Yoga for the Heart Chakra
Get in Touch with your Spiritual Side
There are seven major chakras. While the first three chakras deal with the physical, emotional and mental sides of the self, the heart chakra talks to the soul. Also known as our transformation centre, this is where we deal with our spiritual side. It is where we experience feelings of unconditional love or a deep love for others. This is a pure or spiritual kind of caring. You can feel your heart chakra when you cry tears of happiness or joy or when your heart strings feel ‘pulled’. The colour associated with this chakra is emerald green.
On a physical plane, the heart, circulation and respiratory systems are related to this chakra. Imbalances manifest as physical problems including heart disease, high blood pressure, poor circulation, angina (chest pain), asthma, emphysema, bronchitis or pneumonia. Life is not possible without a properly functioning heart and lungs.
Chakra Imbalances
Psychologically, imbalances in the heart can leave a person feeling self-hatred or lacking in self-esteem. They may avoid interpersonal relationships for fear of being hurt or unloved. Some choose isolation to avoid this pain while others may have suffered from neglect, abandonment or abuse. Grief weighs heavy on the heart and when left unresolved can create a wide array of problems. Others choose to give their hearts away, leaving very little for themselves and a feeling of emptiness and loneliness.
Forgiveness is not necessarily letting others off the hook, it is more about releasing anger and hurt experienced from an action. Forgiving ourselves is often one of the hardest things to do because we tend to feel unworthy of it. However, by showing compassion to ourselves, we are able to better show compassion for others. Forgiveness and releasing of old grudges helps the heart energy to expand.
Understanding what various chakras represent and symptoms associated with their imbalances can be a useful tool for balancing mind, body and spirit. Certain physical symptoms may indicate a blocked chakra. Meditating and thinking of the colour associated with the specific chakra may be beneficial.
Yoga for the Heart Chakra
The camel is excellent for opening the heart chakra. Other good yoga poses for opening this channel are the cobra, windmill, arm circles, the fish and cow's head. As the heart chakra is associated with air and is located in the chest area, breathing exercises may also be helpful. These include deep breathing, the complete yogic breath, the breath of fire, the rapid diaphragmatic breathing using your abdominal muscles to exhale and alternate nostril breathing, using your right thumb and right ring finger to close off one nostril at a time.
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