By now, it’s no secret that regular exercise is key to boosting heart health. But for those looking to seriously reduce their heart disease risk, one workout combo, in particular, can pack double the punch—literally.
Yoga and aerobic exercise are particularly effective at warding off heart disease, according to new research from HG SMS Hospital in India. The team of researchers assigned 750 heart disease patients to three different exercise regimes: aerobic exercise, yoga, or both aerobic exercise and yoga. All three groups participated in three, six-month sessions of their assigned workout.
At the end of the trial period, both the aerobic exercisers and those practicing yoga showed similar reductions in their blood pressure, BMI, and cholesterol. However, the group who had tried both workouts saw twice the improvement, the researchers reported.
That’s not the only perk of yoga; previous research has found that a daily session can boost your brainpower, prevent back pain, and even beat that afternoon slump. Check out what happens to you when you start doing yoga, too.
But it’s the combination of the two workouts that does the trick, researchers say. “Combined Indian yoga and aerobic exercise reduce mental, physical and vascular stress and can lead to decreased cardiovascular mortality and morbidity,” co-authors Dr. Sonal Tanwar, a scholar in preventative cardiology, and Dr. Naresh Sen, a consultant cardiologist, both with HG SMS Hospital, wrote. “Heart disease patients could benefit from learning Indian yoga and making it a routine part of daily life.”
