Anahata – Love, Gratitude, Forgiveness

The Heart Chakra is the fourth primary chakra up the spine. It is the energy centre that marks the transition from the denser, lower frequency chakras to the subtler, more spiritual chakras and as such it carries the energy of transformation. Its Sanskrit name is Anahata (Sanskrit: अनाहत, IAST: Anāhata, English: “unstruck”) and it means “unhurt, unstruck, and unbeaten”.

If you are unfamiliar with the concept of the Chakras and the five different bodies according to yoga philosophy, you can read my blog The Chakras Explained.

Anahata Symbol – Two intersecting triangles forming a 6-pointed star in a circle with 12 petals

The Heart Chakra colours our life with love, kindness and beauty. Driven by the principles of transformation and integration, the fourth energy centre bridges our earthly and spiritual aspirations. It is the centre of Compassion, Love, Group Consciousness and Spirituality.

Anahata is associated with the sensation of touch and therefore with the skin and the hands. In the endocrine system, the thymus relates to this energy centre. The Heart Chakra governs the heart, lungs, blood and circulation.

Thymus Gland

When Our Hearts Are In Balance

We all know that when our heart is in balance and in accord with the mind, we experience inner peace, joy, gratitude, love, and compassion for those around us. As the Heart Chakra is about Love, it brings about feelings of kindness and affection when it is open, we are more compassionate which helps to create harmonious relationships.

A balanced heart chakra is the difference between jealousy and contentment, co-dependency, and healthy boundaries.

Over-Active Heart Chakra

If Anahata is over-active, we are suffocating people with our Love and it probably has quite selfish reasons. Often we exhibit the following traits too:

• Overly empathetic
• Overly concerned
• Jealousy
• Poor boundaries
• Co-dependency
• Clinging
• Tendency to stay in abusive relationships
• Overly sacrificing

Yoga For The Heart

Yoga is a powerful tool in bringing balance and harmonious flow of energy to your Heart Chakra. Yoga poses for the heart should focus on opening the chest and drawing energy into the heart. Some of these poses have been shown below. Practice them mindfully, paying attention to the energetic quality of each posture, feeling into the openness of the shoulders & the chest, allowing a sensation of softness and warmth to spread in the heart area. Breathe into the heart.

Yoga Poses Stimulating The Heart Chakra

• Bitilasana Marjaryasana Variation (Cat Cow)
• Uttana Shishosana (Puppy Pose)
• Dhanurasana (Bow Pose)
• Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)
• Virabhadrasana I Variation (Warrior I)
• Virabhadrasana III Variation (Warrior III)
• Parsvottanasana (Pyramid Pose)
• Parivrtta Anjaneyasana (High Lunge Twist)
• Virasana (Hero Pose)
• Ustrasana (Camel Pose)
• Trikonasana (Triangle Pose)
• Supta Baddha Konasana (Reclined Butterfly Pose)
• Chakrasana (Wheel Pose)

Apart from asana, mudras can help us on our way to connecting with the heart. Mudras are more advanced yoga practices and they include hand gestures and attitudes. There are more than one mudras that can help in the healing of Anahata, however my favourite is Padma Mudra. It represents the purity and perseverance of the lotus flower floating above the muddy waters of desire, fear, and attachment.

Here is how to practise the Lotus Mudra.

Bring your hands softly into Anjali Mudra in front of the heart centre.

Slowly unfurl your hands like a lotus flower blossoming open. Keep the base of the hands together, along with the thumbs and little fingers. Allow the index, middle, and ring fingers to gently open.

Heart Chakra Foods

Balance your Heart Chakra with green, raw foods. As the fourth chakra energy is subtler than the previous three, the food related to it becomes less dense. Thus, organic green fruit and vegetables can be very supportive and provide our bodies with the so needed vitamins, minerals and nutrients. These foods are essential in balancing Anahata and maintaining higher frequencies, lightness and openness both in the body and mind. Therefore, start your day with a green smoothie, drink plenty of fresh green juices and eat leafy salads. In addition, cruciferous vegetables and salad greens are especially healthy, as they are rich in vitamins and minerals. Dark green cruciferous veggies are a source of vitamins A and C and contain plant-based compounds that may help to lower inflammation.

Reaching for the green foods will help heal and balance your Heart Chakra. So eat kale, broccoli, spinach, chard, dandelion greens, parsley, celery, cucumber, zucchini, matcha, green tea, avocado, lime, mint, peas, kiwi, spirulina, green apples. All of them carrying lots of green goodness!

