Show your heart some love this Valentine’s Day. Photo: Shutterstock.
Connect with the love around you and the love within you through the gift of movement. This is a sweet time of year to honor love with others, but also within ourselves. Our bodies are our home, and by taking care of our home through movement we nurture our spirit AND our heart.
The heart is a special type of cardiac muscle that meticulously and diligently contracts around 100,000 times in 24 hours. Our heart is no bigger than our fist, but it has the mighty responsibility of pulsing 2,000 gallons of blood a day through 60,000 miles of blood vessels that nourish our organs and tissues.
Photo: Micaela Malmi Photography.
Damage to this industrious organ may reduce pumping power, forcing the heart to work even harder. Heart disease is one of the leading causes of death in both men and women. Every year more than a half million women have a heart attack, and their symptoms are more subtle than the hallmark chest pain and left arm pain that men commonly experience. Women’s unique symptoms may include right arm pain, nausea, lightheadedness, unusual fatigue, indigestion, and possible discomfort in any of the following: neck, jaw, upper back, and abdominal area. Symptoms usually last 30 minutes or longer. They may begin as mild and progress to severe pain. It is important to recognize these symptoms, and if you think you are having a heart attack immediately call for emergency help. Prompt treatment is critical to lessen the amount of damage to your heart.
Listen to your heart~ be kind to yourself, fuel up with healthy nutritious foods, and make EXERCISE a priority. Keep your heart in excellent shape; after all, it is a muscle. Research recommends at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity five days a week to lower the risk of heart disease. Exercise and yoga also elevate your mood and bonus~ they both reduce stress. Keeping your stress levels in check has a huge effect on protecting your healthy ticker. And while you’re at it make sure to laugh; a hearty laugh increases blood flow 20% more through your blood vessels. Honor your heart with love through movement. Remember to cultivate presence in your exercise and yoga practice, and be a source of love everyday, all year long.
Enjoy an activity that makes your heart smile or get moving with these yoga videos from The Expansion Yoga Series, search Amanda ——> www.theinertia.com or www.awarenesspt.com.
With love from my heart to yours,
Amanda Kriebel DPT, E-RYT
