Improve blood Circulation: Boost your cardiovascular health

Proven ways to improve poor circulation

From the beginning of your life to the very end, your blood never stops traversing about 60,000 miles (100,000 km) of blood vessels, carrying nutrients and oxygen to every corner of your body, from your heart and brain to your muscles and skin. Led by your pumping heart, these roadways make up your circulatory system, which vitally affects your entire well-being. Your body is constantly circulating fluids throughout your body, most importantly blood. In fact, about 5 quarts of blood is pumped through your body’s blood vessels every minute, thanks to your heart. As your blood circulates throughout your body, it delivers oxygen and nutrients to the body’s cells and helps get rid of excess waste products in your system. When our circulation is poor, it slows or blocks the blood flow, and the cells in your body can't get what they need. You start to experience mild symptoms at first, which can escalate dangerously.

Most people are unknowingly engaging in habits that cause poor circulation, but fortunately it's quite easy to implement better habits that will increase your blood flow and help you lead a happier, healthier life.

Signs and symptoms

Signs of poor circulation typically occur in the arms and legs. They include throbbing, stinging, numbness, tingling, cramps, pain, and swelling.

Additionally, your hands or feet may feel cold, if you're light-skinned your legs might get a blue tinge, and you could experience dry skin, thinning hair, and brittle nails.

Poor circulation today can lead to severe venous disorders in the future, such as

• varicose veins,
• spider veins,
• leg ulcers
• skin discoloration.

How to improve blood circulation?

In terms of volume, 7% of human body weight comes from the blood that runs through your veins. On an average, an adult human body would have 4.5 to 5.5 litres of blood.

This red fluid is really magical in many ways and carries out several critical functions. These include - carrying oxygen to various parts of the body, helping regulate body temperature and fighting infection and disease. 

If a person wants to improve their circulation, there are some obvious places to start. These include:

• stopping smoking tobacco products
• reducing intake of saturated fats
• trying not to sit still for long periods.

In addition, trying one or more of the following may help improve circulation:

Manage your cholesterol

For smooth circulation, you need healthy veins and arteries, but if your cholesterol levels are too high or too low, the vessels can become injured and blocked. 

Control your blood pressure

A high blood pressure can cause arteriosclerosis, a condition that hardens your arteries and can limit blood flow.

Stay hydrated

Blood is about half water, so you need to stay hydrated to keep it moving. Aim for eight glasses a day.

Stay away from tobacco

Nicotine harms the walls of your arteries and thickens your blood so much that it can’t get through and may well clot.

Reduce intake of saturated fats

Saturated fats can largely be found in red meat, chicken, cheese, and other animal sources.

Root to Root
Add some more garlic, onions and ginger in your grocery list- not only do they stimulate the health of your circulatory system but also have anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties that will help keep your digestion process in place. They also contain organosulfur compounds that help the body to fight infection and flush out the toxins.

Don’t sit for long periods

Sitting for hours at a time has repeatedly been shown to harm your circulation and muscles, and even shorten your life span. Consider getting a standing desk or taking regular breaks to get on your feet and work the valves in your leg veins.

Uncross your legs

The common position cuts off circulation to the legs, making it more difficult for blood to get to your leg tissue. Make a habit of sitting with your legs uncrossed or slightly elevated.

Maintain a healthy weight

Maintaining a healthy weight helps promote good circulation and keeps arteries clear.

Walking

In addition to some healthy exercise and stress relief, walking contracts and relaxes the muscles, squeezing the large veins in the legs, thereby promoting circulation in those more stagnant areas of flow.

Manage your stress

When the body experiences stress, blood vessels constrict, so learning to manage your stress is a vital way to improve your circulation.

Cardiovascular exercise

Activities like jogging, cycling, and swimming get your blood pumping, make your heart stronger, lower your blood pressure, and improve circulation. Heart-pumping exercise improves the body’s ability to take in and use oxygen, and also improves the capacity of blood vessels to dilate, which helps them work more efficiently.

