Take a breather
"Stress directly affects blood flow to the heart muscle, and any technique people can use to lower stress will benefit the heart," says Dr. Kimberly Parks, a cardiologist at Harvard-affiliated Massachusetts General Hospital. Some people turn to yoga, tai chi, or meditation for stress relief. But others aren't interested in trying those techniques. For them, a simple breathing practice may be more appealing, in part because it's easy, it's free, it takes just a few minutes, and it can be done anywhere at any time.
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