Yoga for Heart Health

It’s Heart Season! There are two things I want to share with you when it comes to heart-opening, or heart health, in Office Yoga. First is the physical benefits of heart-opening sequences, and second is the energetic benefits of heart-opening sequences.

Physical Benefits

First, let’s talk about the physical benefits of the heart. I’m talking about the literal, material heart on the left side of your chest. The heart’s physical benefit is that it pumps blood and oxygen to the muscles and organs of your body. To feel good in our bodies and happy in life, the physical heart needs to be healthy. We do this through asana practice or regular exercise. Keeping the physical heart healthy is important for lifestyles.

More physical benefits of heart-opening include:

• strength in the upper back
• improved posture
• increase in lung capacity
• relieves tension in the back and shoulders
• increased blood circulation
• stimulates the thyroid and pituitary glands

Energetic Benefits

The second aspect of heart-opening is the energetic heart, also known as the “heart chakra” in yoga. This lies in the center of the chest. I think of this as the heart’s personality. If the heart were a friend of yours, it would be the person at the party inviting everyone in and hugging them as soon as they come in through the door. The energetic heart is what helps us form deep and meaningful connections. This is important for our social health, the need to feel connected and belong.

More energetic benefits of heart-opening include:

• emotional release
• boosts confidence
• develops compassion
• relieves depression and feelings of isolation

The energetic heart is important to keep in mind, especially now during times of isolation and work-from-home. Check out the heart-opening sequence below and stay connected with us. I’ll keep pulling on different threads of heart-opening over the next two months.

Office Yoga offers meditation, desk yoga, and vinyasa flow yoga classes to large corporations, B Corps, and individuals. Contact us here; we would love to hear from you!