The heart is a muscle which needs exercise to stay in shape, just like any other muscle. When you exercise regularly, you can actually help prevent heart disease by lowering risk factors such as high blood pressure and blood cholesterol. The heart also needs your constant support by your thoughts, emotions and feelings to stay balanced and in perfect rhythm.

Take the healthy heart bodywork quiz:

Do you live a sedentary life?
Are you overweight?
Do you sit for long periods at a time?
Do you get good sound sleep every night?
Do you repress anger?
Do you hold in emotions?
Do you breathe deeply, or are you a “shallow breather”?
Do you smoke?
Do you have poor circulation?
Do you drink 6-8 8 oz. glasses of pure water every day?
Do have gum disease?

It’s easy to include daily activities for heart health. The challenge is to make these new activities a part of your life, every day.

Schedule these easy bodywork tips every day:

• A half-hour brisk walk every day will do wonders. Swing your arms. Dance every day for 20 minutes. Do side bends and touch your toes. This benefits liver and kidneys.
• From a couple minutes of stretches in the morning to a yoga routine, you’ll help reduce stress, increase flexibility, boost circulation and improve sleep quality.
• Practice deep breathing for a couple minutes every hour to reduce stress bring more oxygen into the blood.
• Boost circulation with this wonderful technique for Dry Brush Massage (put Dry Brush Massage in Care2’s search).
• Spend time in nature. Whether you contemplate birds, trees, waves or clouds, you are tapping in to a peaceful, heart-healing energy.
• Retreat and spend some time alone every day to reflect or meditate.
• Connect with animals.
• Laugh, have fun and play every day!
• Balance your heart rhythms with HeartMath techniques; it
  produces beneficial effects to the cardiovascular system, nervous system, and affects hormonal balance.
• Trust your heart. Studies show that the heart is more than a pump. The heart carries intricate messages to our brains and other organs in our body that affect our emotions and our overall health and quality of life.
• Love your heart. Focus on your heart with thoughts and feelings of peace, happiness, gratitude, appreciation and love.More Paths to a Healthy Heart