Welcome back to our Chakra Series!  We are going to dive into the energy of the HEART CHAKRA.  This is the place where feelings, emotions, and love either thrive or get deprived.  The three lower chakras we previously discussed– the Root, Sacral, and Solar Plexus Chakras help prime the health and vitality of the Heart Chakra!

Chakras (Quick Review)

Chakras (Sanskrit for wheel or cycle) are energetic centers that are located in the mid-line of the body along the spinal column.  These energy centers are derived from eastern philosophies such as Hinduism and Buddhism.  They govern the subtle body which is affected by the mind, intellect, and ego.  The body will thrive emotionally, physically, and spiritually when the Chakras are energetically balanced.  Specific negative life experiences, emotions or thoughts can throw off the subtle body and chakras may become blocked or imbalanced.

According to this eastern philosophy, blockages can have a negative effect on the physical or emotional body and can cause physical/emotional ailments or dis-ease.  These ailments may arise when specific chakras become blocked or imbalanced.  Each chakra is associated with a specific color, area of the body or specific organs, as well as specific feelings/emotions.  Learning about each chakra will help gain a deeper understanding of the unique energies and how they affect the health of your body!

Heart Chakra- Anahata

 

The Heart Chakra is called Anahata in Sanskrit which means “unstuck” or “unbeaten”.   This chakra is the center chakra– the meeting place between the below three ‘primal’ or physical chakras and the higher three mental/ethereal chakras.  The Heart Chakra is where all the energetic meridians come together, making this chakra the POWER HOUSE.  When any one chakra is off balance or blocked it will inevitably affect the vitality of the heart chakra region.  Therfore, to balance this chakra it is best to consult the other chakras to see where the body is blocked and the heart chakra will thrive!

When this chakra is balanced a person will feel physically and emotionally balanced, embody the qualities of nurturing, compassion, empathy, and friendliness.  It becomes natural to be a humanitarian, to be able to see the good in others, to be able to surrender in a loving relationship, and to have healthy use of will power.

When the Heart Chakra is out of balance or blocked a person may be paranoid, indecisive, have a fear of letting go, a fear of being hurt, a fear of being free, a fear of being abandoned. A person may experience  feelings of unworthiness in love and may need of constant reassurance.

When this chakra has excessive energy a person may be demanding, be overly critical, possessive, moody, have a martyr complex, may love conditionally, withhold love or generosity, be melodramatic, manic depressive, and possibly experience hyper-tension (especially tension between shoulder blades).

Heart Chakra Characteristics

Color Association: Green

Action: Spend time with people you love.  Put your right hand over your heart and take deep breaths.  Do a cardio workout, and think or write a list of all the things you love.  Search for beauty all around you to evoke the feeling of LOVE.

Mantra: I am unconditionally loved. My heart is full. I have compassion for myself and others. Beauty surrounds me wherever I go.

Foods: Green foods like Spinach, Kale, Broccoli, Green Peppers, Green Tea, Spirulina.  Heart Supporting foods like Red Wine, Cherries, Salmon, Almonds, and any comfort food or home made meal

Organs Associated: Center of the chest, heart and circulatory system, lungs, shoulders, arms and hands, ribs/breasts, diaphragm, thymus glands.

Health Affects: Congestive heart failure, heart attack, mitral valve prolapse, cardiomegaly, asthma/allergy, lung cancer, bronchial pneumonia, upper back, shoulder pain, breast cancer.

Issues: Hatred, bitterness, grief, anger, jealousy, inability to forgive, self-centeredness, fears of loneliness, commitment and betrayal. Loss of compassion, hope, and trust. The feeling of lack of the ability to heal yourself and others.

Supplements:

Buddha Teas 4th Chakra Tea –

This is delicate herbal tea that is made specifically to open the heart chakra.  It will also provide your heart with heart centered medicinal herbs such as hawthorn berries, hawthorn leaf, lavender, and hyssop.

Resveratrol –

Resveratrol is one of the best supplements for heart health.  This is the deep red/purple color that comes from the skin of grapes.  It is very high in antioxidants which will help support the heart and the energy of the heart! This is a supplement everyone can benefit from!

Green tea –

Green Tea can help prevent oxidative stress in the heart and body.  It can also improve blood flow, allowing the heart to be more efficient.  Try it in tea form and drink it slow with a friend to help foster compassion and connection in the heart.

In order to support this chakra you must support ALL the chakras.  Love is a byproduct of the feeling of beauty, appreciation, stability, confidence, etc.  You can gain these feelings from the below chakras as well as the above chakras and then the heart chakra will begin to accept, receive, and give love.  Check this chakra balancing guided meditation for a full body balancing chakra experience!

Can you imagine a world where love is the center of our being?  We can, so can John Lennon.  Balance all of the chakras for LOVE to FLOURISH! All we need is love!

**Extra Credit** Recite the ho’oponopono several times in the morning or before bed.  You can focus on someone specifically or say it in general.  This healing mantra will assist the body/mind/spirit in the process of forgiveness which will help build love for yourself as well as for others:

I’m sorry
Please forgive me
I love you
Thank you

As always, do what you feel is best for YOUR body — if you aren’t sure, ask your doctor.  We are health ENTHUSIASTS not licensed practitioners.