I mentioned before that I’ve become a Reiki practitioner at the master level within the past year. I continue to give myself Reiki treatments, which are incredibly relaxing. People ask me what the hand positions are for giving Reiki to people with high blood pressure. The most obvious hand position is the traditional Reiki area in the upper chest over the heart, between the breasts and collarbone. This Reiki hand position is perfect for heart relaxation and lowering high blood pressure. Keep the energy flowing for twenty minutes or more.

Of course a hypertension patient needs Reiki in all areas from head to feet, but I give extra attention to the traditional Reiki hand positions over the brain, because that is where strokes happen. The first hand position is over the frontal lobe. Both hands are lightly placed on the forehead and just over the forehead, and Reiki - which is life force energy - is channeled into the brain there for at least five minutes. Next we move to the eyes and cup our hands over them, and send energy. Third there’s the Reiki hand position that covers both ears. After that we move to the back of the brain. Our traditional Reiki hand position covers the cerebellum and occipital lobe. For a diagram, see A Guide to Brain Anatomy.

Of course, if you’re particularly concerned about a client’s brain, you can spend time sending Reiki energy - which is very relaxing - into the brain from any angle. Reiki practitioners are not limited to only the traditional healing sites.

Another area I’d spend extra time on for a client with high blood pressure is the upper back. Again, the purpose would be to relax the blood vessels around the heart, and the heart itself. Reiki simply relaxes and lowers the tension, and brings life force back into natural balance. Reiki life force energy will flow to the area that needs it most. The upper back hand position is very hard for me to do on myself, but I wouldn’t hesitate to do it for someone else.

Aside from all these Reiki hand positions, I’d give a client with high blood pressure plenty of Reiki life force energy in all the other traditional positions. This will relax the entire physical body - the entire circulatory system.

It couldn’t hurt!

And while I was doing that I’d play some wonderful relaxing music for Reiki healing sessions such as Reiki, Hands of Light, by Deuter which is intended to promote deep states of relaxation.

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• Bradycardia. | Henriette’s Herbal Homepage
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Hi! I’m Linda Martin, a 55-year-old woman planning to recover from hypertension. Don’t confuse me with statistics! I know few people actually recover, but I’m determined to have a healthier lifestyle and eliminate all high blood pressure medications safely and naturally, one way or another.

Already I’ve gotten off Atenolol, a beta-blocker. That was the first one I wanted to recover from because it was keeping me from losing weight since aerobics won’t work if your pulse rate is kept low artificially. I used Atenolol for ten years and gained fifty pounds because of it. Now I have to struggle to lose the weight as well as recover from prescription drugs that weren’t entirely healthy for me.

Another condition that affects my weight is hypothyroid disorder. I will be looking for natural remedies for hypothyroid (have already found a few) and want to wean myself off this and another hypertension drug.

PS - If you want to see me, you can click on the photo above for a larger version… that’s me at the Sluice Box River Access in the Klamath River Valley near Seiad Valley, California, in 2008.

I’ve been taking medications for hypertension for over ten years. I take two types of medications.

First I was prescribed Atenolol, a beta-blocker. My blood pressure was still high, so the nurse practitioner added Adalat, a calcium-channel-blocker.

At the time I was very stressed out because I was raising two young children by myself. But hypertension also runs in my family. My mother has it and my maternal grandmother did too. My grandmother had many strokes which my sister (a nurse practitioner) told me were caused by not taking medications regularly. I watched my grandmother suffer after a major stroke she had at the age of 80. For the next six years, until she passed away in 1996, my grandmother couldn’t walk or talk normally. Natuarlly this all frightened me, and I was determined to take my medications as prescribed.

Ten years later, I wonder if I’m doing the right thing. I’m much more relaxed now. I moved away from the San Francisco Bay Area and for six years now have been living in a tiny town in the Klamath River Valley of Northern California. Also the children grew up. They are 16 and 17 now, and are not so totally dependent on me. My life is pretty much stress-free, and I’m happy.

These drugs I’m taking have side effects, like all others. And I’ve added one more drug - in 2001 I started taking Levoxyl for a hypothyroid disorder that was discovered when I had my hysterectomy.

I want to be meds-free! I want to be healthy again, and live a normal life, not dependent on the medications I’ve believed were so vital to my existence. And I believe I can do it. I simply need to learn more about natural remedies and get healthier by exercising more and losing weight. I’m about 60 lbs. overweight. In the last few months I’ve lost about 20 pounds (it fluctuates a little).

I’m starting this weblog to chronicle my attempts to lose weight, get healthy, and get off the medications forever.