Welcome back to the Chakra Series! Today’s theme is love. That’s right dear friends, we’ve made it to the heart chakra!
As you may remember from the first article in this series, the heart chakra serves as our connection between the physical and spiritual realm. It’s kind of like a “bridge” to our higher chakras which are the throat, third eye and crown, respectively. I love to talk about these higher chakras because they all seem pretty self explanatory but there are so many layers to explore in each one.
The heart chakra is located at the center of your chest and it’s name, Anahata, means “unstruck.” It’s associated with the element of air. Remember the mini meditation we tried in the last article about the solar plexus? Try it now with the mantra for the heart chakra; it’s YAM.
Anahata regulates love, warmth, compassion and joy. These feelings of love include self-love, love for others, love of nature, etc. It is the epicenter of our bonds with others. Basically anything and everything that has to do with happiness and the warm and fuzzies is controlled by your heart chakra. It is considered the ultimate healing force.
When the heart chakra is not balanced we can feel incredibly lonely or even shy. We can also experience a lack of empathy and have a hard time letting go of things. When overactive it can lead to a sense of codependency. People with an overactive heart chakra are constantly looking to others for acceptance.
Green is the color of the heart chakra. It is mostly associated with the thymus gland and is responsible for regulating the heart, lungs, circulatory system, arms and hands. When not in balance we can feel a range of complications in the physical body including anxiety, heart palpitations and in extreme cases, trouble breathing.
On a personal level, I can usually tell that I have an issue with my heart chakra if I start to feel more anxious than usual. I can also tell if any of my chakras need a little love when I start noticing it’s associated color more often than usual. This is actually true for most people. Do you have a particular color you are drawn to wearing this week or do you see this said color all over the place when you really didn’t take notice before? This could be a sign that you have a blocked chakra! For example, if you start seeing more red cars on the road and more red objects throughout your day, you could have a blocked root chakra. Start taking note of this and you may learn a few things about yourself!
How do we fix a blocked heart chakra? Hug more! I’m talking about meaningful hugs though. You want to hold someone tight for 20 seconds or more. You really need to get that connection with another soul to make a true difference. So hug away friends! Hug your partner, children, even your pets! Try your hardest to give love away freely even if it’s hard in the moment.
Try practicing gratitude. This is not necessarily a true way to tune the heart chakra but when I start listing the things I am grateful for in my life, I get that warm tingly feeling in my heart along with an overwhelming sense of love. I’ve recently started a gratitude journal to work on my manifesting but it has helped me so much more than that! Sometimes it’s hard to look on the bright side when there are so many wrong things going on right outside my door but writing 3 things a day that I am grateful for helps me to see how lucky I am and it increases my sense of love. I tell all of my clients to start a gratitude journal, especially if they have a blocked root chakra, and now I am telling you too! Give it a try and see for yourself. You don’t need to write profound things in it each day. It can be just the little things that make you smile.
Speaking of smiling, do more things that make you happy. This could be going for a run, knitting, spending time with your friends and family, basically anything that brings you joy. Do you want to know the thing I do that brings me the most joy? I know it’s going to sound weird and cliche but bear with me. My son is 2 years old and he has been sleeping through the night since he was 1. Recently however, he has been waking up once a night and crying for me to come into his room. When he first started doing this it annoyed me to no end. ALL I wanted to do after he went to bed was relax and work on my business but as soon as I would get settled, and without fail, he would start crying. So I would go in and snuggle with him for a minute and put him back to bed. After a while, I realized that I was starting to look forward to that nightly cuddle time and now it’s a part of our routine. I decided to embrace him waking up and turn it into a positive. I get the ultimate warm and fuzzy feeling being able to snuggle with my son and in knowing that he feels safe in my arms. And if you have ever met my son, you know that he is NOT a snuggly boy nor does he ever stop moving so I cherish those quiet moments, even if they are in the middle of the night.
If hugging or journaling aren’t your thing, try some of our other anahata balancing tips below. Let us know something you are doing to balance your heart chakra in the comments below!
Nutrition: Add green foods into your diet. We need to add more greens anyway since none of us get enough nutrients, but that will help your chakra as well!
Essential Oils: Marjoram, rose, ylang ylang, lavender, neroli, and angelica
Crystals: Jade, malachite, rose quartz, emerald, thodonite, prehnite, rudy, green fluorite, and chrysocolla
Yoga: Cobra, cat, forward bend, eagle, camel, and fish pose
Affirmations:
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- I have the right to love and be loved
- My fourth chakra is clear
- My heart is open and flows freely with love for myself and others
- I live my life with integrity
- I completely love and respect myself
- I feel empathy and compassion for all living beings
- I am love, I am peace, I am light
