In the rise of sedentary lifestyle, a diet packed with fast food, and bad air in the cities, our cardiovascular health becomes at risk. Yoga is one of the best and easy ways to protect heart from diseases. Practicing yoga regularly has been noted to get rid of cardiovascular disease risk factors as well as improve lifestyle habits.

Yoga is not just a combination of exercises and postures; it is an ancient Indian art that includes a particular philosophic outlook, mental attitude, and lifestyle changes, such as moderation in diet and abstinence from smoking and alcohol consumption. These factors work together to prevent the development many conditions, including cardiovascular disease. Yoga has the potential to address the physical, psychological, and health needs of patients with CVD.

Here are 5 reasons for you to incorporate yoga into your everyday routine to support your cardiovascular health:

Yoga reduces stress

Modern lifestyle stresses are agreed to be the major cause for many illnesses including cardiovascular disease. American study has shown that mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR), such as yoga, led to a drop in the number of visits to family physicians. This fact shows that yoga can be a great contributor to general population health and cardiac health in particular in patients that are exposed to significant psychological stress.

Yoga burns fat

One research has demonstrated that consistent yoga practice contributes to waist circumference reduction, one of the markers of CVD. Practicing static yoga postures, asanas, has proven to burn excess weight without causing high blood pressure and trauma risks for elder patients.

Yoga improves heart health

Other than reducing stress, yoga may help with high blood pressure, blood cholesterol, and sugar levels. It can also help with irregular heart rate, which makes it a useful lifestyle adjustment. One research has demonstrated that mindfulness yoga practice once a week lowers the incidence of atrial fibrillation episodes in patients with that disease. In another study, patients with heart failure who went through an eight-week yoga retreat showed improvement in quality of life. They also had lower blood levels of markers for inflammation, which is a factor in heart disease.

Yoga can help you quit smoking

Some studies show that yoga can be beneficial for giving up smoking. It builds your confidence and provides motivation for other major lifestyle changes, such as a healthier diet, other forms of exercising. Smoking is a key risk factor for heart disease.

Yoga makes you fit

Yoga can also enhance flexibility, muscle strength, and balance. Keep in mind that yoga does not count towards your recommended physical activity of 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity per week, as it is not an aerobic activity, so practicing yoga is recommended as an additional activity, not an alternative one.

All in all, it seems clear that the effect of daily yoga practice goes further on than just blood pressures and has been proven to impact other metabolic processes such as cholesterol and blood sugar levels.