KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

by Kavitha M. Chinnaiyan, MD

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Last month, the American Heart Association, along with numerous other societies, released the updated guidelines for diagnosing and treating high blood pressure (hypertension). Examining the evidence from many studies, the guideline committee found that the harmful effects of hypertension begin at much lower levels than what we had previously thought.

Previously, only blood pressure values of greater than 140/90 mmHg were called hypertension. The new guidelines suggest that blood pressure values greater than 130/80 mmHg are too high, and that we diagnose them as such.

With this shift in how we define high blood pressure, nearly half of all adults in the US are going to be hypertensive, particularly among individuals under forty-five years of age. Three times as many men and twice as many women will now fall under the "hypertensive" category. By no means do the guidelines suggest that we start treating everyone with medications. In fact, lifestyle changes are strongly recommended as the first step in all individuals with hypertension.

For me, as an integrative cardiologist, the question is this—why are so many young people walking around with high blood pressure? To cue into this, we need to look at the various ways in which our blood pressure becomes a problem; only then can we start to put in place the various ways to address it.

What is Blood Pressure?
The heart pumps blood out into the big arteries, which carry it to the rest of the body. Blood flowing in the arteries of the body exerts a pressure on the artery walls. This is known as blood pressure, and it has two components—systolic and diastolic. Systolic blood pressure is the amount of pressure exerted on the arteries while the heart is actively pumping blood into them. Diastolic blood pressure is the amount of pressure on the artery walls in between heart beats.

Blood pressure varies throughout the day, based on exercise, eating, emotional reactions, stress, sleeping, and other factors. It is highest in the early morning and lowest at night, and is highly responsive to everything going on in our bodies, minds, and lives.

What Causes High Blood Pressure?
"Essential" or "idiopathic" hypertension is the most common form of the disease, accounting for 95% of all cases where we can't pinpoint to one factor as being the cause for it. This form of hypertension is usually the result of a whole host of factors, including age, race, gender, smoking, stress, excessive body weight, excessive alcohol intake, poor eating habits, and a lack of physical activity.

"Secondary" hypertension afflicts the remaining 5% of individuals, where high blood pressure is a direct result of some other problem. Thyroid or adrenal gland disorders, artery and kidney disorders, sleep disorders (particularly sleep apnea), and certain tumors that release blood pressure-altering chemicals are the most common ones.

Stress and Hypertension
When we are stressed, our bodies produce a host of hormones to cope with the physiological processes that are stimulated to deal with the situation. The adrenal glands produce adrenaline and cortisol, which increase heart rate and constrict blood vessels to increase blood flow to the muscles of the legs and arms and decrease it in the digestive system. Digestion slows down and senses become more heightened. These acute processes make up what we call the "fight or flight" response. When the stress stimulus subsides, the hormones dissipate and we return to normal.

The stress response is a very useful one, and is a brilliant adaptation of our bodies to deal with imminent threats. However, this response doesn't differentiate between a real threat and an imagined one. Whether we are facing a real physical threat (such as a potential car crash) or a mental one (like what we should say or should have said to the coworker we dislike), the stress response takes over.

While a normal stress response is one that peaks and comes down in a few hours, an abnormal one is sustained over days (and sometimes, for weeks). If we tend to simmer over things, it is likely that we have the latter kind of abnormal stress responses. If we are the kind that can't relax because we are constantly worried about how are perceived or how everyone around us must behave, stress becomes our chronic companion.

While research is still underway to determine the link between stress and hypertension, there is a strong suggestion that chronic stress damages our arteries, triggers an ongoing inflammatory response, and leads to heart disease and other chronic illnesses. As we might expect, constant stress interferes with healing, delaying recovery after a heart attack, procedures, or surgeries, and significantly impairs our quality of life quite.

If we look at our modern lives, it should come as no surprise that chronic stress is a huge factor for many. When we live in a world where the rat race is the norm, we come to accept the constant rushing, jarring interactions with others, lack of quiet time, eating on the go, and being on the edge as normal phenomena. This is especially true if everybody around us is living a hectic, stressful life. It is no wonder then that hypertension will be diagnosed more frequently in young individuals.

