It seems reasonable to start with the heart. Its about the size of your clenched fist and while it does sit almost in the centre of your chest, the left side is slightly larger. It has four chambers, along with a host of valves, layers of tissue and linings, ventricles, atriums, arteries and veins. Its purpose is to pump the oxygenated blood around the body and pump the de-oxygenated blood to the lungs where it will pick up oxygen.
The tissue inside the heart is self-beating. For this to happen an electrical signal comes from within the right atrium (from the sinoatrial node). However, the nervous and endocrine system also impact on the rate that the heart beats (slowing it down or speeding it up).
Veins, arteries and capillaries help the rest of the body live. Veins go towards the heart and are elastic tubes with valves which prevent the back flow of de-oxygenated blood. Arteries contain oxygenated blood and are large hollow tubes that go away from the heart. They have thick muscular walls so that it can cope with the higher pressure. Capillaries are fine blood vessels which are only one cell thick which allows goodness such as nutrients to pass through them. Capillaries are the connections between the veins and arteries.
Blood, another vital part of the circulatory system. Blood transports nutrients, oxygen, waste materials, hormones and white blood cells to infected sites. Blood also protects the body by being involved in temperature control, healing of wounds, fights against invading organisms and clots to stop bleeding. Blood is made up of red blood cells (carry the oxygen), white blood cells (infection fighters), platelets (for clotting) and plasma (contains all sorts e.g. hormones and enzymes).
Massage can help increase blood flow, reduce heart rate and lower blood pressure (which can explain why you might feel dizzy when you get up from the massage table after a treatment). We know that stress can impact on the circulatory system, such as increasing blood pressure, and so massage can help reduce the impact of stress on the body and then in turn on the different body systems.
Aromatherapy can involve oils that are hypotensive or hypertensive and so caution should be taken when choosing your oils if you have high or low blood pressure. The nervous and hormonal system impact on the cardiovascular system. So, if you become relaxed in a treatment, your cardiovascular system may indeed feel some benefits.
A number of crystals have been identified for the physical heart, blood pressure and circulation. Contact me if you are interested in using crystals along side conventional treatment for your condition.
Now that it’s coming up to Christmas, go gentle on your cardio system by eating right, exercising and being generally kind to your body.
If you have any questions or want to know more, email me or message me!