What are the physical and emotional heart benefits of yoga?

February is all about hearts. Of course, there’s Valentine’s Day with its hearts, flowers, and romance. February is also American Heart Month. This year marks 58 years of celebrating heart health and bringing awareness to the risk factors of heart disease. 

You know by now that I am passionate about a holistic lifestyle and approach to health and wellness. Read more about the five pillars of wellness here. 

The first three pillars focus on what you eat, how you hydrate, and how you rest. All are crucial to overall health and wellness and all are hugely impactful to heart health. 

Pillars four and five focus on breathing & meditation and movement & exercise. Incorporating a regular yoga practice into your life means making these two pillars a priority in your health and wellness plan. 

A regular yoga practice benefits your heart health physically and emotionally. 

Yoga relieves stress.

Emotional stress causes physical effects on your body, including your heart. Stress causes your body to release hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. These hormones in turn cause narrowing of your arteries and increased blood pressure. 

The deep breathing and mental focus experienced during yoga practice offset the negative effects of stress. When you practice yoga, you are able to relax, body and mind. This is one of yoga’s clearest benefits to your heart health. 

People who experience a heart attack, bypass surgery, or diagnosis of heart disease often experience worry and depression. Making yoga part of their comprehensive treatment plan allows them to manage this stress and feel a greater sense of hopefulness. 

Have you tried Yoga Nidra? This ancient, guided practice has the physiological effects of 2-8 hours of sleep! It balances the autonomic nervous system by turning off the fight or flight reflexes present during so much of our everyday existence. Read this blog post to learn more about this practice and to sign up for a class today. 

Yoga reduces risk factors of heart disease. 

Yoga’s ability to help you manage and lower stress make it a necessary part of an overall focus on heart health. But did you know practicing yoga can actually help you reduce the risk factors of heart disease? 

Regularly practicing yoga may help lower blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and blood glucose levels. It can also help lower your heart rate. In addition, one study of middle aged adults with metabolic syndrome showed improvements in blood measurements and waist circumference after they practiced yoga for three months. This is especially important because waist circumference is considered a marker for heart disease. 

Patients who suffer from atrial fibrillation benefit from slow-paced yoga classes, even seeing a reduction in the frequency of episodes. And patients diagnosed with heart failure who went through an eight-week yoga program experienced increased exercise capacity and quality of life as well as decreased inflammation. 

If you’ve been diagnosed with heart disease, talk with your doctor about making yoga part of your overall treatment plan. 

Yoga is heart-healthy exercise.  

There are many physical benefits of yoga. When you practice regularly, you see increased flexibility, muscle strength, and balance. You’ll notice improvements in your posture and experience less muscle fatigue as you go about your day. 

Yoga is not a form of aerobic exercise, as it does not markedly raise the heart rate. This means in addition to yoga, taking good care of your heart means getting in enough moderate to vigorous physical activity. Try walking, jogging, or even dancing to get your heart rate up and your blood pumping. 

Razz Yoga offers classes for every level. If getting your heart rate up is a goal, check out our schedule to see if one of our more advanced classes is right for you. 

Yoga is community. 

Have you been to a class in our gorgeous new studio yet? We LOVE this space and our members have been thrilled to be back together. 

At Razz Yoga, our community is what sets us apart. It is what has always made us special. This welcoming, nurturing, encouraging community feeds our members - and our staff - body and soul. It always has. 

That sense of belonging is good for your heart. Feeling part of something is good for your heart. Take care of your heart - all parts of it - by joining us for a class. 

If you’re not a member of Razz Yoga, join us for a free week trial. We’d love to share our home with you.