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The Passport to Preventive Care for the Heart

T. Nandakumar

1/5

The human heart, that pumps par excellence, has actually been designed to work for — rub your eyes and read again — one hundred years!

#1: Down Facing Dog Stretch
- Helps massage the muscles of the heart
- Slows down the heart beat
As a category, all the standing poses (as taught in Iyengar Yoga) promote cardiac reserve, and work wonders for the endurance of the heart.
The Passport to Preventive Care for the Heart
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At 72 beats a minute, the heart in a normal adult beats 104,000 times a day, and pumps out 8193 litres of blood every single day. In terms of work, that is the equivalent of lifting 1 ton (907 kg) to a height of 41 ft every 24 hrs!

#2: Dhyana in Padmasana
- For a calm mind, free of stress, with resultant cardiac benefits
In yoga deep breathing, the right and left chambers of the heart are affected differently during inhalations and exhalations, giving the heart a good work out! In the seated forward bends, since the upper body is parallel to the floor, blood flows to both ends of the system without any strain, and so the heart feels rested.
The Passport to Preventive Care for the Heart
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In the frantic, fast paced style that characterizes present day living, the heart is usually the worst affected. In defiant dignity, it battles against mounting odds, and if the distress signals it sends go unheeded, it simply gives up.

#3: Rope Sirshasana
- Facilitates venous return and enables heart to increase output
Inversions are a great boon conferred by the ancient gurus. When the system is inverted, the veins carry the blood back to the heart from the legs easily by force of gravity. The beauty of this is that the heart obeys the simple natural rule that it has to pump out whatever blood it gets from the veins – and thereby the output gets augmented!
The Passport to Preventive Care for the Heart
4/5

Exercise holds the key to heart wellness in today’s world of drastically reduced physical work.

#4: Supta Vira on Pillows
- Opens up the chambers of the heart
- Very effective in managing angina
Back bends, without exception, have a tremendous impact on the contractility of the heart, helping it pump more efficiently.
The Passport to Preventive Care for the Heart
5/5

When it comes to coronary health, it is the therapeutic side of yoga that stands supreme.

#5: The Bhishma Bench Stretch
- Helps the heart contract better, to pump more
In 1990, Dr. Dean Ornish, Clinical Professor of Medicine in the University Of California, brought out a book on tackling heart problems. Titled Dr Dean Ornish’s Program For Reversing Heart Disease, it became a runaway best seller. And his philosophy? A lifestyle change, with Y practice as its central component!
The Passport to Preventive Care for the Heart

T Nandakumar is a yoga exponent based in Chennai.