A Valentine for Your Heart

In my previous post I wrote about the “manspread”. Without trying to enter too much into the arena of politics amongst the sexes, I explained the negative, personal, physical affects this poor posture has to the body; where it can cause back, hip, knee and ankle pain.

Since it is Valentines I am going to write about the benefits of having an open heart and how it is connected to your posture.

Having an open heart is a wonderful thing but it can take a lot of work and energy being “open”. When we are dealing with an open heart we must also be truthful and honest with ourselves which is sometimes difficut and painful.

There is, however, little talk of what actually happens to oneself or ones body when the heart is damaged or closed off. Why is it important? What happens when the actual physical organ, the heart is physcially constricted or blocked? Emotion and attitude can cause the body to slump forward and block energy, constricting blood flow to the arteries and valves.

Let me begin by giving you a little information about the heart.

Did you know that the heart will pump 200 million litres of blood around your body in your lifetime.over an average lifetime a heart will beat more that 2.5 billion times. Blood will flow through the whole of your body three times every minute--that's every day for the your entire life.

The heart is nestled right between the left and right lung; a little more to the left in most cases. It's protected by our sternum and the surrounding rib cage. The muscles in the rib cage are attached all around your upper torso and provide a a strong cage that acts like a protective barrier.

It's an incredibly strong and durable muscle (all of our organs are made of muscle, visceral muscle). Our heart is an incredibly fascinating piece of machinery providing nourishing oxygen and nutrients throughout the body. And it does this 24/7 until the day we die. When you clasp both hands together what you get is the approximate size of your heart.

Something else that’s interesting is that anatomically, the heart, with all its valve and pump action can actually be unfolded like a tightly wound sleeping bag. I make this point to specifically address that the unwinding, the “unfolding” or opening of one’s heart can be done but only with intention and much care--because in so doing, matters of the heart can be unfurled and released.

Now back to Valentines Day and the emotional and physical elements of being in love—or not.

When we deal with sadness, despair, longing or depression, our physicality, that is our structural integrity can be compromised, so this organ, this machine the size of two fists together, cannot be expected to function optimally when compressed by slouching, heavy and conclave shoulders. How can we pump the “Sangre por vida” to the destinations that it is intended? How can the body do its job properly if you are sitting on the couch, depressed while watching hours and hours of Netflix or Youtube?

When we sit slumped and conclave we close off our chest and droop the shoulders forward. The fascia in our muscles of the arms and chest become shortened and over prolonged periods of time can be more difficult to open back up.

When we are using poor posture what we are doing is constricting the artieries, veins of the neck and jugular veins. We are compressing the heart and making it work that much harder. This can slow down our blood flow, not only to the body but constrict oxygen to the brain as well. When the body slumps forward and the pectorals pull tight and shorten, we retard the lymph nodes and block the passage of waste and toxins.

Brachial vein and aillary artery and their branches, brachial plexus and

axillary lymph nodes

Studies have been conducted as recently as November, 2017 from the British Heart Foundation that say “A broken heart can cause as much damage as having a heart attack; severe emotional stresses are found to cause permanent injury to the organ”. Someone with no visable heart condition can show symptons of a heart attack which can be diaganosed as stress “cardiomyopyopathy”.

There is no possible way that we as human beings can avoid having a broken heart--it comes with the package and spirtiual contract if you believe in such things. The trick is to avoid wallowing in it. Becoming complacent and or fixed to a body structure that is slumped forward and compressed should and can be altered and avoided over the long-term.

When you are sad, lonely or depressed, sit properly and stand proudly so you can exercise your human right to a broken heart. Healthy exercise can strengthen the heart and surrounding muscles giving lift and support. Open your chest arms and neck and know you are protected by ribs and lungs, chest and arms. Give your heart a chance and open yourself up; take a walk and breath some fresh air. Execise and meditate. Long walks in bright and colorful environments can work wonders. Visit your trusted bodyworker for a session. Open your heart knowing that it’s strong enough to take whatever may come.