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Heal your heart with the power of yoga

If you would like to prevent or manage your heart disease better, adding yoga into your daily routine in addition to brisk aerobic exercise is the best way forward. The American Heart Association suggests that lifestyle changes like healthy eating, regular exercise and yoga are the ideal ways to prevent and reverse heart disease. In an article published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology in the year 2016, the positive effects of yoga in reducing the risk of heart and blood vessel diseases like heart attack and stroke has been proven beyond doubt.

Yes, yoga is an ancient and very old mind-body activity that involves moving through a series of body poses and breathing exercises that can improve strength, flexibility, balance and relaxation. It is an age-old practice and has been classified under various types according to its intensity and the type of practitioner. Yoga is the art of relaxing in different postures while focussing on breathing. As a result, every yoga pose has a particular effect on the respiratory system and therefore, affects the heart as well.

Do you know what Yoga does to your body?

Regular practice of Yoga

  • Lowers blood pressure
  • Increases lung capacity
  • Lowers bad cholesterol and raises good cholesterol levels
  • Reduces heart rate
  • Improves cardiac function (ejection fraction)
  • Boosts blood circulation
  • Relieves stress

Let’s look at two yoga postures that are good for the heart and can be followed by everyone.

Tadasana                                                                                                                                                 

  • Stand straight on the ground and spread your feet a little bit to match the width of your hips
  • Take a deep breath and raise both your arms while breathing in
  • Interlock your fingers and face your palms upwards
  • Now raise both your heels simultaneously and feel the pressure of stretching from toes to fingers
  • Try to maintain this pose as long as you can with slow and deep breathing
  • Now come to the original position while gently breathing out
  • You can repeat this asana a few times with short rest periods in between

Virabhadrasana                                                                                                                                                       

  • Stand straight keeping your feet together and the hands on your hips
  • Spread your feet sideways to a comfortable position as shown in the picture
  • Turn your whole body towards the right side
  • Bend your right knee slightly as shown in the picture
  • Join your palms and lift your hands above your head while taking a deep breath in
  • Look upwards
  • Try to maintain this pose as long as you can with slow and deep breathing
  • Now come to the original position while gently breathing out
  • You can repeat this asana a few times with short rest periods in betweenCaution:
  • It is advisable to learn yoga postures from an experienced yoga instructor and then practice them at home
  • If you suffer from frequent headaches, low or high blood pressure, spinal problems and other chronic illnesses it is advisable to do this asana after consulting a doctor

For further reading, I would suggest the following links:

  1. http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/PhysicalActivity/Yoga-and-Heart-Health_UCM_434966_Article.jsp#.W2U3q9IzaM9
  2. http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2047487314562741

So, if you have been wondering if yoga is something for you, yes you should give it a try! There is sufficient scientific evidence to show that yoga practice together with a healthy lifestyle will keep all our organs including our heart healthy. With patience and a little bit of time each day, it is possible to master the postures and lead a disease-free life.