How does yoga improve blood circulation?

October 7, 20246

yoga improve blood circulation

blood circulation

It’s hard to believe, but our body has about 60,000 miles of blood vessels. These vessels together with the heart and other muscles form the circulatory system. This network of ways transport blood to every corner of the body.
You must know that blood plays an essential role in the body. It circulates the necessary nutrients and oxygen in our body and also removes waste materials from the cells. Increased blood flow can help you feel more energetic and improve your physical and mental performance.
But when the blood circulation is poor, it slows down or blocks the blood flow. This means that body cells cannot receive all the oxygen and nutrients they need.
If you are looking to improve circulation, there is no better treatment than yoga. We suggest that you help strengthen your body’s blood circulation by performing some specific yoga exercises that are introduced below.

What is circulation and why do you need good circulation?

The circulatory system is an important part of the process that makes our body move. It is also known as a part of the cardiovascular system and consists of the heart and blood vessels. Therefore, part of the problems of the cardiovascular system can be caused by the improper functioning of the blood circulation system.
The body’s circulatory system is responsible for sending blood, oxygen, and nutrients throughout your body. To help with this process, arteries carry blood away from the heart and veins return blood to the heart. The circulatory system is also responsible for transporting hormones to cells and removing waste materials such as carbon dioxide from the body.
When blood flow is reduced to a specific part of the body, you may experience symptoms of poor circulation, which are more common in limbs such as the legs and arms.
This problem can be caused by many reasons: sitting at a desk all day, high cholesterol, blood pressure problems and even diabetes. Poor circulation can manifest in many ways, including numbness, tingling, cold hands and feet, throbbing or tingling pain in the extremities, swelling, muscle cramps, brittle hair and nails.

When your organs don’t get enough blood, they may feel cold or numb. If you have fair skin, the skin on your feet may turn blue. Poor circulation can also dry out your skin, make your nails brittle, and cause hair loss, especially on your feet and legs. Some men may have trouble getting or maintaining an erection. In case of diabetes, scratches and wounds heal slowly.

The problem of poor blood circulation is that body fluids, blood and lymph fluid, are not optimally distributed and renewed. For this reason, our energy and physical strength also decrease. When we have poor blood circulation, our mind and vision also suffer. Therefore, our mental clarity suffers and we feel emotionally unbalanced.

An important thing to know about how the circulatory system is regulated is that it has two main parts: the blood system and the lymphatic system. The function of the lymphatic system is to remove waste from the circulatory system. These two different systems work almost side by side, but while the blood system has a pump, the heart, the lymphatic system does not have a single organ that can boost its function. This is the responsibility of the muscles that pump the lymphatic system by contracting and expanding. This is where yoga exercises come into play.

Causes of poor blood circulation

There are several reasons for poor circulation.

Peripheral vascular disease: This disease can lead to poor blood circulation in the legs. Peripheral vascular disease is a circulatory disease that causes the narrowing of blood vessels and arteries.
Peripheral artery disease is more common in adults over the age of 50, but it can also occur in younger people. People who smoke are at risk of developing this disease even at a young age.

Blood clots: Blood clots partially or completely block blood flow. These clots can form almost anywhere in the body, but blood clots in the arms or legs can lead to circulation problems.

If a blood clot forms in the legs, it can travel to other parts of your body, including your heart or lungs. It may also lead to stroke. If a blood clot is caught before it becomes a bigger problem, it can often be treated successfully.

Varicose veins: Varicose veins are enlarged and swollen veins that are caused by the failure of the valves of the veins. Damaged veins can’t move blood as efficiently as other veins, so poor circulation can become a problem. Although this is rare, varicose veins can cause blood clots.
Diabetes: You may think that diabetes only affects your blood sugar, but in fact, diabetes can also cause poor circulation in certain areas of your body. This weakness includes cramping in the legs as well as pain in the leg, thigh, or buttock.
Diabetes can also cause cardiovascular problems. People with diabetes are more prone to atherosclerosis, high blood pressure and heart diseases.
Obesity: Obesity imposes excess weight on the body. If you are overweight, sitting or standing for hours may lead to circulation problems.
Being overweight or obese also contributes to many other causes of poor circulation, including varicose veins and blood vessel problems.
Raynaud’s disease: People who experience chronic cold hands and feet may have Raynaud’s disease (decreased blood flow in the veins of the hands or feet). This disease narrows the small arteries of the hands and toes. Narrowed arteries are able to move less blood through the body, so you may experience symptoms of poor circulation.

