Heart smart, Heart ache, Heart healthy, Heart felt, Heart and soul, Heart of the matter...
Have you ever considered why so much of our language, energy and health issues center around the heart? Certainly, our sense of life and living centers around the heart; when our heart ceases to function so does life, as we know it. But the heart often represents more than the organ that pumps blood to our cells. Our heart also represents the center of our being.
In the 1990's neurocardiologists discovered what they termed the brain in the heart. This "heart brain" acts independently of the head and is comprised of a distinctive set of nerve cells, neurotransmitters, and support cells, and has highly sophisticated computational abilities as well. The heart brain can also learn, remember, and respond to life independently of the brain in the head. As anyone of us who has experienced life can attest; heart felt, heart ache, heartbreak and heart warming are all terms that we use to describe an emotion but also to describe a true physiological phenomenon that occurs in conjunction with these emotions.
So, why spend all this time on semantics? It occurs to me that caring for the heart is more than simply being free from heart disease. It involves caring for our whole being; reaping benefits far greater than we can measure with a blood test or blood pressure cuff.
In caring for our heart we are also caring for ourselves as a whole person. We nurture ourselves with the types of foods that sustain and heal our bodies; rich colorful vegetables, vital oils that contribute to cell function; proteins that are compatible and complimentary to our system. We provide our bodies with the opportunity for movement to stretch, strengthen, and invigorate; send oxygen and nutrients to every cell and endow robustness to the heart itself. We take time to relax, renew, and rejuvenate, restoring vitality to every part of our being.
From a scientific perspective, we can prescribe exercise of specific type, intensity and duration - incorporating both cardiovascular and strength training. We can formulate a precise dietary regimen and we can provide state of the art supplementation to help prevent or combat disease of the heart and cardiovascular system.
These are the basic instruments that we have available. However, it is up to each of us to create our own cardio "symphony." So take a moment today to listen to your heart, use these instruments to nourish it lovingly, and watch it harmonize the center of your being in a uniquely personal way.
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Dr Mary Jayne Johnson, a 25-year veteran of the health and wellness Industry and is currently the Southwest Regional Health & Fitness Manager for the Wellbridge Company, the fourth largest health club chain in America. She is an adjunct professor at the University of New Mexico and has served on the boards of many not for profit organizations. She is currently the Chairperson for the New Mexico Coalition to Promote Physical Activity and Nutrition as well as the Chair-elect of the New Mexico Chronic Disease Prevention Council.
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