Blood pressure regulation- not as implausible as it may sound.

Somehow the idea of actually influencing something as deep-seated as our own blood pressure has always seemed like an incredibly tall order. I mean after all, this is a health condition that is attached  to to a very large medical industry, right? The estimated 1 in 3 Americans who suffer from elevated BP seem doomed to a lifetime medication regimen, and what's even worse,place themselves at risk for heart disease and stroke, the leading causes of death in the  United States.

We're led to imagine that this condition is for the most part fixed and immovable, based on the build up of plaque along the interior of vessel walls that essentially doesn't respond to anything other than interventions such as angioplasty, surgically implanted stents, or- when it achieves extreme severity-bypass surgery. Though we know that cholesterol, diet and exercise play a significant role in the development of high blood pressure, the central impact that stress can have on this condition is something that is paid very scant attention to.

What I have noticed by way of the work I do is that blood pressure is far more flexible than I had appreciated. The majority of  people I currently see are individuals afflicted with chronic pain who continue to suffer  despite a sometimes lengthy history of surgical interventions, exotic procedures and prescription narcotic use. What I train these people to do is regulate the functioning of their own nervous system  through targeted biofeedback, which is a way of displaying how the nervous system is functioning on a computer screen.

When this procedure is successful individuals learn to control their circulation by increasing it; and their heart rate by decreasing it- all for the purpose of learning how to manage their pain. When these twin goals are achieved dramatic blood pressure reductions have been  regularly observed over the years.

I recently had the opportunity to employ this same approach with a non-chronic pain sufferer I began seeing several months ago in a private setting. This person originally complained of tongue irritation  due to incessant scraping across her teeth, and subsequently reported suffering from asthma as well. I noticed when she executed simple, ordinary movements she tended to warp into hyperspeed in a nanosecond, with no  apparent appreciation as to how excessive her movements became. I believed this style that become  reflected in her blood pressure, which averaged  around 132/ 94; and her reduced skin surface temperature, which indicated some level of vascular spasm.

I began showing her how to reduce her vascular spasm, which had the affect of raising her skin surface temperature. After teaching her how to regulate her respiration, she subsequently brought her blood pressure down to 117/78, and her tongue chaffing and asthma have long since ceased to cause her any noteworthy discomfort. If these results are any indication, there is a large segment of the population who would likely be eager for the opportunity to reduce their blood pressure without having to resort to medication to do so.

Contact Peter Behel, MA at (707) 579-7982 or peterbehel@earthlink.net.

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