Meditation for Heart Health

Meditation is normally recommended as a stress management technique used to bring about a calm and relaxed state of mind. There are now countless studies that show that there are other significant health benefits through its ability to alter deeper and more dynamic processes in the body, even so far as being able to strengthen the heart.

Meditation has been shown in studies to improve your cardiovascular health, significantly decrease insulin resistance, lower blood pressure and decrease heart rate variability. These results reveal that meditation can have a deep and very profound influence on the hear and its activity.

It seems apparent that meditation should not be seen as just a method of relaxation and stress management, but also as an aid to strengthen the heart and create a more active state in the body. We are able to use the Mind-Body connection to tap into the body's own inner intelligence to bring about changes in physiology to reverse the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

Insulin resistance is one of the key players in metabolic syndrome, a group of cardiovascular risk factors that occur simultaneously, thus increasing the risk of heart disease. When the body doesn't properly use insulin, excess glucose remains in the blood, which affects many of the body's functions. Excess glucose causes a rise in triglycerides and other blood fats. It also impairs kidney function, which can lead to high blood pressure.

You can't always change the stress in your life, but if you can respond in a different way, you can negate some of the negative effects of stress.