Apart from fingers and toes, other areas of your body may also be affected. Some people may have these symptoms on their lips, nose and ears.

How does yoga help poor circulation?

Yoga is a combination of focusing on the body, mind and spirit, with a series of specific movements designed to clear blockages in the circulatory system and ensure that everything flows as it should. Regular yoga practice also makes the muscles flexible and effectively strengthens them over time. This continuous exercise of the muscles pumps up the lymphatic system and strengthens the body in removing waste products. As a result, people who practice yoga regularly have a very high immune system and can fight infection and disease better than others.

Yoga sessions are usually done with a series of standing exercises with an emphasis on deep and relaxed breathing. These breathing exercises are common in all types of yoga and emphasize focusing on our breathing. The exercises are designed so that people do not have any restrictions when doing them and ideally use this type of breathing instead of the normal and shallow breathing pattern.

Since breathing in yoga exercises is longer and deeper, oxygen consumption increases. Along with the strengthening effects that regular exercise has on circulation, oxygen is delivered more effectively to the body’s muscles. If these muscles, along with other organs and tissues of the body, do not receive the oxygen and nutrients they need, we become sick as a result.

As you can see, yoga has helped a lot with the complex and intertwined circulatory system, recognizing the basis and importance of the circulatory system and rebalancing it.

Breathing plays an important role in improving blood circulation, and the combination of breathing with yoga movements helps balance fluids in the body and makes the heart and kidneys healthy. To get these benefits, add yoga exercises to improve blood circulation in your lifestyle.

Yoga exercises for blood circulation

Most people think that the “feet on the wall” movement is the only movement for blood circulation, but there are other useful movements that can improve blood circulation! Try these fun yoga exercises to easily increase your blood circulation.

Standing Forward Bend (Uttanasana): This simple movement can help increase blood circulation in your upper body and brain. It can also give you a fresh dose of energy and mental clarity.
Pigeon pose (Kaputasana): Pigeon pose opens up the muscles in the lower body and increases energy. This movement increases blood circulation in the pelvis and legs and rejuvenates tissues with purified blood circulation.
Downward Dog Pose (Adumoka Shwanasana): This pose is great for blood circulation. This means that gravity helps to facilitate blood flow in the head. It also strengthens the legs and improves blood circulation in them. This inversion boosts blood circulation by making more blood flow to the brain and improving mental performance and processing ability.
Viparitakarani Asana (Inverted Pose): This movement can help with normal blood flow and remove the accumulation of blood or fluid in some organs that may occur during old age. This movement is excellent for blood circulation, especially in the central part of the body.
Simple Triangle Pose (Trikon Asana): This is another pose that is great for muscle elasticity and blood circulation in the legs. This position includes the opening of the chest and the expansion of the lungs, which improves blood circulation in the trunk.
Seat movement (Utkatasana): According to “Crystal Weidman”, a yoga instructor, although the sitting position of this movement is not the most ideal for blood circulation, it creates a suitable stretch to increase blood flow and oxygenate the muscles of the legs, abdomen and buttocks.
Warrior’s Pose (Virabhadrasana): This pose is great for improving the elasticity of the leg muscles. Your muscles are tightened and the veins in your legs are relaxed, thereby increasing effective blood circulation.

Ways to improve blood circulation

Quit smoking: Nicotine is the active ingredient in cigarettes that damages the walls of blood vessels and thickens your blood. Therefore, the blood cannot pass through the veins easily. If you smoke, quit and limit your intake.
Control your blood pressure: If your blood pressure is too high, it can cause atherosclerosis, a condition that hardens the arteries and can block blood flow.
Drink enough water: half of blood is water. Therefore, the body must stay hydrated so that it can continue to move. Aim for eight glasses of water a day. Drink more if you exercise or in hot weather.
Stand at your desk: sitting for hours is not good for your blood circulation and your back. It weakens the leg muscles and slows the blood flow in your legs and can also cause clots. If your work is done at a desk anyway, stand at it instead of sitting. It may take some getting used to, but standing stimulates the valves in the veins in your legs, sending blood back to the heart.
Do aerobic exercise: When you run, bike, walk, swim, or do similar exercises, you get more oxygen and deliver it to your muscles. This will get your blood pumping, make your heart stronger and lower your blood pressure.