How yoga can help manage heart disease

At the heart of yoga lies connectedness to our selves, others, God, Allah, Divine, Existence, The Guest, Great Mother etc. whatever name resonates with you. Yoga is a path to wholeness and not a religion. The word yoga translates as union. Living in a unitive state is not a new age concept; it is the opening of the heart so that we have the capacity to feel compassion, joy, acceptance, sadness, and grief without closing down. It is the opening of the mind to a consciousness that encompasses rather than excludes. It is the humbling and immediate recognition of our basic sameness. It is the practice of paying attention, observing, listening and skillfully responding to the moment with all the compassion we can muster. And it is a homecoming with and in the body, to this temple that houses our soul, for it is only here that we can do all these things.

Heart disease is the number one killer in the modern world and both men and women are affected. Though we often focus on risk factors like smoking, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and inflammation science has started to uncover evidence for other possible contributors. Behaviors like anger, hostility, focus on achievements, a sense of urgency about time, loneliness, unhappy marriage, job dissatisfaction, overweight leading to high blood pressure and elevated triglycerides, and acute or chronic stress.

How can yoga help? The stress response affects the heart in a number of harmful ways and yoga's proven ability to lower stress and shift stress related behaviors is a big part of the explanation for how yoga benefits people with heart disease. Yoga fosters equanimity, compassion, and gratitude. Yoga heightens our awareness and gives us a balanced perspective on life so that we are more likely to respond rather than react to situations. Yoga provides a wide range of tools such as various breathing techniques, postures, and deep relaxation to help stave off or manage heart disease. The regular practice of yoga makes you feel better about yourself and increases your overall feeling of well being.

In many of the moving postures the body is being stretched and opened in all the directions, the spine is elongated, you gain strength, flexibility, and balance, the breath deepens, and they promote good blood circulation. Moving postures like this standing backbend in which the student receives a gentle adjustment to further the understanding, leave you feeling vibrant and alive. All postures heighten our body awareness, teach us how to pay attention, and be present in this moment. We cultivate these qualities during our time on the matt and take them with us into daily life. So we may live with more ease, joyfully, and develop a caring relationship with our selves and others.

Tips for managing heart disease and promoting a healthy heart:

* a diet rich in fibers, leafy green vegetables, fruits high in vitamin C,  and natural fats like Omega 3

* drinking plenty of water (half your body weight in ounces per day is a rough guide)

* CoQ10 – an antioxidant and natural constituent of cells

* daily walking for 30 minutes

* daily deep relaxation for 15 minutes (this is different from a snooze on your couch)

* regular yoga practice and breathing exercises (suggested 5 X a week for 30 minutes)

* sufficient sleep

Elke Brown has been teaching yoga for over 15 years, the last 6 Nevada City. She is owns Full Life Yoga Studio, Nevada City. Please go to her website for class and workshop information:  www.elkebrownyoga.com or www.fulllifeyogastudio.com

Bowing to the light in all living beings. Namaste!