Heart Rate

Yoga Discussion General Yoga
#1

Hi all :slight_smile: ,
I was wondering whether anyone know any practices that can help you control your heart rate i.e. enable you to speed it up or slow it down at will.

Much appreciated

Thanks :slight_smile:
Q

#2

What would be the purpose of such endeavour ?

#3

I believe James Bond knows such things. Swami Beyondananda may not.

#4

hi

i also would attempt to slow my heart rate during an asthma attack when i was young. i figured if my body wasn’t working so hard i wouldn’t need as much oxygen :). i remember just trying to remain as quiet as possible and ‘thinking’ my heart to slow down, listening to it in my ears and neck (this is actually a pulse not a heart rate). i also tried to elongate the breath, and then try to reduce the beats for each breath. it worked to a certain extent. asthma attacks can cause a bit of panic so mostly i think this was just a measure to remain calm. it also distracted me away from the breath to the rhythm of the heart.

i know that long distance runners also focus on slowing the heart rate, and also by virtue of their exercise their heart rates at rest are slower than one who does not practice aerobic exercise. so you may have better luck asking this question on a running forum.

#5

Heartrate of the fetus when my wife was in delivery ranged between 120-135 …

The first visible sign of life on the echo was a little pulsing dot, the heart.
We grow from our hearts. :slight_smile: The heart is the seed. That’s the center of the being.

#6

It’s true that even Krishnamacharya who could perform sucha feat as stopping the heart said, “Now that it has been done, no one else need perform it.” In essence saying that is is a parlour trick and not a real sign of enlightenment. We of course all have our reasons. The Yoga Sutras and many other teachers have advised against getting lost in siddhis.

All the best. Daya