हिंदी
Breathing exercises are essential for maintaining heart health, and experts suggest that Yoga provides a natural and safe approach to addressing various health concerns, including prevention, treatment, and recovery. This is particularly true for heart health, where Yoga integrates techniques like pranayama, mudras, and asanas to offer significant benefits.
Embracing a positive lifestyle is crucial for supporting overall health. Neglecting the well-being of your heart and brain can lead to serious conditions such as stroke, paralysis, cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, acute stress, and anxiety. Therefore, incorporating Yoga practices and positive lifestyle changes is vital for maintaining heart health.
Here are some pranayama practices that you can gradually incorporate into your daily fitness routine to promote a healthy heart:
- Bhastrika Pranayama: Inhale deeply to fill your lungs with air, then exhale completely. Maintain a 1:1 ratio for inhalation and exhalation, such as inhaling for 6 counts and exhaling for 6 counts.
- Brahmari Pranayama (Bee Breath): Place your thumbs on the ‘Tragus’ (external flap outside your ear), index fingers on your forehead, middle fingers on the Medial Canthus, and ring fingers on the corner of your nostrils. Inhale deeply, then exhale while creating a buzzing sound like a bee’s hum (“mmmmmmm…”). Keep your mouth closed and feel the vibration throughout your body.
- Vratakar Pranayama: Inhale deeply, expanding your lungs without disturbing your stomach area. Visualize drawing three circles in front of your face and use your right hand to trace imaginary circles near your nose. Imagine the air flowing into your nose like a spring. With a single breath, draw three clockwise circles in front of your nose, then exhale. Begin with a few circles and gradually increase to 100 as you master the technique.
- Anulom Vilom Pranayama (Alternate Nostril Breathing): Close your right nostril with your thumb and inhale through your left nostril. Close your left nostril with your ring finger and exhale through your right nostril. Inhale through your right nostril, close it with your thumb, and exhale through your left nostril. This completes one cycle; repeat for 10 minutes.
- Kapal Bhati Pranayama (Bellows Breath/Skull Shining Breathing): Inhale normally and focus on exhaling with short, rhythmic, and forceful breaths. Use your stomach to expel all the air from the diaphragm and lungs by compressing it. Inhalation should happen automatically as you release your stomach.
