Heart Disease and its sudden surge
Heart disease has been on the rise since the pandemic began. While it’s hard to say for sure if this is directly related to COVID or if it’s just because our lifestyles have become more sedentary and stressful either way, it’s important to take care of our heart health. That’s why I did some research and put together a guide to help us keep our hearts healthy. Let’s work together to keep our hearts strong and healthy!
Stress is one of the biggest causes of heart-related problems. When we experience stress, our body releases hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. This increase our heart rate, blood pressure and cholesterol levels. This can put our hearts under a lot of pressure. This is the reason heart attacks and strokes have become so common. Meditation has been scientifically shown to be effective in reducing stress levels. Meditation can also help to reduce feelings of anxiety and depression, which can help to protect the heart.
The Science behind meditation and heart health
Meditation has been shown to decrease the levels of the stress hormone cortisol in the body. When you’re stressed or worried, your body makes a chemical called cortisol. This reduction in cortisol can lead to a decrease in inflammation, which is a known risk factor for heart disease. When you meditate, your body makes less cortisol and that’s good for your heart. Research and studies have time and again shown that meditation has a significant effect on stress levels.
Another way meditation helps your heart is by making your blood pressure go down. High blood pressure is a major risk factor for heart disease, and meditation has been shown to lower blood pressure in people with hypertension. In this article, I will talk about Meditation and its effect on heart health.
How to Get Started?
Now if you’re interested in giving meditation a try, here are three types of meditation you might want to check out:
A simple Step by Step Guide
Mantra meditation involves the use of a mantra, or a sound or word, to focus the mind and achieve a state of deep relaxation. Research has shown that chanting a mantra in a certain way can help lower blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease. This has been an age-old practice in India. Follow these steps:
- I know it’s difficult to find a quiet place these days. But, find a quiet and comfortable place to sit where you will not be disturbed. If you live alone, great. If not choose a time when you are least likely to be distracted.
- Close your eyes and take a few deep breaths, focusing on the sensation of the air moving in and out of your nose.
- Choose a mantra that makes you feel relaxed or which is easier for you to chant, it can be a word, sound or phrase. I mostly use the sound “Ohm” or “Om”.
- Sit comfortably and relax with your back straight, and begin to repeat your chosen mantra calmly.
- When your mind wanders or you become distracted, simply bring your attention back to the mantra. It’s important to not force yourself to shut out outside noise or irritating sounds. Instead, try to let them be in the background and focus on your breathing instead.
- Continue repeating the mantra for 20-30 minutes, twice a day. You can increase this time as you start to become more comfortable.
- As you repeat the mantra, you will feel that your mind begins to settle and become more peaceful. You may also feel your body relaxing. Focus on how your body parts are relaxing.
- Once you have finished your meditation, take a moment to sit in silence and then open your eyes slowly.
In the beginning of this practice, you might feel distracted and it might feel unproductive. Don’t let this discourage you from continuing. Keep at it and with time, you will become more accustomed to it. To help you stay focused, you can try playing relaxing music in the background. It’s important to remember that meditation takes time and practice to develop and it’s not uncommon to feel distracted at first.
Stay Disciplined
The most important aspect of a meditation routine is discipline. It’s essential that you don’t miss these regular sessions with yourself. In the beginning, it’s more important to stick to a regular schedule than to worry about how well you are doing it. Many people struggle to maintain a meditation practice due to a lack of discipline. To help you stay focused, here are some tips:
- Set a specific time for meditation and make it a regular part of your daily routine.
- Treat your meditation practice as an important appointment that you can’t miss. Make this your number 1 priority, everything will fall in place if you complete your meditation.
- Use an alarm or reminder to remind you to meditate at your designated time.
- Create a comfortable environment for meditation, and make sure you won’t be disturbed.
- Start small by beginning with shorter meditation sessions and gradually increasing the duration as you become more comfortable with the practice.
- Be patient. Like any other thing, the art of meditation comes with practice.
- If in any case, you are unable to meditate. Find an alternate relaxing process which you like. It can be listening to music or swimming. But don’t forget to get back on the meditation process the next day.
Conclusion
Starting a meditation routine may seem challenging at first, but once you begin, you’ll be amazed at the benefits it can provide. Like any new habit, it takes time to make it a regular part of your routine, but eventually, it will become as natural as breathing. If you stick with it for 3-6 months, you may notice a significant change in your overall well-being, including improvements in your breathing and heart health. The key is to be consistent and patient with yourself. We hope this article helps you in some way, and encourage you to give meditation a try.