In fact, this revelation speaks volumes about what we have come to value. The new guidelines should come as a wake-up call for us as a society, because they point to the non-serving ways in which we live, sacrificing what is good in favor of instant gratification or the tremendous pressure to "get somewhere."

A wake-up call is one that gives us an opportunity to cultivate the intention to change these non-serving patterns and to cultivate new ones that foster our journey toward health and happiness. And what this takes is a deep and loving commitment to ourselves, where we become willing to do whatever it takes to regain our sense of wellbeing while opening to joy, sweetness, and harmonious relationships with others.

In my book, The Heart of Wellness, I describe the nuances of the mind-body relationship as we know it, not only from the standpoint of modern medicine but also from the deeply holistic perspectives of Ayurveda, Yoga, and Vedanta. What is our purpose as human beings treading this unique planet for the very limited time we have here? What is the cause of our suffering, whether or not it is related to disease? Can we find joy and inner bliss even when afflicted with incurable disease? These are some of the themes discussed in the book, along with a detailed Bliss Prescription to regain our understanding of our inherent blissful nature.

Whether it is hypertension or any other chronic illness caused by an imbalanced lifestyle, some of the fundamental remedies remain the same. And they have to do with a total reset of our lives, as outlined below.

1. Maintain a regular schedule. By eating and sleeping at the same time every day, we bring our neuro-hormonal pathways into a state of balance. Working with our naturally occurring circadian rhythms ensures that our metabolism and regenerative functions are working optimally. Go to bed by 10 PM, wake up by 6 AM. Don't skip meals.
2. Bring digestion to balance. One of the key elements of a holistic lifestyle is to bring the digestive system back into balance. Each of us has different digestive issues based on our unique body-mind properties and previously ingrained habits. One size doesn't fit all. Take the Blissful Gut Quiz on my website to receive a personalized plan to balance your digestion.
3. Meditate. Meditation has a very powerful effect on our neuro-hormonal pathways and the stress response. Many studies have demonstrated the potent effect of meditation on lowering blood pressure, the inflammatory response, and the risk of chronic illness. It has also demonstrated a potent anti-aging effect by working on our genetic material. You can enroll in my free Bliss Meditation Course, with ongoing support to maintain the practice.

While there are other lifestyle changes that can further our journey into wellness and bliss, the above steps are the most important. Making these three changes forces us to slow down and prioritize our health and wellness, bringing mindfulness into our daily activities and clearing our perspective about ourselves and the world. Our emotional resilience begins to strengthen while our bodies become radiant and supple.

Now, more than ever, it is important for us to turn our lives around since the old patterns are clearly not working to promote health in our society. It is critically important that we change ourselves so that our children can model their behavior after ours to find different ways to deal with the stressors that will come their way.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2018. All rights reserved.

I had a dream that has changed my life. In the dream, it was springtime and I was outside walking about in a meadow. It was very peaceful and I could feel the breeze in my hair. Next I was with the late Pope John Paul II and a priest who was the pope's aide and a good friend of mine in the dream. I was wearing a white dress that looked like a first communion dress. Someone caught my attention. I alerted the pope and he told me to let the Dalai Lama in. I opened the large iron gate and escorted him to a small chapel. When I excused myself to let them speak, the pope said to me: Sit down, this message is for you. I sat in a rocking chair. As I was leaning forward attentively to hear what he had to say, the landscape morphed into winter. I was now in a cathedral listening to mass, wearing a winter coat and holding a book in my hand. I saw the priest and I told him I was so glad to see him because I wanted his advice and to share with him a major life decision I had made. (The decision was that I had agreed to marry my elementary school love.) However, before I could share the news, he interrupted me and said, Oh, I know what decision you have made, but you have to consider X. (Here he stated the full name of a person known to me.) I stopped and looked at him and said: X? Then all of a sudden I was flooded with memories of times I had been with this person. The priest answered, Yes, he cares a great deal for you. He told me. So I asked the priest what he had said, but the priest just insisted that I have to consider this person. He then asked me to walk with him so he could tell me more of what this person had said. As he was going to tell me, I fell in a mound of snow and couldn't get out. I then saw the priest cross the street and disappear into the night. I've continued to have more vivid dreams of the man I was told to consider. What do you think this all means?

