(Australia-NewsWire.Com, December 22, 2014 ) North Adelaide, SA -- A new study based in the Netherlands revealed a potential link between regular yoga and heart disease prevention. The study, which included almost 3,000 people, showed that yoga was linked to reduced high blood pressure, cholesterol, and other cardiovascular factors.
Experts recommend that muscle strengthening exercises, such as yoga, are conducted at least twice weekly. Erasmus University Medical Center researcher Myriam Hunink confirms "Yoga may provide the same benefits in risk factor reduction as traditional physical activity such as cycling or brisk walking."
Aside from being physically healthy, yoga is widely known as a form of medication. While yoga has been linked with lower rates of obesity and heart disease for the exercise that participants receive, the calming effect is now thought to promote a reduction in stress. Since stress has been linked to cardiovascular ailments such as high blood pressure and heart disease, yoga can provide heart healthy benefits on multiple levels.
The Yoga Towel Experts spokesperson Jessica Lauren said about the findings, "Yoga has long been believed to promote stress-reduction and potential cardiovascular benefits, and practitioners experience these benefits daily. The increased exercise, contracting and relaxing of muscles, use of essential organs such as the heart and the lungs increase our essential fitness, while reducing our stress levels. The findings of this study solidify something that yoga-lovers have promoted for a long time."
Further information on the potentially life saving link between yoga practice and cardiovascular health can be found at Yoga and Heart Health on the American Heart Association website.
About The Yoga Towel Experts
Dedicated to safer, more enjoyable and comfortable yoga practice, The Yoga Towel Experts mission is to enhance well lived and healthy lives globally.