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A Proven Way to Keep Your Heart Strong via Pranayama
As we all know, Heart is one of the best organs for every moment of our survival. You should know “How to Keep Your Heart Strong.” If Heart stops, everything ends. So, to keep your heart young, you will have to eat heart-friendly food, do Walking Pranayama and Sitting Pranayama without fail, sleep well, enjoy leisure in good natural pursuits.
Among all the organs, Heart is such an important organ that if it stops for a few seconds, life ends instantaneously. This is true for humans too. It does not make any difference for rich or poor, educated or uneducated, African or European, American or Asian. In a sense, Heart is the main engine for our Body Temple. So, we can not compromise for the best health of Heart.
The chief function of the Heart is to pump blood throughout the body. The heart supplies oxygen and nutrients to our tissues and removes carbon dioxide and also various wastes from the blood. Structurally, the Heart is a muscular organ in most animals. It pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system of the body. Blood is like engine fuel. It helps assist in removing metabolic wastes. In human beings, the Heart is located between the two parts of the lungs. It is located in the middle compartment of the chest.
The Heart is divided into four chambers. These are upper left and right atria and lower left and right ventricles. These are the features of Heart in humans, other mammals and birds. On the other hand, fishes have two chambers, an atrium and a ventricle. In sharp contrast, reptiles have three chambers. In a perfectly functioning Heart, blood flows in one direction only through the Heart due to Heart valves. The valves are there to prevent backflow. The wall of the Heart is very complex. It is made up of three layers, namely epicardium, myocardium, and endocardium.
As per medical science, the Heartbeats at an average rate close to 72 beats per minute, which is 60 seconds. When you play or do exercise, the rate increases. When you take rests, Heartbeat rate falls below 72. If this happens, your heart is in perfect condition. Now the question is: how to keep your Heart in best functioning conditions. There two main ways: Heart friendly Yoga and Food.
Pranayama for Best Heart:
Brahman Pranayama, Simple Pranayama.
Walking Pranayama (Brahman Pranayama)
Most people understand walking as an exercise, not a form of Yoga. When you learn the breathing technique, you will be convinced that it an integral part of Yoga. Moreover, most people who are accustomed to Walking as an Exercise do not know how to walk, how to take breathing, how to use the steps while walking.
Where to walk?
First of all, when you decide to walk, you have to choose a place where there is no pollution. In humid areas, most pollutants come down to the low levels in dusk and dawn, particularly along the roads. So please be careful to select the space where you will walk. In most developing countries, roads are not at all safe for walking, because most roads are uneven and highly congested to endanger your life. So, the best option is to go walking in a playground or lawn, or at least rooftop. The best time for walking is morning or evening. You should keep in mind that your stomach should not be full, do it after tea and biscuits.
How to walk?
Second, when you walk, you have to inhale full lung in 6, or 8 seconds or steps and exhale in 10, or 12 seconds or steps, depending on your lung capacity. That is, 4 seconds more for exhaling your lungs. But while inhaling or exhaling, never make sounds, it should be done silently, smoothly and in a continuous process such that even a person by your side can not listen to your breathing. You can breathe normally after every 10 minutes, and then again count the seconds by steps as above. If you practice this for a prolonged period, you will be happy to see that you can inhale for more than 10 seconds and exhale for more than 14 seconds. That is, always more time for exhaling
What dress to use during walking?
Third, always use sports shoes or boots and trousers while walking. It will help you maintain the rhythm in walking. Here also, most people in developing countries do not use sports shoes. That may hamper your legs, toe, heels and knees in the future.
Fourth, never carry side bags, or mobiles with you when walking. They will hamper your walking rhythm and breathing.
On the whole, what is described above is Walking Pranayama. After you make the mastery over Yoga Walking, your Heart, Lungs, Respiratory System, Blood, Digestive Mechanism will immensely improve, and aging will decline.
Pranayama (Simple Breathing Exercise)
In addition to Walking Pranayama, the simplest Pranayama can be practiced at any suitable time in the home. It is very simple, time-saving and effective as you can utilize your free time, any time.
How to do?
Sit in Padmasana (Lotus Position) on a comfortable Yoga Mat or bed. You may also sit cross-legged. Keep your hands and fingers as shown in the figures. Then inhale deep breathing without sound, and exhale slowly without sound. Continue to do this as long as you can up to 15 minutes. When you inhale, your body will get the height, when you exhale, your body will bend down. There are some variations of positions such as half-lotus, bound lotus, and psychic union pose. It is always better to close your eyes when doing this Yoga Pranayama, or Meditation. While doing this, you may imagine your best impersonal imagine such as a peak Himalaya, Mount Washington, A Glacier in Himalaya, deep forest in Amazon, etc.
There is another variation. Keep your left hand in the same position, close one nose by right fingers, inhale full Lung, then close the inhaling nose, exhale through the other nose very slowly until your Lungs are empty; the Heart will be smoothened, pacified, calmed. Continue to do this for, say, 5 minutes. Then change the inhaling nose and exhaling nose. It is also called Meditation Yoga. It will normalize your Heart.
This will definitely improve Bronchial Asthma, clean your throat, nose, will definitely lower pressure on your Heart. You will feel as is your age has diminished. It will improve Digestive power, strengthen the Stomach and increase Metabolic rate. For girls, it will reduce Menstrual discomfort, pain, cramps, thereby lowering tension will maintain your Heart; most girls in backward societies eat pain killer during Menstrual Period; those medicines are dangerous for the health; instead, if these schoolgirls are taught to practice Meditation, they will feel relieved because their pelvic region becomes flexible. It also increases the flexibility of legs, helpful for pregnant women. If pregnant women practice this Yoga, child-birth becomes easier. It also strengthens knee and ankle joints. This great Yoga position helps you ward off stress, fear, anxiety and insomnia thereby releasing pressure on Heart. It also maintains your spine, improves your blood circulation and respiration. Above all, this is the only way for assimilation of Body- Mind- Soul thereby improving your brain and thinking power as well as concentration power by lifting your Consciousness Level and increasing Energy level.
