5 Tips For A Healthy Heart-Beyond Diet and Exercise

Posted on March 02, 2011 by Nicole Isler, One of Thousands of Life Coaches on Noomii.

1) An appreciative heart is a happy heart.

Being appreciative offers many benefits to your wellbeing. The good news is anyone can find something to genuinely appreciate if they look for beauty around them. The feeling of appreciation is one of the easiest positive emotions to generate within you. When you feel sincere appreciation you can increase your heart rhythm coherence, reduce emotional stress and improve your health. Harmonious heart rhythms are considered to be indicators of cardiovascular efficiency and strength as well as assisting nervous system balance.

2) Allow yourself to dream.

From the lyrics of a famous Disney song, “A dream is a wish your heart makes”…so why not let it! Dreaming puts you in a state of hope, another positive emotion that creates harmonious biochemical effects within your body. Dreaming, or visualizing, is also an important tool in achievement. Your brain doesn’t know the difference between what is reality, and what you create as reality according to Maxwell Maltz in his book Psycho-Cybernetics. So seeing becomes believing, when positive emotion is attached. Dreaming creates joy, enthusiasm and energy raising your vibration level as well. Other positive, like-minded, “Blue Sky” Thinkers will be drawn to you and you’ll find your life full of wonderful relationships and visions realized.

3) Connect with others.

Relationships of any kind, and feeling connected to others has a powerful influence on our wellbeing. Positive emotional connections with other people enhance not only the quality of our lives but also strengthen our basic survival. When you enjoy an energy-giving relationship, you appreciate and look forward to spending time with that person creating a sense of future. Lonely people tend to focus on just getting through the day increasing their risk of dis-ease in the body. People that feel cared for and supported by others have proven to have significantly less blockage in their coronary arteries, chest pains and heart disease. Feelings of love and intimacy are at the root of what makes us well and when in lack, what makes us sick. Clearly, companionship plays a vital role in our health, wellbeing and longevity.

4) Forgiveness will set you free.

What’s done is done. It is said that the most difficult thing to do in life is to give love when you feel you’ve been treated unfairly. Learning to give love regardless of what has happened or been done to you is empowering. It may seem challenging to let go of hurt feelings, but it is really in your best interest to do so. Harboring negative feelings toward another only increases the levels of stress hormones in your body, constricts your blood vessels and raises blood pressure putting excess strain on your heart and weakening your immune system. When you choose forgiveness, you are at peace…and you may be surprised to find how easy it becomes when you soften your heart. You will find you have to forgive less often when you come from a place of love. Love is a positive high frequency emotion which can heal and help us overcome. When you are love, you give it freely and it is returned to you abundantly. Fewer situations will arise that bring personal hurt.

5) Laughter IS the best medicine.

Whether you laugh naturally or you learn to include the behavior it has important influence on your heart. Exercising, not smoking and eating foods low in saturated fat will reduce the risk of heart disease however hearty laughter should be added to the list. You actually reduce your risk of experiencing a heart attack when you include humor in your daily life. Laughter produces Endorphins, "natural endogenous morphine-like substances, or simply put, your body’s natural pain killer. The key to your longevity? Incorporate humor and laugher into your daily activities, just as you would other heart-healthy activities, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Perhaps there’s something to be learned from someone that is “light-hearted”!