How To Intentionally Honor, Nurture, Protect and Strengthen Your Heart
In light of our National LOVE Holiday, Valentine's Day, now is the perfect time for me to teach on heart health.
Like the Sun that's at the center of our solar system, your heart is the central "sun" that fuels and influences every system in your body -- working to pump blood, oxygen, nutrients and warmth to all of your organs to keep you alive.
I think of our heart as one of the most important and sensitive organs in the body.
What's the Function of Your Heart?
Your heart is a hollow muscular organ, about the size of your fist, that sits in the middle of your chest tilted slightly to the left.
Each day, your heart beats around 100,000 times, and continuously pumps about five liters of blood around your body through a network of blood vessels called your circulatory system - your arteries and veins.
Your arteries carry blood away from your heart and veins carry blood back to your heart.
The right side of your heart receives the de-oxygenated blood that has traveled around your body, and pumps the blood to your lungs to collect a fresh supply of oxygen. Then, the left side of your heart pumps and sends the re-oxygenated blood around your body again.
Essentially, your heart is responsible for helping all of your other organs and muscles work properly. Which is why you need to intentionally care for your heart.
Keep reading to learn how.
1. BE Good and True To Your Heart
First, let's appreciate that your heart is a powerful energetic center of your body. Because our heart hold such a powerful role and electromagnetic charge, I think it's important for us to live in a wholehearted way that supports the wisdom of our hearts.
Make it a practice to forgive and move fearlessly with what your heart wants. Forgiveness is a powerful heart medicine. Many studies have proven that hostility and resentment greatly contributes to heart conditions.
A hardend heart can manifest physically as blocked blood vessels of the heart or coronary artery disease. You can overcome this by nurturing your emotional well-being and cultivating more love and compassion, for yourself and others.
Our lives change for the best when we learn to forgive and make decisions with a clear heart and mind.
A practice that helps me connect to and honor my heart each day is to ask:
What does my heart need to let go of today? What does my heart need to feel today? What does my heart want to eat today? What does my heart want me to wear today?
As a creative who wears many hats, what does my heart want me to focus on today? When someone invites me somewhere, does my heart want me to go?
When my heart answers, then I act accordingly. This is what helps me live a heart-centered life.
2. Eat With Your Heart In Mind
Let me start by reminding you that your heart is a MUSCLE. And because of this anatomy and physiology fact, it means what you eat to support your heart should reflect that.
One of the number one nutrient requirements for your heart muscle is protein. Protein supports your heart health more than any other macronutrient does alone, especially when paired with healthy fats.
Eating a variety of healthy protein sources: like fish, chicken, steak, turkey, legumes (such as beans and lentils), nuts and seeds is part of a heart healthy diet. Vegetables and fruit provide antioxidants that protect your heart health as well.
All in all, eating a real whole food diet, food that comes directly from the earth, is the path to better heart health.
3. An Herb for Your Heart: Motherwort (The "Mothering" Herb)
Motherwort is a perennial herb that helps to maintain your heart health, both physically and emotionally. It protects and strengthens the heart while also calming your anxiety and feelings of overwhelm.
As the name itself suggest, motherwort really does feel like the warmth of a nurturing mother.
Common ailments of the heart can show up as low or high blood pressure, heart palpitations, clogged or hardened heart arteries, an enlarged heart muscle, poor circulation, shortness of breath, slow or fast heart rate, anxiety and panic attacks, and even seizures.
Motherwort can lower blood pressure, and promotes growth of the capillary bed around the heart. This herb also eases heart palpitations, especially when they're stress induced.
Because motherwort has both stimulant and sedative properties, is possses plant intellegience to respond appropriately to what is needed for you. This is what I most love about the plant.
You can find motherwort formulated in my Mood Support Tincture and Blood Pressure Support supplement in the apothecary. If you're interested in a custom blend of herbs, schedule a FREE Call with me!
4. Strenghten and Stretch Your Heart
Your heart, like all muscles, wants to be used and strengthened. This means that occasionally you must stretch your heart to help strengthen it.
You can do this by moving vigorously enough to raise your heart rate at least three times a week. Just 30 minutes of moderate to intense movement, physical activity or exercise is enough to help support a healthy heart.
I, along with the American Heart Association and the American College of Sports Medicine recommend combining aerobic activity (hello cardio) like brisk walking, jogging, swimming, biking, jumping rope with resistance training like moderate weightlifting.
Together, cardio and resistance training has the greatest benefit for preventing and managing heart disease, and improving and expanding your blood oxygen, capillaries, vessels and tissues.
Hope this article was informative!
Love and Health,
Shavonne