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Love more and practise yoga for a healthy heart

Love is commonly understood as a function of your heart. As Valentine's Day gets closer, let's see how love and yoga asanas boost your cardiac functions.

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Written By: Juhi Kumari | Published : February 12, 2019 5:51 PM IST

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Yoga may help lower heart disease risk as much as conventional exercise. © Shutterstock

Valentine s day is just around the corner and love seems to be in the air. While this day is more about mushy romance, love is not just an emotion that keeps you happy, it can actually make your heart stronger. Science also backs this. But, what else takes care of your heart apart from love? Yes, you guessed it right. Yoga. Here, we tell you all about the heart-love-yoga connection.

LOVE AND HEART HEALTH: THE LINK

There are reams of studies that associate love with improved heart health. Here are a few of them.

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By reducing stress: A study conducted at the University of North Carolina has revealed that if you hug your partner quite often, oxytocin level in your body goes higher. Notably, this hormone, known as the love or bonding hormone, reduces stress levels.

By lowering your blood pressure: According to a research published in the journal Psychosomatic Medicine, people who spend a considerable amount of time with their romantic partners experience lower blood pressure compared to those who hang out with strangers. The drop in blood pressure levels may be associated with perceived emotional support from your loved ones, experts guess.

By lowering your cholesterol: According to a study published in Human Communication Research, articulating your thoughts related to love and your partner on paper can significantly drop your cholesterol levels.

By making you positive about life: Being in love makes you happy. This wonderful feeling keeps you enthusiastic, joyful, excited, content and positive. And, a study published in the European Heart Journal has revealed that having a positive outlook in life can protect you against cardiovascular disease. Moreover, it can reduce your anxiety.

YOGA AND HEART HEALTH: THE CONNECTION

A study published in the European Journal of Preventive Cardiology indicates that yoga may help lower heart disease risk as much as conventional exercise, such as brisk walking. Here we tell you about some effective yoga poses that will keep your heart in a good condition and protect you from various life-threatening cardiovascular ailments.

Paripurna Navasana

boat pose Paripurna navasana helps your body flush out toxins accumulated inside your body. Shutterstock

Also known as boat pose, paripurna navasana strengthens your lower body muscles, spine, and hip flexors. It improves balance, digestion and stimulates your kidneys, thyroid, and prostate gland. Acting as a stress reliever, this yoga asana helps your body flush out toxics accumulated inside.

How to do it:

  • Firstly, sit straight and stretch your legs in front of you.
  • Keep your hands slightly behind your hips on the floor and breath in.
  • Now, breath out while pulling your body up and lifting your legs at 45-degree angles with the floor.
  • Keep your knees straight and raise your arms in front of you. They should be parallel to the floor as well as to each other.
  • Maintain this posture for 10 to 20 seconds and breath out as you release the pose.

Trikonasana or UtthitaTrikonasana

UtthitaTrikonasana Trikonasana stimulates your kidney function. Shutterstock

Trikonasana improves the function of blood through the entire body. Also known as extended triangle pose, it reduces blood pressure, anxiety, and stress. Moreover, this yoga asana strengthens the back, hips, thighs, arms, and legs. Trikonasana stimulates your kidney function and helps remove fats from thighs and waist.

How to do it:

  • Firstly, stand maintaining a distance between your feet. Now, turns your right leg at approximately 90 degrees.
  • Inhale and raise your hands upward. Keep them facing downwards and parallel to the ground.
  • Now, while exhaling, bend at right side. Make sure your right hand is touching your toe and the left hand is facing the ceiling.
  • Don t forget to keep inhaling and relax your body while exhaling.
  • Maintain this posture for 1 to 32 minutes and resume the initial position. Repeat 3 to 5 times from both the sides.

Pincha Mayurasana

Pincha Mayurasana Pincha mayurasana strengthens your neck, shoulders, and chest. Getty Images

Also known as feathered peacock pose, it improves your sense of balance and helps relieve stress and mild depression. Giving your neck, shoulders, chest, and belly a good stretch, it strengthens them. It is advised not to try advanced pose variation. Most you can do is gradually avoid taking help of the props and move away from the wall.

How to do it:

  • Facing the wall, firstly lie down on your stomach.
  • Now, bend your elbows in a way that they are directly under your shoulders. Keep your palms together.
  • Try to lift your hips and raise your right leg. Try kicking up the other leg off the floor.
  • Now, your whole lower body will be off the floor. To take support, you can allow your feet to touch the floor.
  • Maintain this posture for a few seconds. Then, keep your shoulders away from your ears and head off the floor.
  • Now, release the pose in the same order you got into it.

Virasana

Virasana Virasana reduces swelling of the legs during pregnancy and is beneficial in gas problems. Shutterstock

Also known as hero pose, virasana improves blood circulation, digestion, posture, and cures symptoms of menopause. It strengthens foot arches, relaxes the legs and is therapeutic in asthma and high blood pressure. Moreover, this asana reduces swelling of the legs during pregnancy and is beneficial in gas problems.

How to do it:

  • Kneel on the floor keeping your knees under your hips. Make sure your hands on your knees on resting position.
  • Now, increase the gap between your feet by bringing your knees closure to each other.
  • Bring your hips right between your hips and pull your navel.
  • From the crown of your head, extend your tailbone to the floor.
  • Maintain this position for around 30 seconds and then release.

Anjaneyasana

Anjaneyasana Anjaneyasana improves abdominal functions, and provides relief from excruciating sciatic pain. Shutterstock

It is known as a heart opener yoga posture that improves breathing and increases blood circulation. In this pose, when the chest comes forward, the heart muscles open and the lungs expand. Moreover, this pose helps to make the lower body flexible, improves abdominal functions, and provides relief from excruciating sciatic pain all along the leg.

How to do it:

  • To begin, come in the downward-facing dog position. Inhale.
  • While exhaling, bring your right foot in front.
  • Now, lower down your left knee and rest the left foot top on the mat.
  • Placing your hands on your knee, roll back your shoulders.
  • Now, drawing your tailbone towards the ground, transfer your body weight down on the hips.
  • Try lifting your hands alongside your ears. Make sure your palms are facing each other.
  • Lengthen your spine while breathing and tilt your head back looking up at the s
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Juhi Kumari

Juhi Kumari

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