What is the heart chakra? How do you awaken and connect with your Anahata energy through yoga and crystals.
Our Heart chakra is the center of your feelings, the place where you love. The place that makes you feel alive and pumps energy around your body. If your heart chakra is unbalanced and your heart energy is low, it can effect all areas of your emotional life, making you feel lonely & depressed. We have created this blog post to help open your heart once again, so you can smile and radiate that love once again.
Location – Situated at the heart, in the centre of the spine
Association – Heart and circulatory system, chest, and arms
Colour – Green
Element – Air
Meaning – Compassion
Crystals to help open the heart chakra are:
The fourth in the primary chakras is known as Anahata. Known as ‘the bridge’ between the physical and spiritual chakras, it is said that the true self, or Atman, resides within this chakra.
Associated with balance, freedom, and compassion, when our Anahata energy is well balanced, we feel able to both give and receive love with ease. We are compassionate to ourselves and others. We are able to live in balance with oneself and with the outside world.
Misalignment of this chakra can lead to feeling disconnected with the self and with others. Leading to people-pleasing, or conversely cold-heartedness and resentment. Physically, symptoms include heart palpitations, circulatory or blood pressure issues – as well as a suppressed immune system.
To check in with anahata chakra, why not try asking yourself some of the following questions:
Can I feel gratitude in my life?
Am I in a place where I am able to forgive myself, and others?
Do I hold onto resentment?
Can I easily communicate boundaries and uphold them with love and respect?
Green is the colour associated with the heart chakra, so try to visualise this colour when practicing meditation or pranayama. Try incorporating a few of the below yoga poses into your yoga practice and help to awaken your anahata chakra.
Crystals to carry or grid around you during these times when your heart chakra is off balance are:
Aventurine (Luck & Abundance)
Amazonite (Harmony & Adventure)
Malachite (Love & Protection)
Jade (Abundance & Balance)
Rose Quartz (Unconditional Love)
Yoga Poses
Natarajasana (Dancers Pose)
Starting in Tadasana (mountain pose) at the top of the mat, focus on your breath and slowly start to bring your weight into your standing right leg. Lift the heel of the left foot up, coming onto the tiptoes.
Once you feel steady, pick the foot up fully off the floor and send it behind you, bending at the knee. Catch your foot with your left hand and press it into the hand. As you do so, take the right arm out long in front of you and begin to tip the torso forwards so that it becomes parallel to the floor.
Stay here for up to thirty seconds, settle your Drishti (gaze) and take the time to focus on your breath. Slowly release down and repeat on the opposite side.
Ustrasana (Camel Pose)
Starting on your knees with the legs hip distance apart, either bring your feet up with toes tucked under, or for a deeper back bend ground the tops of the feet onto the mat. Bring your hands onto your lower back and shoulders away from the ears. Draw the pelvis down whilst lifting the ribs and heart space upwards.
Keeping this position, release one hand down at a time, catching the heels with the hands. Bring your hips forwards slightly so that they stay over the knees and gently release the head back looking up towards the sky. If this is too much on the neck, then you can keep the chin tucked in.
Hold for several breaths before slowly releasing out by bringing your chin back into your head and slowly returning your hands to the lower back before coming back up.
Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)
Begin by lying on the floor, facing down. Legs out long, hip distance apart with the tops of the feet down on the mat. Bring your hands by your sides, just underneath your shoulders (tips of the fingers in line with the tops of the shoulders.
Relax the glutes, don’t hold tension here and squeeze the lower back. Reach the crown of the head forwards and draw your tailbone out long behind you, stretching out the spine and allowing space in your back.
As you inhale, push through your hands and arms and begin to lift your head and chest up off the mat. Keep elongating through the spine and make sure your elbows stay close to the sides of the body whilst squeezing the shoulder blades towards each other. Lift and open your chest and bring your gaze forwards. Hold for several seconds before slowly lowering back down to the mat.
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose)
Start by lying on your back, shoulders away from the ears (you may want to walk your shoulder blades underneath slightly), and arms out long by your sides, palms facing down. Bend in your knees, placing the feet to the floor and bring your heels close to the glutes. Make sure that your feet are hip distance apart.
Start to draw the tailbone up towards the sky and lift your hips, engaging the thighs and glutes. Press down into the feet, arms and hands to help lift and stabilise your body. Bring the weight into the shoulders and keep the head and neck still.
You can interlace your hands behind your back to help open the chest further, or for a more restorative pose, bring a block to the lower part of the back. Stay here for several breaths, and then slowly release down, bringing each vertebra onto the mat.
Supta Baddha Kanasana (Reclining Bound Angle Pose)
Lying down on your back, bend the knees bringing the feet to the ground. With the feet touching, allow the knees to gently fall outwards and bring the soles of the feet together. Place blocks, blankets, or cushions under the knees if they do not reach the floor – don’t try to force the knees down.
Place one hand to the heart and the other onto the stomach. Gently close your eyes and allow yourself to settle down. Try visualising the colour green at the centre of your chest as you connect with your heart’s energy.
When doing these positions remember to keep your crystals close by and even grid them around you. This will help in the activation even further.
Thank you for reading and wishing you a wonderful evening.
Love & much light always
Natasha
Always Believe In Miracles