 Practice yoga

A low-impact alternative to cardio is yoga, as the bending, stretching, and twisting help to bring oxygen to your cells and send blood to your organs. Downward-facing dog alone is a great exercise, as it puts the hips and heart above the head, allowing gravity to increase blood flow towards the head.

Put your legs up the wall

When your ankles or feet swell, try the legs-up-the-wall yoga pose, or vipirita karni. Lie on the floor and scoot your bum to the wall with your legs up.

Get low

Squats are a great way to get your blood pumping through the major muscles of your body.

Get a massage

Not only can a massage help with stress, but it also helps improve circulation. When the muscles are manipulated properly, they release lactic acid while improving the circulation of lymph fluid, which helps relieve tension and muscle discomfort.

Compression socks

Compression socks or stockings slightly squeeze the legs so your blood doesn’t hang around too long. Ask your doctor which length and amount of pressure are best for you.

Drinking tea

The antioxidants in tea promote cardiovascular health, and the heat can provide a temporary circulation boost by opening up your arteries and veins a little wider.

Indulge in a hot bath

The same concept applies here! It’s a temporary fix, but a bath is a great way to kick-start your circulation and widen those arteries and veins a little more.

Get those omega-3s

The omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty fish like salmon, tuna, mackerel, and sardines promote cardiovascular health and improve circulation. Vegetarians and vegans can get supplements!

Get enough iron

Iron is an essential mineral for the circulatory system as it is required to make haemoglobin, one of the major components of red blood cells, which is needed to carry oxygen. Eating iron-rich foods or taking an iron supplement can improve your circulation.

Eat more plants and less meat

It'll help keep your weight in a healthy range and your arteries clear.

Spice things up

Cayenne pepper has a compound called capsaicin, which can help your arteries work well and can help relax the muscles in your blood vessels so blood can flow easily.

Nitrate-rich foods

Found in foods like beets, garlic, pomegranate, and spinach, nitrate helps enlarge your blood vessels and create more room for blood to move through.

Brush your body

Take a body brush with stiff, flat bristles and stroke on your dry skin, from head to toe, using long motions on your legs and arms. Try to make a habit of it right before you shower.

See a doctor

A doctor can help diagnose what might be the problem and suggest treatment for any underlying conditions.

Summary

·         Poor circulation symptoms can range from vague feelings of fatigue to more extreme symptoms such as pain in the legs, irregular heartbeat, or chest pain.

·         Circulation issues can lead to some serious complications if left untreated.

·         There are also many natural options for improving circulation, including: taking vitamins and supplements for heart health; eating a healthier diet; and exercising and making other healthy lifestyle changes to boost your cardiovascular health.

Chaturanga Dandasana # Stabilize yourself

How to Do Chaturanga in Yoga

"Chatur" — meaning "four"

"Anga" — meaning "limb"

"Danda" — meaning "staff"

"Asana" — meaning "pose"

ChaturangaDandasana Meaning

Chatur means four and Anga mean limbs, indicating the points of the body which support the body in this pose. Danda means staff, which refers to the body being in a straight line during Chaturanga. The Chaturanga Dandasana resembles a push-up.

Benefits of Chaturanga

Chaturanga strengthens and tones the wrists, arms, abdominal muscles, and lower back. It prepares the body for more challenging arm balances. Similar to a traditional push-up, it also strengthens the muscles surrounding the spine, which helps to improve posture.

Chaturanga requires a great deal of strength to be performed correctly and it is very easy to injure yourself if you move into it too soon. If you do not yet have the strength to do the pose in proper alignment, practice Half Chaturanga or Plank Pose until you can support your full body weight correctly.

Steps involved in Chaturanga Dandasana

1.   Begin in Plank Pose. Keeping your elbows directly over your wrists, slowly lower your body to hover a few inches above the floor. Keep your back flat.

2.   Lift through your chest, keeping your shoulders in line with your elbows. Do not let your chest drop or sag toward the floor.

