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out of ten or even in six out of ten cases, I think it is worth it. Similarly, I know of no anti-hypertensive drug which is uniformly effective in all patients with high blood-pressure. The heart has been compared to the seat of consciousness. More than the heart, it is the mind which is powerful for the regulation and control of the heart.
What about the role of yoga in heart attacks? The studies available on the role of yoga in heart attacks are not as many as there are on patients with high blood pressure. Whatever studies we have, their effects are by modification of the risk factors like diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance, weight reduction, changes in behavior. I think this is the most important aspect. We just heard a lecture on the role of yoga in the reformation of criminals. What about the reformation or improvement of the sins which we commit against our own body, starting with anger, restlessness, anxiety states? These things have a tremendous effect on the human system. By increasing the serum catheostomines in the body, by keeping the pulse rate high, they harm the heart. So, I would say that these are really the sins which are self-committed. If we have a concept of yoga, we will be able to take care of them.
I could not give a better example than that of Sir John Hunter who was a famous surgeon. He has described the effect of anger on the heart. Sir John Hunter was a patient with angina and he made a statement that, "My life lies in the hands of that rascal who annoys me." Sir John Hunter had experienced on various occasions that whenever he lost his temper, whenever he was angry, his angina was aggravated. Lo and behold, Sir John Hunter's demise came during one stormy hospital board meeting. Avoid that; your anger can kill you. We have to ask this question of ourselves. Is this situation which I am facing in a particular place, like the office or at home, worth dying for? The answer will come to you within a few seconds. No!
If you can have control of your mind, you will avoid certain spurts of rise of blood pressure, heart rate and increased oxygen requirement by the heart and thereby you will avoid affecting your heart by these emotions which are mostly negative. The Charaka Samhita itself says, "If you wish to protect your heart and the great roots of it, that is the coronary arteries, you must avoid what causes mental affliction."
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