Yoga dos & don'ts for a healthy heart!

Heart diseases is one of the major lifestyle diseases which concerns majority o the population. Apart from medications one needs to follow a set of everyday dos and don ts for a healthy heart. Apart from medication and routine exercise, yoga is highly beneficial to keep this essential organ healthy. Begin with mild exercises and gradually increase the intensity of your workout.

1. Tadasana(mountain pose): The mountain pose helps strengthen the heart and also makes the body more flexible.
2. Vrikshasana(tree pose): The tree pose calms and brings equilibrium to the mind. This yoga pose helps calm the mind and leads to a steady and healthy heart function.
3. UtthitaHastapadasana (extended hands and feet pose): This yoga posture requires focus and strength as it requires a lot of balance. This focus on one s breathing and posture helps calm the mind, lowers the heart rate, promotes blood circulation and improves the all-round functioning of the heart.
4. Trikonasana(triangle pose): Known for its ability to beat stress, this is a heart opening asana is designed to promote cardiovascular exercise. The chest expands while controlled breathing helps increase stamina.
5. Veerabhadrasana (warrior pose): The Warrior pose improves balance and increases stamina. It also releases stress while calming the mind and helps keep the heart rate in check. Another great benefit of this asana is that it tones the muscles of the thighs and abdomen, which helps burn fat, in turn keeping the heart healthy.
6. Utkatasana(chair pose): Another asana that helps strengthen the muscles of the tummy and thighs, the chair pose helps increase one s heart rate, improves posture, breathing and helps strengthen the body.
7. Marjariasana(cat pose): A yoga asana to help the body relax, the cat pose is meant to bring down a person s heart rate and relax the body.
8. AdhoMukhoSvanasana(downward facing dog pose): This yoga asana is a resting position as it calms the system and energises the body.
9. Bhujangasana(cobra pose): The cobra pose increases the stretch to the chest and helps being breathing down to normal. Dhanurasana (bow pose): Stimulating and a deep stretch for the whole body, the bow pose opens and strengthens the heart.
10. SetuBandhasana (bridge pose): The bridge pose is a great asana to help keep your heart healthy. Not only is it less demanding than bow pose, the bridge pose facilitates deep breathing, opens and improves blood flow to the chest region and helps control blood pressure.
11. SalambaSarvangasana (half shoulder stand): The half shoulder stand activates the parasympathetic nervous system and opens up the chest.
12. ArdhaMatsyendrasana(sitting half spinal twist): The Sitting half spinal twist works on the whole spine and opens the chest. It also helps you breathe better and is known to invigorate the entire nervous system.
13. Paschimottanasana (two-legged forward bend): This seated forward bending pose helps bring the head lower than the heart, facilitating the reduction of the heart rate and respiration while allowing the system to rest.
14. Dandasana (stick pose): Countering the previous postures, this yoga posture facilitates good posture, strengthens the back and at the same time stretches the shoulders and chest.
15. Dolphin pose: The Dolphin pose is a little more demanding than Downward facing dog pose as it helps by increasing stamina and strengthening the upper body in preparation for more heart opening postures.
16. Dolphin plank: The Dolphin plank pose gets the heart pumping again.
17. Sphinx pose: The Sphinx pose opens up the chest muscles and stretches the muscles of the shoulders; helping in improving one s breathing and heart rate.
18. Shavasana(corpse pose): This yoga postures allows the body and breath to make the subtle adjustments necessary for the overall health of the system.
19. Anjali mudra: The Anjali mudra opens the heart, calms the brain and reduces stress and anxiety. It also prepares the body better for pranayama and meditation.

While yoga is an ideal exercise to maintain a good heart health, there are certain yoga poses which should be avoided, as they exert pressure on the heart. Inverted especially shouldn't be tried as they make the heart work against gravity for the blood to circulate to the lower body.

1. Chakrasana (Wheel pose): This position is a backbend and hence, requires a lot of strength and a proper breathing pattern. It puts pressure on your heart to pump blood faster and so it should be avoided.
2. Halasana (Plough pose): The plough pose requires you to lie on our back , lift your legs and put them behind your head. This position also requires your heart to circulate blood to the lower body with pressure and against gravity.
3. Karnapirasana (Ear closing pose): This position is similar to halasana, but it requires more efforts, as you have to bring your legs closer to the ground with knees next to the ears. Similar to the halasana, this position exerts pressure on the heart.
4. Sarvangasana (Shoulder stand): This position should be completely avoided as you are standing on your shoulders, with pressure completely on your upper body; the heart has to work against gravity for blood circulation.
5. Sirshasana (Head stand): Similar to the Sarvangasana, Sirshasana is an inverted position. The body is held upright with the support of the arms and the head touching the floor. The legs are held over the heart and hence more pressure is exerted by the heart to pump blood to the lower body.
6. Viparita Karani (Simple inverted pose): This position requires you to lie on your back and raise your legs and slowly lift your hips and support them with your hands. As with all the other poses, this pose puts a strain on your heart for blood circulation to the lower body as your legs are above your heart.

Along with yoga the body needs to be relaxed and stress free for recovery from heart disease. Diet also plays an important part in maintaining a healthy heart.

Image source: Getty Images

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