Yoga and the Heart
The history of yoga stretches back as far as 3000 years or more, it was then practiced for healing and spiritual insight. Today, many Americans enjoy it to help them relax and increase their flexibility and it is now proven to increase heart health. However, yoga does not count towards physical activity requirements of 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity per week, according to the American Heart Association. Traditional yoga is done by slowly stretching the body into a variety of poses while focusing on breathing and meditation. Yoga is designed to bring about increased physical, mental and emotional well-being.
So why yoga?
Thinking prevention? As part of an overall healthy lifestyle yoga can help lower blood pressure, increase lung capacity, and improve respiratory function. It also influences heart rate, boosts circulation and muscle tone. It can also improve your overall well-being while offering strength-building benefits.
Also according to the American Heart Association, yoga has proven benefits for those who have faced cardiac arrest, or another heart event. This acute emotional stress of such an event certainly has a significant and adverse effect on the heart and it is here where yoga can be a tremendous benefit to manage the stress.
Conscious work with the breath is one of the best ways to “open your heart“ to improve rib cage mobility by gently stretching the thoracic soft tissues in the thoracic cavity where your heart resides. Any time we feel emotional or physical pain our breathing changes, perhaps by holding the breath or breathing in shallow, erratic patterns. These defensive breath patterns cause muscle tightness in areas of the heart and abdomen, which restricts the normal movement of the diaphragm. Gentle, expansive breathing will help relieve muscle tightness and help reduce the rigidity in the chest, back, and abdominal muscles.
Know your physical heart space, start to breathe freely, open up your door to health!
Start a yoga class today.
The history of yoga stretches back as far as 3000 years or more, it was then practiced for healing and spiritual insight. Today, many Americans enjoy it to help them relax and increase their flexibility and it is now proven to increase heart health. However, yoga does not count towards physical activity requirements of 150 minutes of moderate intensity aerobic activity per week, according to the American Heart Association. Traditional yoga is done by slowly stretching the body into a variety of poses while focusing on breathing and meditation. Yoga is designed to bring about increased physical, mental and emotional well-being.
So why yoga?
Thinking prevention? As part of an overall healthy lifestyle yoga can help lower blood pressure, increase lung capacity, and improve respiratory function. It also influences heart rate, boosts circulation and muscle tone. It can also improve your overall well-being while offering strength-building benefits.
Also according to the American Heart Association, yoga has proven benefits for those who have faced cardiac arrest, or another heart event. This acute emotional stress of such an event certainly has a significant and adverse effect on the heart and it is here where yoga can be a tremendous benefit to manage the stress.
Conscious work with the breath is one of the best ways to “open your heart“ to improve rib cage mobility by gently stretching the thoracic soft tissues in the thoracic cavity where your heart resides. Any time we feel emotional or physical pain our breathing changes, perhaps by holding the breath or breathing in shallow, erratic patterns. These defensive breath patterns cause muscle tightness in areas of the heart and abdomen, which restricts the normal movement of the diaphragm. Gentle, expansive breathing will help relieve muscle tightness and help reduce the rigidity in the chest, back, and abdominal muscles.
Know your physical heart space, start to breathe freely, open up your door to health!
Start a yoga class today.