Yoga is a series of body postures from India. When performed regularly, it can aid the body and mind with a host of ills. The practice also has ties, for many adherents, to the spiritual and devotional worlds. The calming, fluid exercises can be modified to suit people of all ages, at all levels of fitness and with all manner of health issues. It can be helpful to those suffering from heart blockages.
Heart Blockages
Heart blockages refer to an obstruction of the arteries that pump blood, vitamins and oxygen into your heart, according to the Mayo Clinic. By various means, from smoking to high cholesterol and other, less-understood causes, these arteries can become partially blocked by plaque, meaning that blood cannot flow smoothly through them. This condition leads to risk of heart attack, high blood pressure, shortness of breath and other ills.
Yoga Can Help
According to The Times of India, people opting to perform yoga as an alternative to invasive surgeries such as angioplasty and bypass surgeries have had success with their heart blockages and gained better functioning of their hearts as a result of performing the exercises. Those quoted in the article had seen not only reduction in their blockages but also an improvement in attitude regarding their conditions.
Beneficial Postures
Back-bending postures can help control and prevent heart blockages by opening up the muscles and organs of the chest to create room. This improves breathing and blood movement through the chest cavity. Postures that lengthen the spine can also help stretch and lengthen the muscles that surround the heart and help the chest become less compressed, according to Yoga Basics. The closing posture of a yoga session is called shavasana, or corpse pose. This relaxing pose can ease high blood pressure with its calming nature.
Lifestyle
Though yoga can be a helpful addition to your heart health arsenal, talk to your doctor before incorporating any new exercises or therapies. Yoga is most helpful when applied in tandem with a healthy diet. If you and your physician have decided that yoga is right for you, it is best practiced several times per week for optimum results.
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