential for heart patients to breathe normally during the postures. As for the Bow Pose, (on the floor) a beginner with high blood pressure must never perform the pose without a qualified teacher present.
It is because these backward bending positions create pressure in the chest, and so on the heart, that high blood pressure patients must use caution. Do not eliminate them though--with the exception of Bow Pose. They are the very friends you need to control your ailment.
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| 1. Your doing Yoga can be an inspiration for your friend.
2. The method of your doing Yoga can be useful only if both of you fall in the same category. Otherwise, it may be useful or may not be.
3. Whether there is a Heat Controversy with his medications, should be decided by the doctor who prescribed medicine and in whom the friend believes since he is taking the medications prescribed by the doctor.
4. In my own opinion: Medication itself has negaive effect on health. And, high temperature has another negative effect on health. So, put together, the effect can be worse. But, of course, my statement here should not be taken as medical advice and is given with all disclaimer.
5. In short, the friend should meet: a. Doctor, b. His, I mean your Teacher c. Study health, d. Make a decision with SElf Responsibility.
rebeccafromherz - 2008-03-19 7:06 PM
Hi there all, I'm new and happy to have found yoga.com! yay!
I've been practicing Bikram for about 5 months and loving it. Now a friend of mine who is on blood pressure medicine and has been for years would like to try a class with me. I don't want to encourage her too much if people have had negative experiences with Bikram who are on bp meds.
Some questions jump to mind after having observed my own practice:
Would it be healthy to be in a situation like a Bikram class where the heat alone would raise the heart rate, yet the bp meds keep it down?
My friend has been doing aerobic exercise 6 times a week at Curves (if you know it... ) and says that because of her medication her heart rate always stays the same during these workouts. Is this also okay for Bikram?
I have gone through so much so far in my practice, and I think my friend would love it, too--I want her to have the best, most informed try at it as possible.
Any input/suggestions/stories??
Thank you so much,
Rebecca
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| kulkarnn - 2008-03-19 11:07 PM
3. Whether there is a Heat Controversy with his medications, should be decided by the doctor who prescribed medicine and in whom the friend believes since he is taking the medications prescribed by the doctor.
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Being in the profession of medicine let me tell you asking a doctor about exercise is pretty useless. They know diseases and how to write prescriptions. They really dont study exercise and health. I work in a teaching hospital and witness their methods of teachings. Although all disclaimers always say "ask or consult your doctor" doing so is usually impractical. Its merely done for liability reasons.
As to your actual question I do think Neil does give you some good advice. You do ultimatly have to make your own decisions re: your health and medicines. I understand some people have conditions requiring taking medicine. Will doing Bikram help you wean off BP medicine? I would love to hear from that person to see if it works. Good luck.
Edited by Ram 2008-03-20 9:52 AM
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Expert Yogi
Posts: 8442
   
| Definitely have your friend check with her doctor. The doctor may know nothing about Bikram, so she could ask if it would be safe and/or healthy to do any exercise in 105 degree heat. |
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| Hi Rebecca,
Why does your friend have high blood pressure? High blood pressure is a symptom of an imbalance or disease. Bikram or any other yoga may help with the imbalance where the high blood pressure is caused by stress, inactivity or excess weight. High blood pressure can also be caused by diet. It is also a symptom of a number of diseases. If you want to get over the symptoms, stop the cause. High blood pressure medicine usually works by dilating the capillaries so that there is increased blood flow and therefore lower blood pressure. How is that process affected by strenuous exercise in 105 degree heat? Your friend should talk to her doctor and also talk to the yoga instructor before making up her own mind. (If she doesn't trust her doctor, she should find one that she can trust. The same is true for the yoga teacher.) It is her blood pressure and her life after all. If the doctor recommends against Bikram due to the heat, there are many other styles of yoga that could be beneficial that don't have tha excessive heat. Hope this helps in some small way.
Namaste,
Jim |
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| I agree with the sentiment that your friend should seek advice from her doctor, but I also agree with the sentiment that doctors aren't always especially helpful. Some food for thought:
1) The Centers for Disease Control says that people with high blood pressure are among those at high risk for heat-related illness. http://www.bt.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/heat_guide.asp
2) In "Yoga as Medicine", Dr. Timothy McCall notes that any exercise, over time, is likely to lower bp, and that doctors do not tend to put exercise restrictions on patients whose bp is under control by medication. But he also notes that certain experienced yoga teachers are more cautious. You've already seen Roy Batty's post regarding caution with backbends. But McCall also notes that strain in any posture could cause a spike in bp. [So taking a mellow approach and aiming for calm breathing is especially important, particularly in light of the hot conditions in a Bikram studio].
3) Another reference with respect to heat: The American Heart Association says that people with high bp who have no symptoms should tolerate saunas well. [Of course, they are referring to just sitting in sauna-like conditions, not exercising in them.] They also state that any active symptoms such as chest pain or shortness of breath that would cause a person to avoid moderate exercise would also be a reason to avoid a hot tub or sauna. http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4653
4) I know of one student at our studio who has medication-controlled bp. She has had no problems with practicing Bikram yoga, at least in terms of high bp. Quite the opposite - she started experiencing low bp symptoms, and had to get her dosage lowered.
5) I know of another student who practiced Bikram regularly for 5 years, while on bp meds. Then she switched to Iyengar yoga and was able to eliminate her bp medication. She told me that her Iyengar teacher thought that heat was bad for bp patients.
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| Thank you so much for your thorough, caring replies!
