How Bikram Yoga reduces your risk of heart disease

Vasodilation: A big word that means good times for your heart 

When you’re exposed to heat, 🔥 your body’s internal thermostat kicks into gear. Sweating is one result. Another, less visible one, is vasodilation.

vaso – vessel

dilation – to widen, expand, open

So, vasodilation means the widening of your blood vessels. And when it comes to cardiovascular health, it’s a big deal.

This vasodilation thing. What's it for?

It's your body's way of getting more blood to the skin so heat can escape.

How does vasodilation happen?

1. Receptors in your skin and in your hypothalamus (a gland in your brain) detect the rise in temperature.
   

2. Your nervous system responds by relaxing blood vessels, especially near the skin.
   

3. As blood flow increases, the cells lining your vessels release nitric oxide, which is a chemical signal.
   

4. The nitric oxide signal tells the smooth muscle around your vessels to relax.

   
   

Relaxed muscles

=

Open vessels

=

Vasodilation

=

Hooray 🎉

Why does vasodilation matter in real life?

Because it’s tied to your risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

CVD is the cause of one in four deaths in Australia—that’s over 40,000 people every year.

You’ve probably heard of high blood pressure and high cholesterol as causes.

But another, less talked-about factor is endothelial dysfunction, which is just a fancy way of saying your blood vessels aren’t responding the way they should.

Healthy blood vessels are flexible. They open under stress — like when your body heats up — to reduce pressure on the heart.

If your blood vessels can’t do this properly, you’re more likely to suffer hypertension, inflammation, and plaque buildup.

The takeaway

When you practice Bikram Yoga, you’re not just stretching and sweating. You’re activating your vasodilation pathway, improving endothelial function, and supporting long-term heart health.

Could this be why we feel so good about ourselves after class? ☺️

Sources

Australian Institute of Health and Welfare. (2023). Cardiovascular disease snapshot. https://www.aihw.gov.au/reports/heart-stroke-vascular-diseases/cardiovascular-health-compendium/contents/how-many-australians-have-cardiovascular-disease

Celermajer, D. S., Sorensen, K. E., Bull, C., Robinson, J., & Deanfield, J. E. (1992). Endothelial dysfunction occurs in the systemic arteries of children and is associated with early coronary risk factors. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, 20(5), 1172–1179. https://doi.org/10.1016/0735-1097(92)90335-Z

Green, D. J., Maiorana, A., O’Driscoll, G., & Taylor, R. (2004). Effect of exercise training on endothelium-derived nitric oxide function in humans. The Journal of Physiology, 561(1), 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1113/jphysiol.2004.068197

Laukkanen, T., Kunutsor, S., Kauhanen, J., & Laukkanen, J. A. (2015). Sauna bathing is associated with reduced cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. JAMA Internal Medicine, 175(4), 542–548. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2014.8187

Minson, C. T., Wladkowski, S. L., Cardell, A. F., Pawelczyk, J. A., & Kenney, W. L. (2001). Age alters the cardiovascular response to direct passive heating. Journal of Applied Physiology, 90(4), 1699–1705. https://doi.org/10.1152/jappl.2001.90.4.1699

Ross, R. (1999). Atherosclerosis—An inflammatory disease. New England Journal of Medicine, 340(2), 115–126. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJM199901143400207

Yeboah, J., Crouse, J. R., Hsu, F. C., Burke, G. L., & Herrington, D. M. (2009). Brachial flow-mediated dilation predicts incident cardiovascular events in older adults: The Cardiovascular Health Study. Circulation, 120(6), 502–509. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.857332