3.   Fully engage your abdominal and leg muscles.

If the full pose is too challenging right now, come to your knees first. Then, lower your torso to hover an inch above the floor. This is Half Chaturanga.

4.   Do not let your elbows splay to the sides. Keep them hugged along your ribcage, pointed toward your heels.

5.   Press the base of your knuckles into the floor. Your upper and lower arms should be perpendicular, bent 90 degrees at the elbows. Do not let your shoulders drop lower than the height of your elbows.

6.   Hold for 10-30 seconds, and then lower your body all the way to the mat and rest. More experienced students can press back into Plank Pose. Those practicing Sun Salutations can press forward into Upward-Facing Dog.

Align with True Power

Practicing Chaturanga correctly requires an understanding of the true heart of yoga. Although the pose demands strength, you can’t simply conquer it through sheer force and muscular effort. Instead, it takes patience and a willingness to accept your current circumstances, in order to build the strength necessary for the full expression of the pose. Let go of the desire for outcomes and focus on the present moment, instead. The essence of Chaturanga is demonstrated in your ability to flow with all of life’s challenges, both on and off the mat. Once you can flow, you will find true power in the pose.

When you pray, move your feet. — The Luck will Follow

When you pray, move your feet. — African proverb

Prayer isn’t just nice thoughts. Prayer isn’t just words. Prayer is action. Real action. Action that produces results. Action for God. Action for the world.

As author Osheta Moore writes, “Shalom happens when we take up our cross and follow Jesus.  Shalom happens when we crucify our love for our rights and listen to the ones who are hurt by our misuse of those ‘rights’.  Shalom happens when we take Paul’s words in Galatians to heart and authentically attempt to fulfil the law of Christ by, ‘carry (ing) each other's burdens.’”  

Frustration occurs when we find ourselves stuck in difficult circumstances for quite some time. Instead of moving through this period, we feel trapped in a state of hopelessness. While we seek positive change, even pray for it to come, each morning we wake feeling destined to repeating bad patterns over again. While prayer is powerful and can move mountains, begging for a miraculous shift must be coupled with action that will deliver us out of the uncomfortable situations that we may find ourselves in.  It does not have to be a grand gesture that loosens the grip of stagnation on our lives, all we need to do is take one baby step after another towards the light of our dreams. When we pray, then move our feet through the challenge, we will manifest the events or people who will take us even further on the journey to a place greater than we ever imagined.Dreaming alone will only keep us in a state of fantasy.  Dreams coupled with action will take us to a new reality. So, when we feel frustration, take out a journal and start writing to get clear. When the cobwebs fall away as the winds of change start to blow, hope returns and each inspired move forward will boost your prayer to another level of heightened vibration. Bringing back a sense of enthusiasm and passion for our dreams, we set a new course built on creative insight that comes from a newly minted approach to life.

Maybe our problem is we’re willing to pray, but we’re not willing to repent. 

How to harness this proverb?

The Quakers had a saying "As you pray, move your feet." Meaning don't just make a request and expect a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Make your request to God, the universe by all means yes, but take action to make it a reality, because in essence the God can do more through you, than he can do for you.

we feel tired, and pretty inadequate, but when we pray God MOVES and often, his movement involves us. so, as we pray, let's also move our feet. 

The true sense of this proverb is – you can be a proponent of faith/prayer/divine intervention all you’d like, but if your steps aren’t ordered to mirror that or you don’t move accordingly, you are essentially setting yourself up for a monumental fail.

Is loss of taste and smell normal with aging?

Some loss of taste and smell is natural with aging, especially after age 60. However, other factors can contribute to loss of taste and smell, including:

·         Nasal and sinus problems, such as allergies, sinusitis or nasal polyps

·         Certain medications, including beta blockers and angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors

·         Dental problems

·         Cigarette smoking

·         Head or facial injury or mass

·         Alzheimer's disease

·         Parkinson's disease

Loss of taste and smell can have a significant impact on quality of life, often leading to decreased appetite and poor nutrition. Sometimes loss of taste and smell contributes to depression. Loss of taste and smell also might tempt you to use excess salt or sugar on your food to enhance the taste — which could be a problem if you have high blood pressure or diabetes.