~Anonymous

Susyn:

I believe this was more a vision than a dream. In fact, based on the spiritual leaders who were present, your keen awareness of the different seasons, and all the other details you relayed, I think you should consider this a spiritual intervention of sorts.

If we begin by considering the seasons and how they appear to play an important part in this vision, we can see why this message could be life-changing. The dream begins in spring, a time of year when physical rebirth and new life are generated. At this point, the dream is about the future and the wonderful things to come.

When the scene of the dream turns to winter, the mood definitely shifts. Winter is a time of waiting or hibernation when one sits still to ponder spiritual matters more than physical concerns. The winter coat you wear represents a type of protection. The mound that you fell into represents a baptism of sorts, with the snow and the color white representing a spiritual rebirth.

Our dreams and visions tend to deliver messages in a form that is familiar to us. Because you have a Catholic background, yours included the pope and a priest. When the Dalai Lama entered the picture, you had a trinity of religious leaders working with you. Since you trust the spiritual wisdom of these men, you're being encouraged to trust the message of the dream.

Dreams and visions have a way of shifting our awareness and presenting new ideas for us to consider. This certainly appears to be the case with this remarkable dream. You believed you had already made a life-changing decision, but then your subconscious suggested a different and perhaps better alternative. Note that the minute it was suggested that you consider X, you became open to the idea.

You didn't mention what kind of contact you currently have with either of these men. However, based on the fact that you continue to have dreams about this other person, I think you'd be wise to explore this possibility in real life. If you are not 100% committed to marrying your elementary school sweetheart, you may want to take a break from that relationship or at least postpone the wedding regardless of what is happening with X.

If it turns out that neither you nor X are interested in pursuing a relationship, the vision you had could still keep you from moving into a commitment you're not wholly sure about, and open up to new and potentially more rewarding possibilities.

*****

Oceania:

This profound dream illustrates your ambivalence about transitioning into a new chapter of life. You feel torn between the old and new, the familiar and unknown. This is perfectly natural during periods of growth and change; as excitement pushes us forward while fear pulls us back, we rarely experience perfectly smooth sailing.

You are poised between seasons. Winter symbolizes dormancy, pregnancy or preparation. It is a period of rest and renewal before new life emerges. Spring is about birth and expansion as we enter a fresh cycle of life. As the dream begins, you feel comfortable in your springtime energy. Your white dress represents a clean slate and new beginning. It is a first communion dress because youíre prepared for communication/ union with your spiritual side.

Here you're portrayed as a spiritual novice surrounded by three wise teachers. As both East and West are represented, their wisdom is well-rounded. In fact, the pope outright instructs you to let the Dalai Lama in (to your psyche). Since you have to open an iron gate to get to the Dalai Lama, his Buddhist views may be challenging for you to integrate.

You sit in a rocking chair, which is symbolic of vacillation and uncertainty. Just as you are about to receive the popeís message, you become fearful and the dream retreats back to winter, your dark and cozy safety zone. You thus close yourself off from hearing the popeís guidance on what lies ahead.

You feel vulnerable at the thought of new growth, so you insulate yourself with a warm winter coat and downsize from meeting with the pope to a local priest in order to feel more comfortable. You are about to share news about your childhood sweetheart (symbolic of looking back) when the priest interrupts and asks you to consider another option.

You want to know more but fall into a snowdrift and get stuck. Earlier in the dream, you don't hear the pope because the scene morphs into winter. This means when a spiritual message is about to be revealed, you run back to your cave to hibernate instead of emerging into the sunlight to receive guidance about your future.

You are on the verge of spiritual growth and learning to trust in the wisdom of your higher self. Imagine releasing what is familiar and embracing the unknown. If you reach out to the person the priest mentioned and see where it leads, a lesson, friendship or more will surely blossom.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.