Resting Heart Rate …. an unexpected benefit of my yoga practice.

How can you tell if your physical practice – running, hitting the gym or anything else – is making you not only feel better, but feel healthier, too?

Of course, we can do testing with our medical team to prove benefits from our physical practice.

One of the unexpected benefits of my yoga practice has been a gradual slowing down of my resting heart rate. My resting rate has always been on the high side, so I think the ability to improve it has always been present. It needed a catalyst and Yoga was mine.

My resting rate has gone from the mid-70s to the high 60s in the past couple of years. I’m not sure how much better it can get, but I’m keen to see.

That’s all yoga, as I haven’t added anything else to my physical fitness program. And, yes, it’s purely based on my own empirical observations from my Apple Watch … there’s no science behind it that I’m aware of at this point in time.

But, as a person with heart disease and type II diabetes, I can tell you that it feels good. And, there’s value in that, too.

Will I live longer, and have a healthier life until the end as a result? I don’t know, but I’m hopeful. And, I can tell you that it also provides peace of mind.

And, that’s worth the daily effort of my practice.

Back to the mat …