The word ‘Yoga’ is derived from a Sanskrit word called ”Yuji”, which means union. Yoga is a mind-body exercise that syndicates physical movement, meticulous breathing, and mental peace.
The best part is anybody can do yoga, irrespective of age, gender or lifestyle.
It is so rightly said that treating your body as a temple makes you the god or goddess of that temple. So, it is important to preserve it clean from the inside out. And what better way than practising yoga in the morning as one of the most advantageous routines to your day.
Yoga offers a lot of benefits in curing and preventing health problems. One of the main health concerns we all are facing today is ”stress”. Research studies in the past have shown that yoga in the morning can help minimize your stress hormones and improves your productivity.
Let’s understand in detail about the benefits of doing yoga especially in the morning:
Conducting yoga asanas or stretching exercises can help muscles and joints loosen up, remove the stiffness and thus allow the proper flow of the blood. Usually, when we sleep, our muscles rest, and layers of connective tissue and bodily fluids can build up. These tissues can cause stiffness and need to be released after waking up. If we avoid stretching or any exercises in the morning, these fluids build up, become thicker causing more stiffness which can lead to tight muscles or pains in the joints.
Gifting yourself every day an hour or half an hour in the mornings to get going and doing yoga will allow your entire body’s cycle including a nervous system to get back on track. This will also help you to start your day in a relaxed state and let go of the stress of your previous day. Relaxing the stress hormones in the morning can help us improve the health of the body and mind immeasurably. Not only that, it strengthens the immune system as well.
”Pranayam” or ”Breathing Exercise” is a practice to allow you to control your breathing. ”Pranayam” has been extensively studied to improve lung capacity which is the maximum amount of air that can be expelled from your lungs. This can be beneficial for the functioning of all your organs.
Have you ever felt happy and sad immediately after a few minutes? Well, those are your tiny hormones playing inside you. Hormones play a very important role in our bodily process, mainly help to regulate our moods and some of these hormones like dopamine and endorphin are known to promote positive feelings and happiness. Studies have shown that meditation in the morning can help dopamine and endorphin production and thus leads to a happy and productive day.
It is essential to have at least 10 minutes of ”me-time.” Because studies have shown it helps improve productivity and also provides much needed mental peace to kick-start your morning chores. Doing yoga asanas in the morning alone can help you gain inner peace and energy to face the world every day. It is a way to tell how much you care for yourself – whether it is for 10 minutes or 1 hour.
In my opinion, practising morning yoga has multiple health benefits. Morning yoga might help in reducing stress, strengthen respiratory health, and improve overall health. As all these factors contribute to strengthening the immune system, practising morning yoga might help in boosting immunity.
Dr. Siddharth Gupta, B.A.M.S, M.D (Ayu)
Studies have proved many times that your gut and your brain are interconnected. If your body cannot absorb and digest the food eaten properly the next morning, then that can create other health issues and may even affect your intake the same day. By doing yoga in the morning, the body’s metabolism is boosted and the digestive system releases waste products and digests the required nutrients very much efficiently. Your peace of mind begins from the belly!
After waking up in the morning, your mind and body may not be in sync and that’s where we crave for our morning coffees. But, yet as discussed above, your body might feel tight and stiff. Suryanamaskar is also known as Sun salutations is a sequence of 12 powerful yoga asanas. It not only heals your mind and body but provides you instant energy, positivity and can also help boost your work right from the day you start doing the asana. Thus, you can easily say good-bye to your Ek cup of chai/coffee.
I would highly recommend clubbing meditation with your morning yoga routine. After a fresh morning walk and doing your routine morning yoga asanas, meditation might help your body to relax, and your mind to soothe and achieve inner peace along with mindfulness.
Dr. Rajeev Singh, BAMS
Morning yoga practice can calm you down. It helps improve mental focus and concentration. When you control your breathing, your brain gets loads of fresh oxygen. This will increase your mental clarity and ensure that you are prepared for work and can give your full attention and work with maximum efficiency.
Above all, dedicatedly following yoga practices in the mornings can allow you to become a morning person and let your day not go to waste.
Challenge yourself to get a perfect body, a happy mind, and a calm soul by combining yoga asanas, meditation, pranayama, and a healthy diet.
Read more about: Can You Turn to Yoga for Stress Relief?
Disclaimer: The information included at this site is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment by a healthcare professional. Because of unique individual needs, the reader should consult their physician to determine the appropriateness of the information for the reader’s situation.
Heart ailments are no longer restricted to old people. These days even young people and children are succumbing to heart-related troubles and disorders. Put the blame on our sedentary lifestyles, irregular and wrong eating habits, immobility and lack of physical activity, the list can go on and on!