If you're experiencing loss of taste and smell, consult your doctor. Although you can't reverse age-related loss of taste and smell, some causes of impaired taste and smell are treatable. For example, your doctor might adjust your medications if they're contributing to the problem. Many nasal and sinus conditions and dental problems can be treated as well. If you smoke, quitting can help restore your sense of smell.

If necessary, your doctor might recommend consulting an allergist, an ear, nose and throat specialist (otolaryngologist), a neurologist, or other specialist.

How Much Yoga is required to obtain The Best Results?

HOW OFTEN SHOULD YOU PRACTICE YOGA?

Yoga and Yogasana both are different, as Yoga is all about performing various asanas using the physical body, which is referred as Yoga due the ignorance towards understanding of it.

Yoga has nothing about physical, it's all about the inner self which is largely known as Meditation, though largely people doesn't understand what it is, still are mad about it.

Yoga is supposed to be performed when your physical body is aligned in a way it is supposed to be… Yogasana is the best way for aligning the physical body in its very form… Yogasana will show the results in a short period of time as you continue to perform… Yoga the results are going to be instant…

Physically, Yogasana has been shown to improve flexibility, posture, and balance; strengthen bones; and increase muscle strength.

Of course, the amount you need to practice also depends on your goals:

“You can see basic health benefits after just one yoga class such as improved circulation, a sense of relaxation, and mental clarity immediately following (and even during) the class. Obviously, the benefits are increased and prolonged the more you practice.”

Yoga should never be rushed. Everyone’s body adapts at different rates, so trying to “force” progress is nearly always going to end in pain and injury.

“Yoga is not a fitness program, but it is a wellness program.

There are plenty of overall health perks too: Research shows that yoga can decrease inflammation, boost immune system function, and improve symptoms associated with chronic health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer.

The practice can also do wonders for your mental health and mood, reducing depression, stress, and anxiety. 

Patience

"You don't get results by focusing on results. You get results by focusing on the actions that produce results." Mike Hawkins

CREATING A REGULAR SCHEDULE

The key is practising regularly though. You’ll gain more from practising for short periods every other day than one long session once per month. Practising often instead of long is nearly always better.

“Yoga is a lifelong practice,” “That's why yoga is much more than just a workout. It's the mind-body connection and awareness that make a yoga practice powerful, beneficial, and sustainable.”

If you want to gain many of the benefits of yoga – including improved strength, concentration and flexibility – 2-3 half hour sessions each week is a good place to start. This isn’t too much that you’ll overstretch your muscles, but is regular enough to provide consistent improvement. 

Ideally, you’ll do some practice on a daily basis – but this may not be possible if you have a hectic schedule than thrice a week is considerably an ideal way.

To improve your sleep, a short session of around 10 minutes before bed can help.

For improving flexibility, one hour-long class per week may be enough to gain some of the benefits. You’ll see much faster progress if you practice more though.

To reverse bone loss due to osteoporosis, 10 minutes daily practice is also enough for noticeable improvement.

Quick tips to remember

- Always warmup and cool down. Engage in spot jogging, walking, running, step ups and stretching

- Engage your core during all poses. Ease in and slowly come out of the asanas

- As a pre-requisite, get your core stronger and work on flexibility

- Communicate with your instructor

- Never lock your joints. Focus on stability

- Seek professional opinion in case you get injured

- And above all, listen to your body and be sensitive to it. Build up a relationship with your body. When your body says no to a certain pose, don’t do it

Yoga is a great form of exercise and has benefits like improving flexibility and strength, and reducing stress  anxiety & hormonal equillibrium. Research has also found that yoga can help improve metabolism, heart rate and respiration. But if performed incorrectly, it can also cause harm.

FROM MY E-BOOK- KEEP YOUR HORMONES IN HARMONY