Natural ways to lower blood pressure?

If by borderline high, you mean your blood pressure is 130-140/80-90, then lifestyle modification should be your initial attempt to lower it. National Institute of Health guidelines recommend:

1. Weight reduction if you are overweight, i.e. if your Body Mass Index is >25.
2. Adopt the Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension (DASH) eating plan, which is rich in potassium and calcium and low in salt.
3. Physical activity, such as 30-45 minutes of walking and getting 10,000 steps per day.
4. Moderate alcohol if you enjoy it. For women, this is one drink a day. More than that, and you may get the opposite effects. It also won't work if it stimulates your appetite too much.

I also advocate additional natural ways to lower BP when I counsel my patients. These include stress management, communion with nature at least once a week and considering yoga, tai chi, or other meditation-type body-mind-spirit practices. Every day, find at least one thing that makes you feel happy or grateful. Even though there is no hardcore scientific data on these approaches, I still recommend them to everyone I know and I practice them daily.

However, if your blood pressure is higher than 140/90, or if the above natural measures do not work well enough after three to six months, then you'll likely need to go on a medication.

Be sure you measure your blood pressure with an upper arm digital device at different times of the day and night, log it, and show it to your doctor. People who show wide variations will need special considerations.