5 Health Benefits of Yoga
It’s no secret that yoga is healthy for your body and mind, offering advantages including enhanced strength, more vitality, and improved flexibility. Additionally, there is mounting proof that it may be advantageous for your heart.
Numerous clinical studies have been conducted on the ancient Indian discipline of yoga, and the results suggest that all those Downward-Facing Dogs and Sun Salutations can help keep your heart healthy. For instance, a trial reported in March 2022 in the International Journal of Yoga discovered that patients with stable heart failure who were also receiving standard medical therapy experienced significant improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction after 12 weeks of practising yoga, which involves performing breathing exercises and yoga postures, also known as asanas, roughly 60 minutes every day. In addition, compared to patients in the control group, researchers discovered that yoga patients had less inflammation and higher quality of life.
Consult your doctor about the appropriate yoga level for you if you have a heart condition. And before class, talk to the yoga instructor if you’re new to the practise or have any health issues. To ensure you get the most out of the lesson, your instructor might provide advice and adaptations.
1. Yoga Makes You Move, Which Is Good According to the American Heart Association, not exercising enough can result in heart disease, which is the leading cause of death for both men and women in the country (AHA). However, starting is never too late. According to research, those who practise yoga are more likely to adopt heart-healthy behaviours like being active and eating well. Young adults who regularly practised yoga reported better eating habits and more hours of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, according to a study published in May 2018 in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. The findings of a different review, which were published in 2020 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, showed that stretching exercises significantly improved heart function in middle-aged and older adults and significantly decreased arterial stiffness, the hardening of the arteries that pump blood to the heart and throughout the body.
For overall heart health, the AHA advises engaging in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity five days a week, as well as two days a week of moderate- to high-intensity muscle-strengthening activity.
2. Yoga Promotes Relaxation Although the exact mechanism by which stress causes heart disease is still unknown, stress has been shown to raise behaviours and other risk factors for the condition. These include eating too much, exercising too little, and having high blood pressure.
According to studies, those who practise yoga have better mental health, more emotions of relaxation, and better moods. The parasympathetic nervous system, a component of the nervous system that instructs you to calm down, is better controlled by mind-body practises. According to a study that appeared in the August 2020 issue of Stress & Health, participants in yoga lessons that included breathing exercises and meditation reported less perceived stress and more awareness.
According to Joel Kahn, MD, a cardiologist at the Kahn Center for Cardiac Longevity in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, and the author of The Whole Heart Solution, “most stress-relief treatments entail some attention to breathing.” “Awareness of the breath and becoming more mindful are two important foci of all kinds of yoga,” he claims. Thus, practically all yoga classes include either explicit or implicit focus to stress reduction.
3. Yoga Might Reduce Your Risk of High Blood Pressure According to a comprehensive review that was published in September 2021 in Scientific World Journal, yoga may help manage prehypertension. Researchers analysed a few trials that showed meditation, breathing techniques, and yoga reduced prehypertensive individuals’ systolic and diastolic blood pressure (the top and bottom numbers on a blood pressure reading). Despite the fact that the research didn’t offer a specific “dosage” of yoga poses and breathing exercises, the study’s authors came to the conclusion that yoga can lower your risk of developing high blood pressure or heart disease.
Shamita Misra, MD, an obstetrician at the University of Missouri Health Care in Columbia who has also researched the benefits of yoga on blood pressure, states that “we know scientifically what yoga does is increase the parasympathetic tone in the nervous system.” It lowers heart rate, and since the heart works less when you move less, your steps will be stronger.
4. Yoga Can Calm an Uneven Heartbeat Afib, also known as atrial fibrillation, is an irregular heart rhythm marked by rapid and erratic beating that increases the risk of stroke and other consequences. A study that was presented in 2020 at the European Society of Cardiology Congress suggested that yoga could assist those with afib in controlling their symptoms. 538 participants were enrolled in the study between 2012 and 2017. Participants did not practise yoga for 12 weeks, after which they attended twice-daily 30-minute yoga sessions that included postures and breathing for 16 weeks. Participants noticed a decrease in the number of episodes during the course of the 16-week study.