Additionally, sip green tea throughout the day and experiment with superfoods like barley, spirulina, chlorella and heart-opening matcha. Cacao is always a wonderful heart opener (even though it’s not green). Also there are there are so many herbs to include in your diet – thyme, rosemary, parsley, cilantro, basil and sage.

Green Goddess – Spinach, Celery, Cucumber & Lime Juice

This is my own recipe but the result is a highly satisfying, creamy, zesty and aromatic drink. If you don’t have a juicer, just blend the ingredients into a smoothie (option to add avocado) or improvise and make a salad – no limits to your imagination there!

♥ ♥ ♥

Ingredients:

• a couple of celery stalks washed and chopped
• one small or 1/2 a big cucumber
• 2-3 handfuls of fresh baby spinach
• 1/4 lime with the zest
• 2-3 stalks of fresh mint
• 1/2 apple for sweetness (optional)

Practices To Help You Find Peace With The Heart

Volunteering

As the centre of your compassion and empathy, it is important to not only experience new things but to also put yourself in other people’s shoes and learn how you can help them. Bring balance to your heart chakra by making a habit of volunteering. This helps to connect you to the compassionate and empathetic energy of the heart chakra.

Be In Nature

The heart chakra is highly influenced by the element of air. Hence getting outside and breathing in fresh air can help restore and bring balance to your fourth chakra.

Try to get out of the city and away from pollution, somewhere where the air is clean and fresh. When outside, practice deep breathing exercises.

Meditation

Meditation plays an important role in restoring balance to your chakras. Chakra meditation techniques are similar to traditional meditation techniques but focus on a specific area of the body.

When meditating on the heart chakra bring your attention to the middle of your chest, visualize a green glow in the area and as you breathe imagine it expanding. Feel the warmth in the region of the heart. Bring someone loved to mind and allow your body to experience the love for them in all of its warmth and power.  

Crystals Supporting The Heart Chakra

Each chakra is influenced by unique stones and their energetic properties. The heart chakra is highly influenced by rose quartz. Therefore when trying to balance your heart chakra, meditate with rose quartz, carry the stone with you, or wear jewellery with rose quartz to let the energetic properties help restore balance to the chakra. I have listed some more Anahata supporting crystals. As usual – choose the one that draws you immediately.

• Rose Quartz – This powerful, pink crystal vibrates with the energy of unconditional love. Rose Quartz is very often called the ‘Heart Stone’, as it stimulates the loving energy of the heart throughout your entire aura. Rose Quartz is the best crystal for purifying the heart.
• Emerald – This beautiful, green gemstone is very often called the “Stone of Successful Love” as if offers healing energy to your heart chakra, and it restores the balance between partners in a relationship. Emerald has a calming effect on your emotions, and it can be used to heal your heart after an unsuccessful relationship.
• Malachite – It is a mesmerizing, green stone of protection, which is known for absorbing negative energies from your aura. Malachite will guide you to develop a healthy relationship with yourself and others.
• Rhodonite – This beautiful pink stone is also known as the “Stone of Self Love & Unconditional Love”, therefore it is a perfect match for healing your heart chakra. Rhodonite will balance your emotions and protect you from envy or jealousy.
• Jade – Green to white — Semi-precious stone used to balance the Heart Chakra. Jade promotes emotional and physical healing of the heart’s ills.

Sound Healing For Your Second Chakra

Sound can be extremely helpful when trying to heal. The soothing warm tones of a song, the resonating frequency of a music piece can calm our mind, touch our heart, bring out stored emotions and make us cry or laugh. If you haven’t experienced a sound bath until now I highly recommend it. It can be an outwardly experience which can leave you vibrating with a gentle loving frequency for hours to come.

So here I offer you James’s fourth Chakra piece – personally one of my favourites with its soft harp and rolling water sounds. Be light and peaceful!

HEART CHAKRA (639 Hz Solfeggio Frequency)

Original music composed by James Molloy

Keep An Open Heart

In conclusion, in order to heal our Heart Chakra we have to stop building walls and start building bridges. Invite vulnerability. Connect with the people around you and try to see through their behaviour. Learn to leave judgement aside and replace it with the one and true cure for the heart – LOVE. Not just for those around you, but most importantly for yourself!

Love & Light!

Evelina