The 4th Chakra

Jan 28, 2019 | News

Fourth Chakra – The Heart Chakra (Anahata chakra)

 

Anahata (Sanskrit) means “unstuck or unhurt”.  This implies that beneath the hurts and grievances that we have, lies a pure, spiritual placed where no hurt exists.

 

Located:  in the center of the chest just above the heart.  It is the area where the physical and spiritual meet.  

 

Associated with love, joy and inner peace.

 

The Heart chakra plays a part in our ability to love, the quality of our love, our past loves and our future loves.  It helps us to appreciate beauty in all things. It helps us to transcend our egos and gives us heart centered discernment.  

 

Color:  Emerald Green

Element:  air

Gem stones:  emerald, malachite, jade and rose quartz

 

When your heart chakra is open and balanced, you are loving and compassionate, quick to forgive and accepting of yourself and others.  

 

When your heart chakra is closed or imbalanced, you can harbor, grief, anger, fear, jealousy and hatred toward yourself and others.  

 

Empathy, openness and compassion…

It is often easier and maybe even the slightest bit satisfying to hold on to grudges, and to fear and mistrust others.  This can create blockages and stagnations in our emotional and physical selves, leading to possible emotional and physical health problems.  

 

A choice…

We can simply choose to open our hearts in all situations.  Sounds easy, doesn’t always feel easy. Imagining your heart opening and flooded with emerald green, imagining what it would be like to be walking in the other person’s shoes, giving the benefit of the doubt, choosing to let go of a hurt instead of clutching it close at all times…

Of course it feels more complicated than that, but these steps are the beginning steps in cultivating an open balanced heart.  

 

Positions to open the heart chakra:

Cobra:  lying face down, place hands just under shoulders, lift belly, activate glutes (butt muscles), lengthen knees and feet.  Press chest and head up with arms, keep shoulders down and legs lengthened. Arch the head, keeping the neck long.

Cat-Cow:  On the floor on all fours with wrists under shoulders and knees under hips.  Curve the back up taking the head down making a high curve, then slowly reverse and let the belly fall low, head arches back keeping the neck long.  Repeat this several times.

 

Activities that can open the heart chakra:

Breathe!  Fill up your chest!

Cultivate your appreciation for beauty.  Look at beautiful things, go to beautiful places.

Focus on receiving if you are naturally a giver and focus on giving if you tend to do more receiving.  

Be grateful!  Name what you are grateful for.  

 

Affirmations for the heart chakra:

I am loved, I am centered in my heart, I am a part of all that is, I am aware and my heart is open, I am balanced and connected to all.  

 

I can give and receive.

I am grateful.