Obtain Natural Heart Health With An Ayurvedic Lifestyle
Date Posted:5 August 2012
Unlike Western beliefs, Ayurveda considers the heart to be the seat of human consciousness and one of the most precious organs. Ensuring natural heart health is essential, as the heart serves dual purposes. The first purpose is the physical aspect of its responsibilities, while the second purpose is to serve as the emotional centre for feelings such as love, sorrow, joy, and anger. In Ayurveda, the lotus represents the heart, and the soul is the jewel that lies in the tender and delicate folds hidden within the lotus blossom.
What you feel within your heart determines how you connect with the world, and when your heart is healthy, happy, and balanced, you will thrive. However, on the same note, if you are overly stressed, your doshas are out of balance, and emotions unstable, you open yourself up to heart disease and other stress-related disorders. According to Ayurveda, emotions play an integral role in the state of your heart's health.
The Western lifestyle of consumerism, faster is better, impatience, high demand, high stress, lack of good quality food, not enough rest, and need to always have bigger, better, and more is downright hazardous to your natural heart health.
The Western diet is often referred to as SAD, or Standard American diet and is very apropos as it is loaded with too much sugar, chemical sweeteners, unhealthy fats, and simple carbs and is overly processed and loaded with pesticides and monosodium glutamate (msg).
This is not a problem limited to the United States, but rather is seen all over the world in countries that have adopted the Western lifestyle. Consuming this type of diet on a regular basis, accompanied by high stress, lack of exercise, suppressed and unexpressed emotions, and inadequate rest, is the perfect recipe for disaster.
Other factors that may play a role in the high rate of heart disease in the West are excessive exercise without proper hydration or rest, obesity, anxiety and fear-based emotions, toxic overload, and a diet high in dead foods. Dead foods are foods that are so far away from their natural state, they may be difficult to recognize. Once you get past the produce section of the grocery store, most products sitting on the grocery store shelves would be considered dead food that retain none of their Prana, or lifeforce.
Ayurvedic Recommendations for Natural Heart Health
Exercise
One of the easiest and best forms of exercise available is simply walking outside. The best time to walk is first thing in the morning, this gets your blood lymph fluid pumping and moving, which helps to flush out any toxins that tried settling in the night before as you slept. Walking outside also allows you to drink in the beauty of nature, breathe the air, and enjoy the sunrise. Walking is great for natural heart health, but it is also fantastic for your metabolism and circulatory system.
Pranayama
Pranayama is the art of conscious breathing and is excellent for taking care of your heart. Deep breathing exercises increase the flow of oxygenated blood to the heart and throughout the circulatory system, reduce stress, and increase the strength of the heart muscle.
Warm Oil Ayurvedic Massage
Massages using Ayurvedic techniques and warm oil are vata-pacifying and melt away stress, aches, and pains, relieve emotional, mental, and physical fatigue, improve general body tone, increase circulation throughout the body, and help to flush out and eliminate toxins. Regular massages should not be considered a treat, but a necessity. You can also learn how to do the Ayurvedic warm oil self-massage known as abhyanga. Abhyanga can be done right before you take your daily shower and is a great way of starting or ending your day.
Wholesome and Fresh Diet
Eating a fresh diet full of home cooked meals, using wholesome and natural ingredients, is one of the best things you can do for your heart. Rather than rushing around and eating fast food on the go, plan ahead. This allows you to sit down and enjoy your meal of natural and beneficial foods.
Your diet should be designed around your dosha type. One food may be one of the healthiest things to eat for one dosha-type, but be downright detrimental to another dosha constitution. If you are unsure of your dosha type or what type of diet you should eat for it, you may want to consult with an Ayurvedic specialist who can help you identify your dosha-type and all the lifestyle do's and don’ts that go along with it.
All dosha types should incorporate an abundance of fresh and organic fruits and vegetables that are free of pesticides. If you do not have access to good organic produce, peel it first and just eat the flesh to minimize your exposure to pesticides.
Also be sure to add in plenty of heart-healthy herbs and spices into your diet such as oregano, rosemary, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, turmeric, and cayenne.
Rest
Rest and adequate sleep is another integral part of natural heart health. You should always try to go to bed at the same time each night, preferably when the sun goes down, and rise with the sun at the same time each morning. While you are sleeping, the body is working hard to eliminate toxins and to restore and refresh your system for the new day. Without adequate rest, the body can quickly begin to shut down, which creates added stress for your heart.
Panchakarma
If you are not doing a series of periodic cleanses, chances are that you have a buildup of toxins. Panchakarma is a series of internal cleanses that Ayurveda recommends with the changing of the seasons.
Water
You should always be sure you are taking in enough water. Water can also be coupled with lemons, lime, or other citrus fruits to make it more palatable and increase the cleansing nature of the water. According to Ayurveda, water can also be kept in a copper vessel overnight and drank the next day to prevent arteriosclerosis. If you eat a diet full of fresh fruits and vegetables, you will be taking in water that way as well.
Cardio Supplements
Incorporating heart healthy cardio supplements into your daily routine is also a great way to take care of your heart. Your cardio supplements could be herbs like arjuna, ginger, or tulsi or may be something like Cardio Support offered by Maharishi Ayurveda. Cardio Support is one of the best cardio supplements you could take for your heart health. It was designed with a busy hectic lifestyle in mind and to support the challenges that type of lifestyle causes. In addition to cardio supplements, you may also want to consider taking a product like Elim-Tox, which helps to purify and cleanse the body of deadly and harmful toxins.
While these recommendations are just a start at taking care of your heart, any little change you make will improve, not only the health of your heart, but your overall health as well. Start by including natural and healthy cardio supplements that can combat the daily stresses of a hectic and busy lifestyle and then tackle your diet and exercise next. Pretty soon, you will be an expert on these recommendations and looking for more ways to take care of your health through Ayurveda.
Related articles
- The Ayurvedic Path to Natural Heart Health (getbalance.co.nz)
