Heart—Ayurvedic Care

According to Ayurveda, the heart is the seat of prana, ojas, and mind. It is a most vital organ. In fact, a person is as old as his or her heart. So we have to take good care of this precious organ.

If a person has high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high triglycerides, and in addition lives a stressful life, that person runs a great risk of heart problems. So to keep the heart healthy, it is important to control these factors as much as possible.

High blood pressure is discussed at length in a separate section (“Hypertension”), as is high cholesterol (“Cholesterol”). Please see those sections for more complete recommendations. A few suggestions follow:

DIET

In order to control cholesterol and triglycerides, it’s important not to eat food with a high fat content, such as fatty fried food, ice cream, heavy meats, and cheese. Yogurt is also not helpful.

EXERCISE

To keep your heart healthy, you need some daily exercise, though the quantity of exercise and the degree of strenuousness depend on your age, level of fitness, and constitutional type. Kaphas need the most vigorous exercise, vatas the least, with pittas in the middle. (See this page for further guidelines.)

For most people, walking at least two miles a day is very beneficial. Some more vigorous aerobic cardiovascular exercise may also be beneficial, such as fast walking, gentle jogging, or jogging in place on a trampoline. (You don’t need to use the large gymnastic trampoline; you can use the small variety, usually about 3 feet in diameter.)

STRESS MANAGEMENT

To keep stress levels low, here are two important recommendations.

DO SOME QUIET MEDITATION. Meditation is one of the best ways to relax, dissolve stress, and allow the body to heal. By meditating for 10 to 20 minutes twice a day, a person’s heart may be healed. Please see chapter 7 for guidelines on how to meditate.

DO DAILY PRACTICE OF SAVASANA. Savasana is the yogic rest pose. While lying quietly, flat on your back with your arms by your sides, watch the flow of your breath. Inhale and exhale, inhale and exhale.… You’ll notice that after exhalation (and before inhalation), there is a brief, natural stop. Similarly there is a natural stop after inhalation and before exhalation. In that stop, stay naturally quiet, silent, for just a few seconds. This practice brings tranquillity and rest, which are healing for the heart. Remain in savasana practicing this quiet breathing for 10 to 15 minutes.

OTHER REMEDIES

In addition to these recommendations for diet, exercise, and stress management, several other simple home remedies can help keep your heart healthy.

GOLD WATER. Gold is healing for the heart. It is good for the coronary artery and is said to gradually reduce cholesterol. For instructions on making gold water, see appendix 1.

HERBS FOR YOUR HEART. Certain Ayurvedic herbs are strengthening and healing to the heart.

• First is the herb arjuna. Take ½ teaspoon 3 times a day with honey and warm water. Arjuna does much the same thing as gold: It is a coronary vasodilator, it protects the heart, it strengthens circulation, and it helps to maintain the tone and health of the heart muscle.
• Ginger is also important for a healthy heart. Make fresh ginger tea by boiling a little grated or sliced ginger in a cup or two of water. Or grate a little ginger and add it to your rice and/or your soup. Eating a little bit of ginger every day will help to prevent heart attack.
• The following formula of four Ayurvedic herbs is good for the heart:

punarnava 4 parts
kutki 3 parts
gulwel sattva ¼ part
shilajit ¼ part

Steep ½ teaspoon of this herb mixture in a cup of hot water to make a tea. Drinking that tea twice a day after lunch and dinner will help your heart.

• Another simple domestic remedy to protect the heart and keep it healthy is to include a little garlic in your diet. Garlic reduces cholesterol, strengthens the circulation, and acts as a decongestant.

RUDRAKSHA. Rudraksha, the “tears of Shiva,” are the dried seeds from the fruit of the rudraksha tree. An ancient story says that when Lord Shiva came out of deep meditation, a few tears dropped from his eyes and fell to earth, from which sprang up the rudraksha tree. The seeds are good for the heart both physically and spiritually; they are said to be good for meditation and for “opening the heart chakra.”

You can wear a necklace of the beads externally, in front of the heart.

Or soak a rudraksha bead overnight in water and drink the water in the morning. Drinking rudraksha water can reduce blood pressure and strengthen the heart.

YOGA POSTURES. Unless there are acute heart problems, Ayurveda suggests daily performance of the set of yoga postures known as surya namaskar, the Sun Salutation. Do at least 6 to 12 cycles a day. That will help to strengthen the health of the heart and help to prevent heart attack.

If there are heart problems, the Sun Salutation may be too strenuous. In that case, substitute the following postures: Locust, Lotus, Bridge, Cow, Camel, Bow, and Cobra poses, Forward Bend, and Standing on One Leg—the Palm Tree pose. (Illustrations of yoga postures appear in appendix 4.)

BREATHING EXERCISE. A deep breathing exercise such as ujjayi pranayama will also be helpful (see chapter 6).