I just spoke with my friend and told her about the feedback you all have given. She is very brave. Also, she really wants to make some changes in her life, especially after her doctor continually reassures her that she'll have to be on bp meds for the rest of her life. When I told her there is a chance that Bikram could lower her bp, she was very excited.
I'm not sure if she will check with her doctor. She didn't when she took a trip to the tropics and was fine, even doing moderate hikes. And now she works out 6 times a week for a half hour. I do hope she does check with the doctor--even if he says she shouldn't take the risk and she decides to try anyway she can go into it with that knowledge and therefore take it really slowly.
Also, she is aware that she can't stand saunas, and to that I answered that she could just try to sit and remain in the Room as long as possible (there have been a couple of classes when that's essentially all I could do..through these experiences I found that my initial, panicky reaction to heat is something psychological and not necessarily physical)--but as you've written so wisely, and as I've learned myself in Bikram, only she can know her body and what she should do.
I really hope it works for her! I'll post an update after we do our first class together on Thursday.
Thanks again!
Rebecca |
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Regular
Posts: 73
Location: The City of Brotherly Love | That sounds great Rebecca! I would suggest that you have your friend ask the teacher where the coolest spot in the room is and to feel free to take off as many postures as neccessary to gauge the heat. The biggest challenge is to just stay in the room your first time and not whether you can do every pose. Where I teach, we encourage the people to lie down if they have to and to make leaving the room their last option but of course they have free will to do so and can come back in and join us when they are ready. I have seen more than one person struggle mightily and basically lay down through half of their first class only to go on and have wonderfull "careers" as Bikram practitioners. Concentration on the breath is key. A compasionate teacher should understand this. Best of luck and let us know how it goes. |
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| I forgot to add my own experience to the mix. I have uncontrolled high blood pressure - my last few measurements were 150/90. 3+ years of Bikram yoga has not reduced my bp (but who knows, maybe my bp would be even higher if not for yoga). Then again, my bp has not kept me from practicing Bikram yoga, either. I do sweat more than an average horse; don't know if that has to do with my bp or not, but I do know that certain studios are too hot for me to practice in.
If I were in your friend's position, with controlled bp and a regular exercise regimen, I wouldn't make a special trip to the doctor, either. But I would check on-line or with a pharmacist on possible side effects of the medication, to see if there's anything to be wary about in the yoga studio.
Let us know how it goes. |
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| I had my blood pressure checked after I had been doing bikram for about six months and it was 145/90 (I hate to think what it was before bikram) cholestrol was also at 244. I tested it the other day and it was about 119/71. The missing ingredient in my "practice" was my diet, it was extremely high in Sodium, once I cut that out and started eating right (unlimited greens, no milk products, very low sodium etc.) my blood pressure dropped quite a bit. One thing that has finally got through my thick skull is that the practice is holistic and just isn't about the exercise. |
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| That's great news Jaybird
Thanks for posting this.
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| Katt - 2008-03-24 5:18 PM
I do sweat more than an average horse; don't know if that has to do with my bp or not, but I do know that certain studios are too hot for me to practice in.
Hi Katt,
My blood pressure is about 120/70 and my resting pulse about 51. I also sweat a lot when doing Bikram, Hot Yoga, Astanga and/or any vigorous yoga in a room that is over 70 degrees. I don't think that blood pressure raises the internal temperature of the body, thereby increasing the amount of sweating needed to cool it back off. I prefer to practice asana at about 70-75 degrees. I don't think that 105 degrees is healthy for me on a regular basis.
Namaste,
jimg |
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| I felt my earlier response about not checking with a doctor was irresponsible. Being an RN at a large teaching hospital I posed the question to a nephrologist (kidney specialist) the other day. If any doctor is qualified to speak of BP its a Nephrologist. I was suprised he was aware of Bikram. His answer suprised me. Earlier I had posted a thread about the perceived dangers of the recirculating CO2 in the room. This is the first thing he mentioned to me. He said he is suprised that healthy people would subject themself to the recirculation of the CO2 with all the combined heat. But in reference to the BP med question he said with some hesitation and he qualified his answer by saying he would have to see the individual themself, that he would not recommend this type of activity. He would recommend a "lesser" form of excercise or yoga. It did make me laugh when he called Bikram a "fad". |
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| Yesterday I talked to a fellow Bikram student who also happens to be a doctor. He of course gave the standard disclaimer that the prospective student should talk to her doctor first, and be cautious, etc. But he also said he would not make a blanket statement that bp patients should avoid Bikram yoga. Like we've read in other posts, he said it should help people lower their bp, and he has experienced that firsthand. He practices about once a week (on the other days he trains for Iron Man triathalons). He normally takes meds to control his own bp, but he doesn't take his meds on days when he does Bikram yoga, otherwise his bp drops too much during class and he gets lightheaded. He had to be cautious coming out of forward bends until he got his med regimen figured out.
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| a guy at my studio had high blood pressre and was on meds for it.
then, he started doing bikram.. bikram lowered his blood pressure 'naturally' so much that he was able to go off the meds!
bad thing was, the combination of meds AND yoga lowered his BP so much he passed out in class one day - that's when he decided to go to the doctor & he found out what had happened.
true story! |
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| I was on bp meds for several years and finlly through diet and ecercise I am now off of them. Bikram decreased my BP a bit. It wasnt the cure all as changing my diet and doing cardio along with weight training helped the most. i dont think Bikram will hurt your friend but definitely have them check with a doctor. If money isnt an issue, home BP monitors are not that expensive and useful. Have your friend check themselves while starting Bikram every day or couple of days and see what effect it has. |
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Bikram+blood pressure meds
