5 Asanas for a Healthy Heart

Yogini and wellness expert Shweta Singh suggests simple postures to improve the functioning of your heart.

Yoga is not just for weight loss or relieving chronic pain but also effective for managing stress that inadvertently affects cardiovascular health.

Simple yoga poses can help alleviate any existing heart troubles and also prevent others people from developing any heart diseases in future.

Yoga provides not only relaxation to mind and body but also results in enhanced blood circulation and healthy heart rate; which leads to reduced risk of hypertension, stroke or other heart troubles.

Here are 5 simple asanas to help your heart get stronger and stay healthy:

1. Bridge Pose (Setu Bandha Sarvangasana)

• Lay down on your back on a mat.
• Now bend your knees and bring them close to your hip bones, while keeping your feet on the mat hip-width apart.
• Keep your arms flat on the mat on each side all this while.
• Now as you inhale, press your feet and arms into the floor and lift your hips up perpendicular to the floor.
• Keep your chest open and pelvis towards the sky.
• Press your palms into the floor underneath and hold the pose for 5 seconds.
• Then, slowly as you exhale, bring down your shoulders first, followed by spine and lastly hips.

2. Tree Pose (Vrikshasana)

• Stand straight on the floor with feet close to each other.
• Now, raise both your arms upwards and join the palms in a prayer position.
• Slowly bend your right knee, lifting your leg upwards and place the sole of your right foot on the inner thigh of your left leg.
• Hold this position as long as you can, for beginners, start with 30 seconds.
• Slowly, bring down your arms and put your right foot back on the floor to finish.
• Relax for a few seconds before you proceed to do the same with your left leg.

3. Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana)

• This pose requires you to lie flat on your stomach on the mat.
• Place both your palms on the mat, on either side of your shoulders.
• Now slowly as you inhale, lift your upper body up from the ground, while putting pressure on your hands and straightening out your arms.
• Keep your head straight or towards the ceiling/sky, with your shoulder blades pressed against your back.
• Hold this pose for about 15-30 seconds.
• Finally, slowly exhale as bring yourself down to the resting position.

4. Cow Face Pose (Gomukhasana)

• Sit down straight on the mat and extend your legs forward.
• Now fold your right leg and bring it under your left leg. You right foot should be as close to your left buttock as possible.
• Try to fold your left leg while placing your left foot as close to your right buttock as possible.
• Now, gently bring your left arm behind your back while bending your elbow.
• Take your right arm overhead and bend it at the elbow to try and interlock it with the left arm by hands.
• Try to hold this pose for about 30 seconds. Then rest before you repeat on the other side.

5. Warrior Pose (Veerabhadrasana)

This is a simple pose to relax and improve balance.

• Stand firm on the ground facing forward.
• Now take your right foot and place it about 4 inches in the forward direction.
• As your left foot is at the original position, stick it out by turning it at 90 degrees.
• Simultaneously, turn your right foot in by about 15 degrees.
• Your torso will be turned sideways towards your left; while your face is facing forward.
• Now, lift up both your arms sideways till it levels with the shoulders, such that the right arm is facing forward and the left arm is facing back.
• As you breath out, bend your right knee and slowly turn your head and look to the left.
• Keep breathing as you gently push your pelvis down and hold this position for 30 seconds. Then repeat with the other side with the left foot forward.
• Take half or one minute in between the side switch to relax yourself.