Unfortunately, the uncomfortable truth is that it is practically impossible to lead a completely healthy lifestyle these days. However, a couple of things that we can definitely do is – ensure that whatever we do, we do it in moderation and try to incorporate at least a few healthy practices in our everyday life.
One healthy practice that can surely fit well in our daily lifestyle is Yoga! People who have witnessed the positives of Yoga in their life will tell you, that Yoga indeed is a way of life! It’s by far one of the most natural and healthy ways to improve our overall health and well-being. There are many yoga poses and exercises for heart patients that can help manage heart diseases better.
Yoga is a beautiful union between the mind, body and soul. It’s a therapy session that has a solution in store for everyone – no matter the age, gender, or health ailment.
Since Yoga is an art of practising various postures coupled with a strong focus on breathing, it has an immense impact on the respiratory system and therefore affects the heart too. Therefore, Yoga for Heart has the following benefits:
And most importantly, Yoga is a great stress-buster and is known to also deal with depression and anxiety effectively.
Also Read About: 5 Health Benefits of Yoga
So, what are you waiting for? Dive deep into this magical ocean of Yoga and take your first step towards a ‘Healthy and Fitter You’! To start off, you can make this highly doable Yoga poses an essential part of your everyday lifestyle:
This is a heart-opening pose! Done in a standing position, it is also known to promote and build cardiovascular health. Additionally, it also increases your stamina and helps relieve stress.
Also Read About: 7 Different Relaxation Techniques
Stand straight with your feet apart. Ensure that the weight of your body is equally balanced between both feet. Inhale deeply and as you start to exhale bend on the right side, keeping your waist straight and making your left hand come straight up with the right hand reaching down towards the floor. Stretch maximum and keep yourself steady. Keep taking long breaths. Now inhaling, slowly come upbringing your arms to the side. Repeat the same on the other side.
This is an important Yoga for Heart pose – resembling the posture of sitting on a chair, this pose stimulates the heart and stretches the chest area. You may be thinking that sitting on the chair is so simple, but remember, you are sitting on an imaginary chair here. And trust us, this powerful pose needs quite a lot of determination.
Stand erect with your feet apart. Spread your hands out in front and face your palm downwards. Now, bend the knees slightly as if you are sitting on an imaginary chair. Continue to be in this posture for as long as you can and keep in mind not to overdo it. Once you start to feel uncomfortable come back to the standing position.
No time for Yoga? Try these Office Yoga Moves!
A natural continuation of the Chair pose is a Cat Pose. This posture helps the heart rate to settle down and become normal and rhythmic again. The pose also aids in boosting blood circulation.
Get down on your fours with your posture forming a table and your hands and feet resembling the legs of the table. Look straight. As you inhale, raise your chin outwards, tilt your head back, and raise the tailbone. Hold the posture for a few seconds and then follow up with the counterpoise. Exhale, drop the chin inwards towards your chest and arch your back upwards. Hold the posture for a few seconds and then return to the original table-like position.
This is an excellent stress buster. This pose is the counterpose for almost all Yoga poses. It allows you to connect with your body, relax and breathe after an active Yoga session. Helping you to calm down, this pose also helps to improve the health of the heart and the body. This is also the time when the body starts to deep health itself.
Lie flat on your back with your eyes closed. Don’t use any pillows or cushions. Place your arms on the sides a little apart from your body. Keep the palm open and facing upwards and slowly relax. Start giving attention to each part of the body starting from your toe and move upwards till you reach your head. Stay in this pose for 8-10 minutes. Once you are completely relaxed and calm, slowly turn towards your right side. Lie in this position for a minute and gently sit up using the support of your right hand. Stay seated in Sukhasana. Continue to keep the eyes closed and take a few deep breaths. Now slowly and gently open your eyes and continue to feel the calmness all around you.
Pranayama is an essential component of Yoga for the heart and takes the form of slow breathing exercises that offer immediate relaxation. They also are known to be very effective in treating heart ailments. Anulom-Vilom or Alternate Nostril breathing helps cleanse the nerves of the body and also purifies the blood.
A last word of caution! Always perform these postures under the guidance of a Yoga expert for he/she will be able to effectively guide you on what’s best for your overall health and well-being. Also, along with Yoga for Heart, it is important to follow healthy eating habits.
Read More About How to Stay Fit and Healthy?
Disclaimer: The information included at this site is for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for medical treatment by a healthcare professional. Because of unique individual needs, the reader should consult their physician to determine the appropriateness of the information for the reader’s situation
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