Chakra Series: Fourth – Heart Chakra (Part 4 of 7)

Your Fourth Chakra – The Heart Chakra:

Your Fourth Chakra, the Anahata Chakra, lives in the heart space, associates with the color green, the air element, and the mantra ‘Yam.’

Fourth Chakra Cheat Sheet:
Sanskrit: ANAHATA
Color: GREEN (secondary PINK)
Lotus:  TWELVE PETALS
Mantra: I LOVE
Word: LOVE
Chant: YAM
Asanas: OPEN HEART CENTER – BACK BENDS, CAMEL, SPHINX
Mudra: RIGHT HAND, TOUCH INDEX FINGER TO THUMB, PLACE IN CENTER OF CHEST WITH FINGER TIPS POINTING TOWARDS THE CHEST, LEFT HAND TO LEFT KNEE
Scents: ROSEWOOD, EUCALYPTUS, JASMINE
Teas: ROSEMARY AND RED ROSE PETALS
Stones: JADE, ROSE QUARTZ, EMERALD

Pure, unconditional love lives here.  We feel compassion, kindness, love, acceptance, and at peace in this chakra. You will feel love from everyone you come across, and therefore not strain or stress over how the love flows from one certain person.  You also have compassion and forgiveness for yourself. 

“It is astonishing how little one feels alone when one loves.”  ~John Bulwer

When Out of balance: This chakra can manifest itself in physical co-dependency, mental dependency on others, jealousy, anger, grief, loveless, judgmental, and a worry about what others think about you.

Bring Back in Balance: 

• A simple way to connect with this space can be to wear the color green and/or sit in a comfortable posture with eyes closed and imagine the color green. Bonus if you do both and place your left hand over your heart, right hand over left while you breathe.  Imagine bright green surrounding your heart and cleansing any feelings of fear and replacing them with feelings of love and forgiveness.  
• Sit in a quiet space and listen to sounds or chants associated with this chakra.  Tip: My favorite is to pull up a chant, song or singing bowls of healing chakra music on YouTube – specifically targeted at the chakra needing balance. Search “fourth chakra healing” or “heart chakra meditation.”
• In meditation, you have the option to close your eyes and chant YAM or simply concentrate on the mantra I LOVE (poem below), with hands in the heart chakra mudra or a yoga asana (posture).
• Turn on your favorite music and practice the yoga flow I outlined below.  Even 10 minutes would feel amazing.
• All practices combined would be incredibly beneficial (chakra specific meditation, yoga, music, scents, colors, mudras, chants, and stones nearby)
• Chakra energy clearing massage or energy work by a professional.
• Incorporate the color green or pink into your wardrobe, wear the stones associated with this chakra in jewelry or place in your pockets (listed above), and place something green in your work space, meditation area or bedside table (it acts as a simple as a reminder to pay attention to your chakra intention – you will start to see the color green everywhere.  It truly helps!).
• My favorite: Write out a card with the mantra quote below and place it on your desk at work or on your bathroom mirror at home – repeat it several times a day. Optional to place your hands on your heart while you close your eyes or simply smile.

Heart Yoga Postures: Asanas (postures) that aid in the strength, health and connection to this posture all aim to spread your chest open.  Try a series of sun salutations into back bends to warm up an open heart center. Supported savasana or corpse pose with hands over the heart for at least 5 minutes will also allow the body to heal and activate this third chakra.

Try these yoga postures to connect with the heart chakra, which will help balance your body’s energy (try all the postures together in sequence for a beautiful flowing Anahata Chakra yoga meditation practice):

Begin with three sun salutations to slowly open the body and sternum
Back bend three times, move only with full breaths
Cat/Cow to Open the Spine Further
Standing Bow Pulling Posture
Tree Pose with both hands on heart
Camel
Bridge or Wheel
Sphinx
Savasana with hands placed on the heart, shoulder blades scooped together to puff up the heart center

Heart Mudra: Mudras are another way of capturing energy between mind and body, and used to heal and focus on certain afflictions in your mind and body. Just as powerful as the asana (yoga exercises), this movement of your hands removes blockages in the body and aids in focus in meditation.

• Find a comfortable seated position and sit with a tall, long spine. Pull your shoulders down and back to open up your chest. With your right hand, touch index finger to thumb, place in center of your chest with finger tips towards the heart, left hand to left knee. 
• Try this position for three deep inhales and exhales, concentrating on the sound ‘YAM,’ which is the anahata chakra chant. If you are new to meditation or calming breath, challenge yourself to sit for one minute or longer, the longer, the better effects.

Anahata Chakra Essential Oil Therapy: The sense of smell is the most powerful tool the human body has to effect mood. It is the fastest thing to bring back memory or to lift your spirits. Use this in conjunction with a heart yoga sequence, mudra, meditation, and mantra, and your will have powerfully strengthened your heart energy and come back to the base of ‘I LOVE.’

• When using essential oil:
• Dab a dot on your wrists and neck
• In a diffuser to enhance your home smell (amazing to use in-home and easily found online – in the meantime boiling a few drops in water will do the trick to infuse your home as well)
• Dilute into a spray bottle with a few drops oil the rest water to spray your space in yoga or at home
• Add few drops into your bath tub
• Rub on skin topically with a vehicle like coconut oil
• Here are three examples of scents related to the Heart Chakra: Rose, Jasmine or Lavender.

Heart Mantra: “I am open to the deep reservoir of love in my heart.  I am loving, and I am loved. I am thoughtful, compassionate and committed to the unfolding of others.  I take delight and joy in the success of others.  I open my heart and embrace the world as one human family.  I willingly let go of the past and forgive others. I love!”

*              *             *
Seven Chakra Overview – 

This seven part chakra series is designed as a tool to help you focus your attention and energy on yourself, in order to improve how you feel and react to the world around you.

If one of the descriptions in this seven part series speaks to you, or you feel a connection with the information, listen to that intuition and try a few of the exercises and test out how you feel. In daily life there are negative and positive events everyone must come across; however, negative energies can take a toll on our bodies, and areas can become “blocked” or “choked.”

These exercises are methods to break through those blockages and clean out the body to regain strength with peace of mind and body.

The spine is a very powerful and central part of the human anatomy. Along your spine you have tiny nerve endings that flow energy out to all different parts of your body to perform everyday activities. Just like exercise and stretching helps strengthen muscles and ultimately bones, the spine is in need of attention as well.

There are seven main energy points along the spine, each connected to very specific body and mind function. If one of these energy centers is off or unhealthy, both the body and mind become unbalanced.

Yoga and meditation practice are important to every day health, because they both allow constant unclogging of these seven energy points.

For more on each of the seven chakras:

First Chakra: Root Chakra – Muladhara 
Second Chakra: Sacral Chakra – Svadhisthana 
Third Chakra: Solar Plexus Chakra – Manipura
Fourth Chakra: Heart Chakra – Anahata 
Fifth Chakra: Throat Chakra – Vishuddha
Sixth Chakra: Third Eye Chakra – Ajna
Seventh Chakra: Crown Chakra – Sahasrara

The light in me honors and respects the light in each and every one of you,
Azahar

~Next in Series: Fifth Chakra – Throat

Do you have any practices you like to incorporate into Chakra healing?