ARRHYTHMIA – YOGA ASANAS

Heart is organ that work continuously without any break. It is vital organ responsible for circulation of blood in the body. Food habits , sedentary lifestyle and stress  contributes in disturbance of normal functioning of heart thus increasing  the risk of cardiovascular conditions.

Yoga helps to maintain a healthy heart . It manages the stress and relax mind and body  which is in turn  improve overall heart health.

WHAT IS ARRHYTHMIA ?

The irregularity of heartbeat is called Arrhythmia . In Arrhythmia some time heart beat faster than normal and some time heart beat slower than normal.

It happens when electrical signal coordinating  heart beat are not working properly. Faulty signal cause heart to beat to slow or too fast. It may feel like racing heart and may be harmless but in some cases it can be life threatening .

TYPES OF ARRHYTHMIAS :

• Supraventricular arrhythmias :It begins in the upper chambers of heart or in atria
• Ventricular arrhythmias : It begins in the lower chambers of heart or in ventricles
• Brady arrhythmias :In it slow heat beat is caused by disease in hearts conduction system like SA nodes , HIS-purkinje network or AV node.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF ARRHYTHMIA ?

• Wrong balance of electrolytes in blood
• Heart diseases
• Infection or fever
• Healing after heart surgery
• Heart injury
• Certain medications
• Strong emotions
• Stress
• Alcohol or Tobacco abuse
• Excessive caffeine intake

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMES OF ARRHYTHMIA ?

In some cases symptoms be un-noticeable . Some of the common symptoms are :

• Pounding in chest
• Palpitations
• Shortness of breath
• Dizziness
• Chest tightness or pain
• Fatigue
• Anxiety
• Sweating
• Blurred vision
• Low ejection fraction

WHAT ARE THE RISK FACTORS ?

Some of the risk factors are :

• Genetics : Family history of some type of heart disease increase the risk of arrhythmia
• Lifestyle : Having sedentary lifestyle or abuse of substances can also increase risk of arrhythmia
• Age : Old age persons are more prone to it
• Medical conditions : Person suffering from high BP , obesity, low blood sugar, sleep apnea may develop arrhythmia

AYURVEDIC APPROACH :

In ayurveda it can be correlated with hridroga . Due to nidan sevna three doshas get aggravated . The aggravated dosha contaminate the rase dhatu. Doshas along with rase dhatu enters the heart causing Hridroga.

• Imbalanced vata cause irregularity in heartbeat
• Imbalanced pitta increase the hearbeat
• Imbalanced kapha results in slow heart rate.

YOGA ASANAS :

1. UTTHITA HASTAPAD ASANA ( EXTENDED HANDS AND FEET POSE ) : It helps to distribute oxygen equally in entire body thus helps in regulation of blood circulation too. It also improve focus and stamina of body.

STEPS :

• Stand straight on mat with legs apart
• Slowly inhale while bringing both hands above the head
• Now exhale while bending your waist to touch your feet with hands
• Keep your knees straight and head should touch the knees
• Hold the posture for some seconds than slowly return to standing position.

PRECAUTIONS :

• Ankle injury
• Hip or knee injury
• Recent surgery
• Flat foot
• Hip issues
• Vertigo
• Hernia

2. VIRABHADR ASANA ( WARRIOR POSE) : It improves body balance and stamina of the body . It improves blood circulation of body thus helps to keep heart rate in check.

STEPS :

• Stand straight with feet 3-4 feet apart
• Slowly turn right foot out so that it at 90 degree angle and turn left foot by 15 degree
• Lift both arms sideways to shoulder height slowly with palms facing downward
• Exhale deeply while bending right knee and turn head to the right
• Stretch the arms more and hold the head high
• Hold the pose for some time while taking deep breaths
• Slowly breath in and lower the arms to release the pose

PRECAUTIONS :

• Severe neck pain
• High blood pressure
• Knee or shoulder pain
• Diarrhea
• Suffering from spinal ailments
• History of stroke

3. MARJARI ASANA ( CAT POSE) : It helps to normalize heart rate and become rhythmic and soft. It enhance the blood circulation in body. It is a relief asana.

STEPS :

• Come on your four on the mat with back straight
• Look ahead and inhale expanding the belly downward and raise chin tilting head back.
• Stretch like cat pointing tailbone up.
• Slowly exhale with pulling bell in toward the spine with chin resting on chest .
• Back should be round
• Repeat the above steps as many time as comfortable
• Then return to resting position.

PRECAUTIONS :

• Pregnancy
• Knee pain
• Back or neck pain
• Migraine
• Spondylitis
• High blood pressure

4. ARDHA MATSYENDER ASANA (SITTING HALF SPINAL TWIST POSE ) : It helps to built chest muscles and expanding lung region thus improving lung capacity. it also helps to regulate blood pressure.

STEPS :

• Sit on ground while stretching the legs outward.
• Slowly and gradually bring right foot to outside of left hip with knee pointing forward
• Then move left foot outside to right thigh while bringing left hand to ground behind you.
• Wrap right arm around leg thigh
• Slowly turn upper body to right as far as comfortable
• Hold the pose for few minutes , then gently return to initial position
• Repeat the procedure to other side.

PRECAUTIONS :

• Peptic ulcer
• Spinal issues
• Hernia
• Pregnancy
• Menstrual cycle
• Neck pain

5.TRIKONASANA ( TRIANGLE POSE ) : It helps to expand chest and also improves stamina.

STEPS :

• Stand straight and keep feet 3 to 4 feet apart .Then turn one foot outward.
• Slowly raise both arms parallel to ground than bend at hips and lower on arm to leg and raise other toward the sky.
• Exhale and bend down while placing  arm on your knee or ankle. Alignment of hips is to be straight.
• Hold the posture for few deep breaths and then slowly exhale and return to standing position  .
• Repeats same on opposite side .
• Repeat the above steps as many times as comfortable .

PRECAUTIONS :

• Headache
• Insomnia
• Low blood pressure
• Diarrhea
• Pregnancy
• Lower back pain