Yoga and Aerobic Training Lowers Blood Pressure

Combining yoga and aerobic training has shown additional benefits. (Image via Unsplash/ Benjamin Child)
Combining yoga and aerobic training has shown additional benefits. (Image via Unsplash/ Benjamin Child)

Researchers from Laval University have discovered that yoga and aerobic training promotes heart health and general well-being. They found that including yoga decreased resting heart rate and systolic blood pressure and minimized the 10-year risk of heart disease.

For millions of individuals across the world, yoga is a component of their spiritual and physical routines. It is a multidimensional lifestyle choice that can benefit overall health, including heart health.

Yoga research is expanding as yoga practice spreads as a popular form of physical activity. It is a comprehensive form of exercise that can improve cardiovascular health and overall well-being. Yoga and aerobic training share many commonalities but also have significant variances.


Impact of Yoga and Aerobic Training on Heart Health

Your cardiovascular system is stressed during aerobic activity, and your body adjusts to this stress in ways that lower your chances of having a cardiovascular event.

However, a recent study found that adding yoga to your aerobic exercise routine may further reduce your chances of developing heart disease. It appears that the two forms of exercise work together to improve your health.

Researchers discovered that patients with heart disease who practiced yoga as well as aerobic exercise exhibited a higher reduction in cardiovascular risk variables than those who engaged in just one type of exercise. In actuality, the people who completed both saw higher reductions in their cholesterol levels, BMI, and blood pressure.

Adding yoga to your aerobic exercise routine may further reduce your chance of developing heart disease. (Image via Unsplash/ Amauri Mejia)
Adding yoga to your aerobic exercise routine may further reduce your chance of developing heart disease. (Image via Unsplash/ Amauri Mejia)

Further, when additional metrics, such as heart function and exercise capacity, were examined, it was found that the yoga and aerobic exercise group experienced greater health benefits.


Other Benefits of Yoga and Aerobic Training

We are aware that moderate aerobic exercise is good for the heart, but doing too much cardio without allowing enough time for the body to recuperate in between sessions might be harmful. The stress hormone cortisol can rise as a result of overdoing cardio workouts, which can be detrimental to your heart.

On the other hand, frequent yoga practices may reduce stress chemicals like cortisol and adrenaline, thereby improving your heart's health and blood pressure.

Yoga also teaches you how to calm the hyperactive nervous system and how to breathe more deeply to reduce stress. Additionally, yoga's relaxing effects may aid in improving sleep.

It's simple to understand how yoga and aerobic exercise can be beneficial when combined in a workout routine. Although aerobic exercise stresses your body in a good way, it also causes a rise in stress hormone production. Contrarily, yoga provides a soothing effect that lessens your body's reliance on cortisol and adrenaline. Yoga and vigorous aerobic exercise are complementary, and both have numerous advantages.

Yoga's relaxing effects may aid in improving sleep. (Image via Unsplash/ Dane Wetton)
Yoga's relaxing effects may aid in improving sleep. (Image via Unsplash/ Dane Wetton)

Moreover, yoga can help your body calm down and recover more rapidly after an aerobic activity or after a session of resistance training. Yoga sessions can also be scheduled in between your tougher days to aid in your body's recovery.

By helping you become more focused and aware of your body and your breathing throughout a workout, yoga can even help you perform better when you engage in aerobic exercise. So, don't automatically assume that to maintain heart health, you must always exercise vigorously. In fact, you may greatly reduce your risk of heart disease by combining yoga and aerobic training.


Conclusion

It is a well-known fact that yoga and aerobic training are both important for your overall well-being. Studies have suggested that combining these two gives some additional benefits as well. Yoga may be promising, even though aerobic activity is still advised by doctors for high blood pressure. However, you may wonder how such light breathing and simple movements can have this impact.

Yoga may be able to produce similar health advantages by relaxing the arteries, while aerobic activity works to strengthen the heart muscle. According to studies, yoga is just as efficient in lowering blood pressure as more strenuous exercise.

If your doctor has recommended medicine to control your hypertension, it is crucial that you continue taking it. You should never stop taking the medication without first talking to your doctor. However, if you practice yoga and aerobic training regularly, it might eventually lessen the need for them. If you believe it might help you, talk to your doctor for their advice before opting for yoga and aerobic training.

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Edited by Susrita Das