Irene 
Hey tribe!
I hope you had a great week! Unfortunately, last week was a pretty rough week for me, so I’m looking forward to this week being much better. Especially, because of the chakra we’ll be focusing on is all about love. We’re moving on up our spine to the fourth chakra, the Heart Chakra!
Take a quick moment, give yourself a hug, take in a big, deep breath, sigh it out, and let’s jump right in!
Heart Chakra
- Sanskrit Name: Anahata
- Location: At the heart center
- Color: Green
- Element: Air
- Sound/Mantra: YAM
- Lotus Petals: 12
Our fourth chakra governs our love, emotional development, self-love, and acceptance. It also represents how you allow yourself to give and receive love. Since this chakra’s element is air, I’d translate it to feeling like you are floating on cloud nine with love either from self-love, romantic love, or love from your friends and family.
Ask yourself:
- Are you holding onto any grudges or past hurts?
- Are you dwelling on any past relationships?
- Do you have trust issues?
- Are you keeping anything bottled up?
- Feeling impatient, anxious or stressed?
- Are you pushing others away or putting yourself last?
If you answered yes to any of the questions above, chances are, you are experiencing an imbalance with your Heart Chakra.
When your Anahata is balanced, you may feel you have self-love, balance, peace, connection, and compassion. You could feel calm, joyful, harmony, forgiveness, and serenity. Your heart and respiratory system may be functioning optimally and are strong and healthy. This also translates to having a good immune system. Overall, you’ll feel like you have great relationships with others and yourself.
When your Heart Chakra is blocked, you could feel things such as sadness, loneliness, lack of emotional fulfillment, difficulty accepting or giving love, and lack of compassion and joy. You may notice that your relationship with yourself and others may be unhealthy and potentially toxic. This chakra can get blocked due to loss, regret, and resentment. Perhaps you’re feeling unfulfilled, judgemental, critical, impatient, passive, insensitive, and emotionally closed. Other signs of imbalance include:
- Cardio-vascular and respiratory issues
- Allergies
- Immune deficiency
- Hypertension, stroke, or heart attack
- Fear of intimacy
- Restlessness and insomnia
An overactive Heart Chakra can affect your overall well being. If your heart chakra is overactive, it can lead to codependency, tolerating too much from others to the point of neglecting emotional self-care, lack of discernment in relationships, and overall leaving you emotionally drained.
This chakra is often associated with our love and understanding. Because of the different relationships we have in our lives, we are likely to experience an imbalance at one time or another. Here are some simple tips on how to balance the Heart Chakra:
- Heart opening yoga poses – Camel, upward facing dog, bridge, and dancer’s pose are great poses that open up our heart and activate this chakra.
- Get some fresh air – this is a great option if you’re feeling impatient, stressed, and anxious. Take a moment to step away, get a breath of fresh air, and take a moment to yourself to recollect your thoughts and feelings before moving forward.
- Acceptance and forgiveness – this one may difficult, but it could help with letting go of resentment, anger, and regret. Accept where you are in your life. Everything is exactly as it should be. Allow yourself to forgive yourself and others. Write it all down to really feel like you’re getting it all out.
- Use your sense of touch – give someone you know a hug. When all else fails, give yourself a hug. When you hold someone close, the heart is feeling and sensing. You can feel the love surge through the body. Everyone can use a little bit of love.
- See green – imagine your Heart Chakra glowing with a bright, beautiful green light. Wear green or go out in nature where there are green plants and trees for you to admire.
- Eat green – another option is eating green foods that are associated with this chakra! Think of leafy greens, broccoli, kale, chard, limes, green apples, green tea, warm soups, and foods high in vitamin C to boost the immune system.
- Repeat positive affirmations about love – choose one of these healing affirmations that resonate with you to use in your yoga practice and/or in your daily life. These affirmations can help break old patterns and direct our behaviors in a new, positive direction.
- I love myself unconditionally.
- I feel connected to others.
- I forgive and let go.
- I have courage to listen and honor my heart.
- I live in balance, in a state of gracefulness and gratitude.
- I accept things as they are.
- I am united with all beings in the realm of love and light.
- I release all fears, concerns, and worries about giving and receiving love.
- I am one.
- I love life and life loves me.
- I love myself and my body.
- I am patient, I am calm, I am at peace.
For those of you that might be journaling, below are the Heart Chakra prompts. Choose one (or all) to write about!
Journal Prompts:
- How do I bring my past fears into the present and future?
- What are you having a hard time forgiving?
- As a child, I was passionate about…
- I fear that surrendering will…
- Love is available to me when…
- How can I show up for myself?
- If you were to make changes in your life that would make you more compassionate, what would those changes be? How easy/difficult would it be? What barriers do you have?
What state do you think your Heart Chakra is in? Blocked? Unblocked? Balanced? I definitely identified with the blockages of this chakra.
Is any of this resonating with you? Let me know your thoughts in the comments and I look forward to seeing you on the mat! 😊
Peace, love & light,
Irene
P.S. If you haven’t received this week’s calendar invite for our Wednesday yoga practice, email me at irenicjourney[at]gmail[dot]com!
Chakra Series Links:
