Heart Health and Yoga
How to Improve Your Heart Health
Stress Less and Eat Well | Healthy Heart
Did you know that up to 90 % of heart disease can be prevented? Our physical, emotional, and mental health plays a huge role in preventing heart disease. If we practice regular exercise, eat well, give up smoking, and limit alcohol, we will have a stronger heart and body.
In this blog, I’ll talk about the 6 best tips for heart health and the best yoga poses for your heart. One of these tips may surprise you.
I have heart disease in my family so it’s even more important for me to take action and work on all the heart health tips below every day. I hope these tips can help you.
Eat Well: Nutritional experts agree that whole-natural foods and plant-based eating reduce the risk of heart disease. You should reduce red and processed meats from your diet. Processed foods are very high in salt and sugar. Some foods are very high in fat, which can lead to more risks. Have more foods high in Omega-3 fatty acids to reduce inflammation, like fish, seaweed, chia seeds, hemp seeds, and walnuts. Eat more vegetable greens and whole grains.
Exercise: Regular cardio exercise is important for heart health and other organs in the body. At least 30 minutes a day minimum, like walking, cycling, swimming, or aerobic activities.
Quality Sleep: Studies have shown that good quality sleep is very important to your heart health. Aiming for at least 7 hours of sleep is a good start. Avoid alcohol, coffee, snacks, or caffeine drinks before bedtime. Also, no screen time at least an hour before sleep.
Reduce Stress: Stress is a key factor for heart disease and other illnesses. Stress causes your blood pressure to go high, increases your bad cholesterol, and causes inflammation. Read more on how to reduce stress and anxiety with yoga breathing.
Love More: Love is good for the heart. You can start with more self-love by doing more self-care. This can be taking quiet time in nature, massages, or gentle activities like yoga or tai chi. Love has the power to heal and is at the center of our being. You can show love through acts of kindness. It’s time to be more loving to your heart and body.
Yoga and Meditation: Research shows that yoga can lower blood pressure and manage stress, which highly benefits the heart. Not only does yoga improve your flexibility, but it does wonders for your moods and energy. If you suffer from anxiety or depression then yoga can help you manage the symptoms. If you are a yoga beginner, then we recommend starting with a Hatha yoga class, Restorative yoga, or Yin yoga class. You can read more about how heart chakra yoga can help open the heart space.
6 Best Yoga Poses for Heart Health
The 6 best yoga poses for heart health are below.
Cat-Cow Pose: The Cat-cow yoga poses are perfect for all levels. You can do it just by itself or as a warm-up before the other yoga poses listed below. Cat-cow helps to reduce backaches and improve circulation.
Bridge pose: The bridge pose strengthens the back, hips, and legs. It stretches the front hips, belly, and chest. It opens the heart and helps with mild depression. Beginners yoga students will benefit from the bridge yoga pose.
Seated forward bends: All seated-forward bends will help stretch the back of the chest, calm the mind, and reduce stress.
Twist Poses: Twist yoga poses will help reduce tightness and tension around the chest area. Twisting will also help release the whole back and spine, which improves circulation for the heart and lungs.
Cobra Pose: The cobra pose helps to strengthen the lower back, open the heart space and energize the body and mind. The cobra yoga pose is perfect for beginners.
Triangle pose: The Triangle pose, is the perfect all-over strengthening and stretching yoga pose for the whole body. It deeply stretches the chest area to improve posture and circulation for the heart.
These heart-opening yoga poses are suitable for beginner yoga students. In a Kevala Health live yoga online class, we encourage our participants to breathe slowly and deeply while in yoga poses and moving slowly. Yoga breathing helps to calm the nervous system, improve circulation, and improve lung, and heart health. You are never too old to change or start healthy habits. If you are young, you still need to pay attention to your heart health. You just need to take small steps to create long-lasting healthy heart habits.
If you have a heart condition, speak to your doctor first before you start any exercises or yoga. Always speak to your yoga teacher about your health concerns before you start a yoga class.
Start your heart health journey now with our FREE unlimited yoga and Pilates online classes for 14 days.
.Namaste, Jodie