According to Robert Ostfeld, MD, the creator and head of the Cardiac Wellness Program at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx, New York, “yoga may have some potential to help in the treatment of persons with afib to minimise the frequency of episodes they experience.”
5. Yoga Strengthens Community Spirit Many individuals may experience social isolation and even depression after a heart attack or other major cardiac event. According to Dr. Ostfeld, the patient might not feel secure or strong enough to venture outside. “They might be dealing with their mortality in a novel way for them. Or they might be realising that they might not be able to do what they used to.
Yoga appears to be able to support that. In a rural county in Maine, a study that was published in January 2015 in the Journal of the American Medical Association demonstrated a correlation between involvement in community-wide initiatives that target behavioural changes and cardiovascular risk factors and a decline in mortality rates.
Yoga class participation can offer a sense of community that might help lessen these depressive and lonely sensations. According to Dr. Kahn, a yoga class offers a secure setting and a chance to interact with others while moving and flowing. “It’s difficult to measure the advantages of social connection, but if you take people with health difficulties, I think that if there is a location they feel at home in, they are more likely to make healthier decisions.”
According to a study published in May 2019 in American Family Physician, yoga can also reduce the symptoms of depression, especially when paired with standard medical care like cognitive behavioural therapy.
Another small study indicated that conducting a comparable yoga practise for 60 minutes twice a week for a period of 12 weeks reduced levels of depression and anxiety and raised self-esteem in senior women. This study was published in 2017 in the International Journal of Yoga.
How to Pick the Right Yoga Class for You Are you thinking about taking a yoga class? While there are many different yoga techniques available, you are not required to stick with one. Additionally, according to Dr. Misra, enrolling in a challenging one-hour class is not required to start reaping the rewards.
In my study, we observed results during the first 15 minutes of just yoga breathing, so you really don’t need that lengthy of an intervention, claims Misra. However, we are unable to determine the precise amount of yoga intervention minutes that must be completed in order to have a successful outcome.
The practise of physical postures is referred to as hatha yoga, a subset of yoga that is widely practised in the West. Hatha yoga encompasses a variety of yoga forms, including vinyasa, Iyengar, and ashtanga, to mention a few. Before beginning any workout regimen, make sure you see your doctor.
Vinyasa yoga, commonly known as “flow” yoga, places special emphasis on the fusion of breath and motion. Classes can range from being brisk and vigorous, like power yoga or ashtanga, to being more leisurely and appropriate for beginners or those who have physical restrictions because of medical issues, like slow-flow or an alignment-focused class. Yoga is practised in a warm space as “hot yoga.” Bikram yoga, which consists of a series of 26 postures and two breathing exercises performed in a room that is heated to 105 degrees Fahrenheit, is the most well-known and hot kind of hot yoga today, despite the fact that there are many more varieties. This type of yoga may be best avoided by those who have specific heart diseases or who are sensitive to severe heat, according to Ostfeld. With the use of various body postures, Iyengar yoga focuses on body alignment. Because it makes use of props like chairs, blocks, and belts and can be customised to each person’s skill level and physical make-up, it differs from other types of yoga. A mix of breathing exercises, chanting, music, meditation, and movement is known as kundalini, which meaning “coiled snake” in Sanskrit. To activate the seven chakras, which are energy-storing centres in your body, you must “uncoil the serpent” and release the energy that runs from the base of your spine to the top of your head. Kundalini yoga, a more spiritual variation of the practise, is a viable choice for lowering stress and anxiety. Yin yoga is distinguished by a slower pace and holds positions for five minutes or longer, which can be difficult for newcomers. This kind of yoga is also naturally meditative, so it would be worthwhile to give it a try if you’re looking for a class that’s a little more dynamic than kundalini yoga but not as vigorous as vinyasa yoga. Restorative yoga is slow and tranquil in style, focusing on expanding your body via prolonged stretches that let you pay attention to the breath. Blocks, pillows, and cushions are useful props that are used to support the body in different positions. This peaceful technique is beneficial for alleviating pain and enhancing mental health.
