Nurturing a Happy Heart: Yoga

Learn how yoga can improve your heart health.

An Introduction to Yoga

Stand up. Really, stand up. Inhale deeply and reach for the sky, as high as you can. Next, slowly blow your breath out, sweeping your arms past your sides and bending toward the floor as you empty your lungs. Draw fresh air into your lungs and slowly roll back up to a standing position, arms by your sides. Feels good, doesn’t it?

You can sit down now.

What you just did was sample the simple science of yoga -- moving your body to fend off sitting disease while clearing your mind to nurture a peaceful, happy, healthy heart.

Unlike Western medicine, which takes the Jiffy Lube approach to wellness by directing you to a fix-it specialist for each of your broken parts (Bunions? See a podiatrist. Depression? That’s a psychiatrist’s job!), traditional Eastern medicine uses holistic systems such as yoga to treat your mind and body as one.

Developed 5,000 years ago in India, yoga reached American shores with immigrants back in the 1800s. Only in recent decades, though, has our faster-moving, increasingly stressed population embraced this exercise that’s more serene than sweat, more meditative than muscle. Today in the United States, more than 15 million people include yoga in their regular fitness routines. Its advocates range from Madonna to Sandra Day O’Connor and from NFL running backs to Wall Street brokers.

Although some people focus their practice more behind -- striving for the coveted firm “yoga butt” -- than inward, scientific evidence from the past 10 years shows that this traditional-yet-trendy, mind-body medicine can relieve symptoms of chronic diseases such as cancer, arthritis, and yes, heart disease. Even hospitals are getting in on the act. At New York Presbyterian Hospital and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, cardiologists routinely steer patients into programs that offer yoga as part of their preventive and rehabilitative care.

Hooked?
Once you get a taste of yoga, you may find yourself craving a full course. Investing more time will help you reap even more benefits. If you’re interested, try a Sun Salutation workout -- a popular series of 12 yoga postures performed in a single, graceful flow. The Sun Salutation builds strength, as well as increasing flexibility and promoting a sense of calm. If that isn’t enough to quench your thirst, yoga information is easy to find. Bookstores have loads of great guides; almost all gyms and senior centers offer classes; videos are available at the library; yoga magazines are on newsstands; and, of course, the Internet has an overwhelming amount of information.

• Healthy Heart
• Healthy Habits
• • Heart Disease
• Exercise

• Frequently Asked Questions About Yoga
• Get answers to some common concerns related to yoga.
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• The Yoga Routine
• This yoga routine will leave you feeling both relaxed and energized.
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• Relax With Yoga
• Check out these animated yoga moves that will soothe your body and mind.
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• Lighten Up With Yoga
• Stretch your way to a leaner body.
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• Peace From the East: 2 Popular Movement Therapies
• Information you can use if you're considering yoga or t'ai chi.
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• 8 Simple Stretches
• Work your muscles and joints with this combination of stretches and modified yoga moves.
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• Learn Healthy Breathing
• Soothe stress, anxiety, and illness with the proper technique
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“ Use your knuckle to rub your eyes. It's less likely to be contaminated with viruses than your fingertip. ”

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Pregnant with my third child, I was stricken with a bout of morning sickness and lay down on the living-room couch to rest. Just then one of the workmen who was doing repairs in my house walked by and gave me a curious look. "Taking a little break," I explained. "I'm in my first trimester." "Really?" he said. "What's your major?"

-- Cara Anderson