Whether you’re living with heart disease or simply want to keep your heart healthy, consider practicing yoga. The heart is a muscle that works continuously, even while you sleep; so, it’s important to take care of it. Cardio exercises, such as brisk walking, jogging, and dancing, are great for your heart; however, according to John Hopkins University School of Medicine, yoga is a relaxing form of exercise that’s also good for the heart.
About Yoga
In yoga, we move through a series of asanas (postures) with deep breathing, making yoga a great body-mind exercise. Yoga can help you improve strength, flexibility, and balance. But more importantly, it promotes relaxation and relieves stress, which is beneficial for your heart. When you’re stressed, adrenaline and cortisol are released causing the arteries to narrow and your blood pressure to rise. Long-term or prolonged stress is especially dangerous to the body. Yoga’s deep breathing and mindfulness can offset your stress. John Hopkins states that yoga may help lower blood pressure, cholesterol, and heart rate.
Which Style of Yoga is Best for a Healthy Heart
There are different styles of yoga from fitness-oriented to slow, mindful yoga; and it’s the slow, mindful yoga, such as Gentle Yoga, Yin Yoga, or Restorative Yoga, that will help your stress levels. One research study showed that practicing slow-paced yoga twice a week can significantly reduce the frequency of atrial fibrillation episodes in patients diagnosed with AFib. In another study, patients with heart failure who went through an eight-week yoga program showed improvement in exercise tolerance, had lower blood levels of inflammation markers (which contribute to heart disease), and improvements in quality of life.
So, consider practicing yoga for a healthy heart. However, keep in mind that yoga is not an aerobic exercise, so if your doctor has recommended a specific amount of time each week for moderate-to-vigorous exercise, don’t replace it with yoga. Rather practice yoga in addition to your aerobic exercise.
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