Hypertension is common today, and nearly 1/3 of adults suffering from the condition. Though medication can help to bring your blood pressure back in line, according to Dr. Andrew Weil, there are other natural methods you can try as well that may eventually allow you to reduce or stop your medication altogether (under the supervision of your doctor, of course). Some of his suggestions include:

• losing 10% of your total weight
• limiting caffeine and alcohol
• eliminating cigarettes
• reducing salt and processed foods

Dr. Weil also believes that relaxation techniques, including yoga and breathing exercises, can help calm the involuntary nervous system. Read more about relaxation techniques for controlling blood pressure here at Mayo Clinic.

Yoga is a great way to both exercise and relax. It can be intensive or gentle, help you maintain a healthy weight, and relieve depression -- overall an effective way to lower your risk for heart disease. Maybe you've always wanted to try it but just haven't gotten to it. Maybe you go to classes but can't seem to find a way to do it comfortably at home. At the Yoga Journal website,
you'll find a variety of sequences written out for at-home use -- most take 45 minutes or less. Plus they have video clips of particular poses to help clear up any confusion.

Recent studies have shown that depression can factor in as a cause of heart disease, and vice versa. Yoga is a great way to relieve the symptoms of depression. Here is a sample of the depression relief sequence:

Reclining Bound Angle Pose -- Lay on your back supported by a rolled blanket positioned below and parallel to your spine. Breathe in position for 3 to 5 minutes.

Reclining Big Toe Pose -- Lay flat on your back and hold your raised leg up using a strap. Breathe as you hold each leg up in turn for 1 to 2 minutes.

Downward Facing Dog -- Stretch your calves slowly as you push into your lower back with your hands on the ground, making you look like a triangle. Breathe in this position for 1 to 2 minutes.

Standing Forward Bend -- Let your upper body hang heavy, bent forward at the waist. Let your head and neck fully relax. Breathe in position for 1 to 3 minutes. Roll back up slowly, stacking your spinal vertabrae one on top of the next.

In the old days, a work break consisted of a smoke or a cup of coffee -- which aren't so good for your health. With work as stressful as it can be, the result is often a heart attack or stroke. Some employers, though motivated by saving the expense of replacing a valuable employee, have taken to staffing an on-site masseuse or encouraging their workers to break for yoga class.

With the economy on the rise again and business becoming more competitive, more east and west coast companies are expanding their budgets to include employee wellness and stress-relief strategies. Massage is known to relieve tension and fatigue. A recent issue of the International Journal of Neuroscience reports that massage makes people more alert and quicker at solving math problems accurately. For employees, it's a great morale booster.

Nischala Joy Devi, yoga expert and alternative healing pioneer, will teach a training course on expanding the heart through compassion for yoga instructors and health care professionals who will be introducing yoga to heart disease and cancer patients in hospitals and other clinical settings. Specific tools for healing include postures, breathing, guided imagery and meditation from a perspective of those at risk for, living with, or recovering from disease.

Devi, a woman whose inner peace and wisdom glow, served as director of stress management and created the yoga program for Dean Ornish's highly successful Program for Reversing Heart Disease. She also trained in traditional medicine and spent 18 years as a monk. Devi's book, The Healing Path of Yoga is an excellent resource on the benefits of yoga for alleviating stress, one of the major contributors to heart disease.
   
The Yoga of the Heart-Cardiac and Cancer Certification Training at the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Lenox, Massachusetts is scheduled to begin in August 2006. For more information about the center, visit Kripalu.

Researchers from The Yale School of Medicine are finding that practicing yoga and meditation three times a week helps to reduce blood pressure, heart rate and the risk of heart attacks. This news is not just for people who are at risk for heart disease, healthy individuals practicing yoga and meditation might be able to stave off future cardiac issues.

In a six week study conducted by the medical trainees at Yale, participants who practiced yoga three times per week were able to improve their endothelial function, the way vessels contract and expand to aid blood flow and is a measure of healthy vessel function, by nearly 70 percent. Endothelial function is an important indicator of atherosclerosis because as the disease and plaque build-up progresses, the blood vessels become less supple and less able to constrict and expand.

A wonderful aspect of the study is that it did not take years go practice to get results. Patients who did the three times per week schedule for six weeks were able to achieve positive results.

During the month of April, and perhaps beyond that if it proves to be interesting and popular for our readers, I would like to discuss the many aspects of yoga. Yoga has a history that spans generations. There are many different kinds of yoga practices and all are beneficial for the body. One of the main areas to benefit from yoga is the cardio system, by practicing yoga some heart dysfunctions can be greatly improved. Not only is yoga great for the physical body, it can do wonders for the psyche as well. If any of our readers have thoughts, testimonials, questions or pictures pertaining to yoga, we would love to hear from you.

To help fight the alarming increase of obesity in British children, schools in the United Kingdom plan to introduce yoga into their curriculum. Research has shown that overeating and low levels of physical activity help to perpetuate the obesity cycle. Obesity puts an an extra strain on the heart, respiratory and eliminatory systems. It also increases the chances of diabetes, hypertension, heart diseases and has most recently been linked to an increase in cancer. Gentle yoga asana (postures) followed by Sun salutation exercises are very good for removing blockages and liberating pranic energy in the body. Yoga also helps in revitalizing the body and mind. the exercises should always be performed at a  comfortable level and never with any straining on the body. Yoga asana (postures) helps in slowly building up strength and vitality. Yoga exercises do not have to be intense or vigorous, but they tshould be regular and amount to at least 30 minutes a day. Along with yoga exercise, healthy diet and the practice of relaxation techniques is very helpful for combating obesity and maintaining balanced weight.