Silvia's Blog

HEART HEALTH WITH YOGA: STRENGTHEN YOUR MIND MUSCLE

JANUARY 13, 2009:  The power of love to change bodies is legendary, built into folklore, common sense, and everyday experience.  Love moves the flesh, it pushes matter around.... Throughout history, "tender loving care" has uniformly been recognized as a valuable element in healing.  ~Larry Dossey 

It's easy to disconnect from what we are feeling. Yoga brings us back into a state of connection.  Life surprises us sometimes with interesting challenges and this is when we need a strong MIND MUSCLE the most!  And just like working out a bicep you have to do it more than once to see results.  How is the mind muscle related to a Healthy Heart?  We begin with what we are thinking and then our breath and our body follow.  Our disposition and how we manage our mental muscle in dealing with life impacts our health and it is nowhere more evident than with our heart. 

From personal experience in losing my Dad at the early age of 59 I know firsthand that heart disease is the number one killer in the modern world (and its not just men that are affected).  It is the  leading cause of death in both sexes. According to the book Yoga as Medicine it says, “In predicting heart attacks, science has uncovered strong evidence for possible contributing factors such as type A behaviors, a sense of urgency about time, job dissatisfaction, loneliness and an unhappy marriage. There appears to be an unhealthy synergy involving risk factors for heart disease. They don’t add up – they multiply.”

 

How does yoga fit in?  “Because the stress response affects the heart in a number of harmful ways, yoga’s proven ability to fight stress is a big part of the explanation for how yoga benefits people with heart ailments.” 

On the mat we begin the pose with the mind first and then the breath and body follow.  This is why the sophistication in cuing is so remarkable as a way to "work out" our mind muscle and make it less flabby.  How can we even begin to see the connections between ourselves and the world if our mind muscle isn't strong enough to see the communion or connection within our own body?  And really what are we talking about here?  Why bother at all?  Because a strong mind muscle is what keeps us living lovingly and fully!  It is always about LOVE.  Jack Kornfield says it like this:

"Love creates a communion with life. Love expands us, connects us, sweetens us, ennobles us. Love springs up in tender concern, it blossoms into caring action.  It makes beauty out of all we touch.  In any moment we can step beyond our small self and embrace each other as beloved parts of the whole."

In the end, when we look at our life, the questions will be simple:  Did I live fully?  Did I love well?

I can say that I believe my Father, Enrico Mordini, could respond YES to both these questions.  And maybe its not the length of time we have on this earth and in this body that makes the difference but what we have done with this time that counts.  Please, strengthen your mind and open your heart.  Love, Silvia

1/13/2009   Tags:  Community, Connection, Love, Heart, 4th Chakra, Mind Direct Link