Heart Rate of 100 BPM?
/Hello Yogis!
Valentine’s day had heart emojis flying around all week. No surprise that I want to write about the heart, but the angle came as a surprise. I hear of one doctor telling a patient that a resting heart rate of 100 beats per minute is ‘normal’ and I hear of another doctor telling another patient that her heart rate of 89 bpm is normal.
I have always understood that a range between 60-80 bpm is the ‘normal’ range. I was a bit horrified so I asked Dr Google! The only article that agreed with me was from 2015. Otherwise, 60-100 came back as the ‘normal’ range… from American sources, I think.
Men's Health, last May, said: 'Some research found that people with a resting heart rate at or above 84 beats per minute over the span of five years were 55 percent more likely to die of heart disease than were those with lower resting heart rates.' So how can 100bpm be peddled as 'normal? A weaker heart has to pump more often because each beat carries less blood.
It’s easy in yoga class to get wrapped up in the trickiness of a shape, the reluctance of the muscles or the stubbornness of the joints, but postures will come and go! Yoga teacher Donna Farhi says: "Our breath, like our heartbeat, is the most reliable rhythm in our lives." I would add that it’s the thread of our posture practice; it’s where real advances are made.
Classes
Today, Saturday 18th Feb, I’m teaching the 12.15 class at Eden Fitness in Ealing. Come if you can.
In my home studio, I have a request! If you have a cold, please let me know and allow me to move your class booking. Mainly because I’m the carer of the most beautiful 91-year-old. This week I’ve had to cancel classes because of being sniffly. I’m loath to cancel people. Have pity!
Otherwise, just come! Monday and Tuesday = stretchy classes at 7.00pm, Wednesday = Ashtanga at 7.00pm and Friday morning = Ashtanga at 8.30am. You can book here
Yoga In The News
The Telegraph loves a good culture war with: I'm a white, middle-class yoga teacher – and that's a problem. “And while the yoga industry might have an identity crisis, at the same time… “The number of people engaging and practising is probably at an all-time high.” “There are people doing yoga in dusty church halls. And their yoga has not changed much or been as influenced by fashion… Happy people in the church hall in their joggers, who’ve been going to the same teacher for 20 years, doing yoga with teachers who trained years ago”.
“Grazia Daily has: Fearne Cotton On The Little Known Yoga Practice Where You Don't Need To Move At All. ‘The brilliant Rob da Bank has curated a selection of restorative yoga nidra sessions on the Happy Place app, to help refocus your mind and restore a sense of calm.’
Glamour UK has: Moon yoga: How understanding the lunar cycle could enhance your wellness routine Plus, an extract from Lisa Hood's new book, Moon Yoga. “When the moon is at her fullest, she is closest to the earth, so you are going to feel more of her energy directly; even plants and animals react, so it makes sense for us to feel more energised”.
