Yoga for an open heart
Your heart, a muscular organ on average the size of a fist, has four chambers. It can be found in the chest cavity between your lungs and just to the left of your breastbone. The heart beats, contracts and pumps blood through the arteries, veins and capillaries, all which form the cardiovascular system and circulate the blood around your body.
Needless to say, a healthy heart is crucial to your health, responsible for multiple processes in your body. Its primary function of pumping blood carries nutrients and oxygen to all of your organs, together with bringing carbon dioxide to the lungs to initiate exhalation.
Your lifestyle, exercise regimen, sleep patterns, body weight, genetics and diet affect the health of your heart. Living in the age of stress and overwhelm can also put a huge strain on your heart. When you experience a physically or mentally stressful situation, the body releases stress hormones, which in turn raise your heart rate and blood pressure. This can strain the heart and increase the need for more oxygen production.
A great body of research has revealed that yoga, breathing (pranayama) and meditation practices could have a positive
