Heart On versus Heart Off
/For most people, this blog post will mean nothing to them. For a few yogis at a certain level of practice with mudras and breathing, this post could be very helpful.
Since birth, I have had a heart murmur. When I was born, the doctors had a big discussion on whether or not to operate on my heart, immediately after birth. They decided not to. When I played football in high school, I had chest pains and got winded easily. I began yoga and especially breathing practices when I was 26 years old.
During the course of my life, I have had 4 or 5 echocardiograms. Each time, when a doctor looks at my echo, they flip out. “OMG, you need surgery immediately!” Another cardiologist, who is retired now, took one look at my echo in 2007, 15 years ago and it gave him heart palpitations.
He said to me, “Do you have shortness of breath?” No.
“Do you have chest pains?” No.
“When you stand up, do you get dizzy?” No.
“Can you walk up a flight of stairs without resting.” Yes easily. ( I used to do 1st and 2nd series Ashtanga in the morning.)
“From what I see, you need surgery right now. Let’s keep watching this carefully and I can schedule your surgery anytime if this situation changes. You have a leaky mitral valve, a leaky bicuspid valve, and a very loud heart murmur.” This was 2007.
It is a different story, when I go to Chinese and Ayurvedic doctors. They do pulse diagnosis. “Wow. your heart meridian and pulse is very strong! It practically leaps into my fingers. This is surprising.”
I attribute my very good health to my lungs. I have big powerful lungs that take over the work of the heart, delivering oxygen to the mitochondria. I do 3 dimensional breathing and active inhale, active exhale as preparations. Most importantly, I practice “Nadi Shodhana” alternate left right breath for a minimum of one hour a day, but frequently 2 hours. Everyday, without fail, for years now. It is what I do.
Nadi Shodhana turns on the Nitric Oxide (NO.) Nadi Shodhana keeps a trickle charge of NO being released into the lungs and bloodstream all through the day which is a key factor of why the practice works. NO is a short lived “signal molecule” as well as a bronchodilator and vasodilator and many other things. The paranasal sinuses contribute a significant amount of NO to the flow of breath, entering the blood stream, each and every breath.
The sinuses must be turned on, cared for and properly tuned. Most people suffer from a lack of NO entering their lungs and bloodstream from the paranasal sinuses because they are mouth breathers. Mouth breathing is correlated to sinusitis, panic attacks, damage to the heart, circulation and a long list of medical conditions. Mouth breathing, fast breathing, over breathing is a medical disaster. If you have been following This Next Breath posts or the fascinating work of the Buteyko School, you already know the dangers of mouth breathing.
I am 64, I need to get a kidney stone removed and the doctors are beside them selves about my heart murmur. But I know what heart surgery means… I will be on the the dreaded Coumadin and 15 other pharmaceuticals for the rest of my life.
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The Heart Mudra
Every morning, I lead a breath class at 6am ET. You are free to join. It is done by donation, community supported. We have crossed over 700 broadcasts now. When a person does large amounts of pranayama everyday, especially Left Right Breath, the fingers become very active. On the broadcasts we do many finger exercises that have surprising results and effects on the body.
For yogis who already study mudras, this next piece will make sense: I have been working with Hridaya or Apana Vayu Mudra for a few months now.
Many authors show this mudra in books and on websites with an important instruction and precaution missing. There is a critical distinction between curling in the 3rd and 4th fingers or stretching them out. One version turns the heart on the other version turns the heart off. They have opposite effects on the heart. It is so clear. I am acutely attuned to changes in my heart. This difference is not subtle. For my heart, Heart On versus Heart Off is no small thing.
There is a study in India that prana mudra ( a different mudra) had no statistically significant effect when practiced for 5 minutes. After 20 minutes, statistically measurable differences were observed. They found that when practitioners practiced for longer periods of time, the effects became measurable.
The length of practice matters. This is especially true when one is practicing Left Right Breath (Nadi Shodhana.) A minimum of 24 minutes everyday for many months is needed to begin to realize its effects. In a few months time, you will be glad you put in the initial effort, showed up for yourself every morning to get the practice going.
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