Guided Breathing, a closer look:
The traditional solution for high blood pressure is expensive drugs...
We treat the symptoms and ignore the cause.
It's like putting a band-aid on top of a thorn - wouldn't it make more sense to remove the thorn first?
What modern medicine largely ignores is the amazing power of our bodies to heal themselves.
The Breathtaking Nature Method is a specially designed Guided Breathing program that harnesses the same power of the drugs - naturally.
What causes hypertension? A key factor is simple over-constriction of the blood vessels. Our bodies are in "overdrive" from the stresses of our lives.
The key is to stop the overdrive. You just need to 'tell' your blood pressure to go down. The Breathtaking Nature Method shows you how 'ask'.
The body has some codes - like a combination lock. You just need to learn the simple combinations and you can unlock natural release mechanisms that you had no idea were there.
Taking pills is one way - but they are expensive, and have side effects. Most dangerous of all - they merely cover up the real underlying issues and let them get worse. For a tiny fraction of their cost and with only very positive side effects, the Breathtaking Nature Method will show you how to unlock natural stress relief.
The Breathtaking Nature Method shows you how to control your previously uncontrolled "automatic" subconscious reactions. You will learn how to reverse the negative feedback loops that contribute to high blood pressure.
How could something as simple as breathing control blood pressure?
As with so much in medicine, we know that it works, but the precise mechanisms aren't fully understood. There are four main theories:
1) One theory is that it’s actually not so much about relaxation and has more to do with helping the body get salt out. When people are under stress, they tend to take shallow breaths. This “inhibitory breathing” in turn makes the blood more acidic and makes the kidneys less efficient at removing sodium from the blood.
In research conducted by Dr. David Anderson of the National Institute of Health, inhibitory breathing was linked to elevated salt and higher blood pressure.
“If you sit there under-breathing all day, as most people do, and you have high salt intake, your kidneys may be less effective at getting rid of salt,” said Anderson.
When people do slow, deep breathing, “They may be changing their blood gases and the way their kidneys are regulating salt,” Anderson hypothesizes.
2) Another theory is that Guided Breathing increases nitric oxide transmission in our blood. “Nitric
oxide is a substance that helps keep our blood vessels open,” says Dr.
Elijah Saunders, head of hypertension research at the University of
Maryland School of Medicine’s Cardiology Department.
The
endothelium cells (the inner lining of our blood vessels) use nitric
oxide to tell the muscles that surround them to relax. This process is
known as “vasodilation” and results in increased blood flow.
In research conducted by Dr. Nick Vaziri, of the UC Irvine College of Medicine, high blood pressure was linked with impaired nitric oxide pathways. It appears that Guided Breathing may help keep our bodies' nitric oxide levels in better balance - allowing our blood vessels to relax naturally.
3) A third theory is that slow, deep breathing helps us oxygenate. Our brains are only 2% of our body weight yet they consume 20% of the oxygen we inhale.
“Slight changes in oxygen content in the brain can alter the way a person feels and behaves,” says Dr. Daniel G. Amen, author of Change Your Brain, Change Your Life.
The shallow breaths associated with stress and negative emotions don’t allow us to get enough oxygen. “The oxygen content in the stressed person’s blood is lowered,” says Dr. Amen, leading to more stress in a downward spiral.
The answer is to break the cycle by recognizing when our shallow breathing isn’t serving our best interests. Slow, deep breathing gives our body the oxygen it needs and signals the body to get things back in balance.
4) The fourth theory centers around a concept known as "entrainment." This is the tendency of the brain to mimic a stimulus. For example, when you hear slow, mellow Jazz, the electrical currents in your brain will get calm too. It's thought that through slow, deep breathing, your brain takes a cue to break the stress cycle.
The fascinating thing is that the break in the stress cycle isn't just temporary. After a few weeks of regular deep relaxation practice, the "calm" centers of our brains start to become permanently more active.
Research conducted by Dr. Richard Davidson at the University of Wisconsin-Madison compared brain activity and immune response in two groups: "deep relaxation" vs. control group. The "deep relaxation" group showed increased immune response and increased activity in the left prefrontal cortex (associated with positive temperament) of the brain. It appears that regular relaxation isn't temporary - it actually helps the brain rewire.
"What we've found is that the [deep relaxation] trained mind, or brain, is physically different from the untrained one," says Davidson.
Theory aside, the great news is that we know Guided Breathing works.
Double-blind clinical trials have shown reductions of up to 36 points diastolic and 20 points systolic.
The technique used in the Breathtaking Nature Method is endorsed and/or taught by Harvard Medical School, The Mayo Clinic, Johns Hopkins, Rush Presbyterian Hospital, The American Heart Association and other leading medical institutions.
How long does the Breathtaking Nature Method last?
You will feel results from your first 15 minute session.
You will get results that last throughout the day in 4 to 6 weeks.
You've heard the expression "objects in motion tend to stay in motion."
The same is true of our emotional states. When we experience a stress trigger, the body will continue to show subconscious stress reactions long after the trigger is gone.
The secret is to do a "pattern interrupt."
It's like a switch inside us that's either on "stress" or "calm". The Breathtaking Nature Method will show you how to turn stress off - and keep "calm" on.
Relaxation CDs are great.
But... they don't show you how to unlock the magic codes of your body.
The Breathtaking Nature Method teaches Guided Breathing - the specific patterns for breaking the "stress response" and triggering the "relaxation response."
This is a life-changing skill.
The Breathtaking Nature Method includes 7 audio programs, 80 minutes each:
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Guided Breathing for Low Blood Pressure, 80 minutes, mp3 format.
This audio program is your introduction to the breathing patterns that lower blood pressure naturally. The first thing we do here is custom fit you to your "personal relaxation zone" - the range of breathing paces that give you the deepest relaxation. Once you've found your "personal relaxation zone," you're ready to take your first 'mini-vacation' to one of 18 different deep relaxation travel destinations:
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Breathtaking Nature, 80 minutes, mp3 format.
Travel destinations include:
Alpine Stream, Desert Rain and Big Surf.
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Breathtaking Nature 2, 80 minutes, mp3 format.
Travel destinations include:
Oceanside Campfire*, Tuscan Countryside and Canyon Flight.
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Breathtaking Nature 3, 80 minutes, mp3 format.
Travel destinations include:
Rainforest Dawn*, Beach Flight and Meadow Brook.
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Breathtaking Nature 4, 80 minutes, mp3 format.
Travel destinations include:
Owl Talk*, Bayou Night and Tropical Rainshower.
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Breathtaking Nature 5, 80 minutes, mp3 format.
Travel destinations include:
Rising Tide, Whalesong Swim and Penguin Summer.
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Breathtaking Nature 6, 80 minutes, mp3 format.
Travel destinations include:
Spring Breeze, Rain Chimes and Himalayan Peak.