We’ve teamed up with wellbeing essential oils company, yogandha, to bring you four ways you can connect with and take care of your heart chakra.
The heart chakra is the Anahata or the fourth Chakra. It has usually taken quite a beating by others and even by ourselves with negative self-talk.
Given this, it might seem ironic that Anahata is sanskrit for ‘unstruck’ or ‘unhurt’ – but this actually refers to the place that lies beneath all the pain – the place that experiences that sacred ‘oneness’ we can sometimes feel.
Connecting with this chakra surely must be the best feeling in the world, but we so often choose the other smaller path – living from the place of hurt – because it feels safer – though we know (yes, in our hearts) that the braver path of living from an open heart is the only way to go.
And we DO have this choice.
The craziness of hurting others out of a place of hurt was really nicely demonstrated by Thich Nat Hanh when I was lucky enough to be at a retreat he gave. “It’s like you’re hammering a nail, and you miss and hit your thumb, and then the hand with the sore thumb picks up the hammer and hammers the first hand back (then he laughs)”. Hurting the other IS hurting the self – because we are all one really. If you can FEEL this – most of the time, that’s sublime.
Here are some tips to opening your heart chakra:
1. Hug everyone. I really push this one as author Leo Buscaglia says we need 12 hugs a day for optimal health! I highly recommend this practice. Hugs are magic.
2. In the morning, set an intention to get through the full day without criticising anyone. Be particularly vigilant of that demon’s inner voice.
3. Smile as you walk down the street and feel the reverberating energy coming back to you. If only a scowl comes back, imagine an intricate story of what’s going on with them that’s got them in a bad place. This helps empathy and shields you from their bad buzz.
4. Tell the people around you how cool you think they are. We always presume people know how much we love them and appreciate them. Say it!
Here are some other ways to connect with your heart chakra
Essential oils for stimulating the heart Chakra
Jasmine, lavender, marjoram and rose essential oils are ideal for connecting to your heart chakra. yogandha Balance has both jasmine and lavender and is sublimely feminine – perfect for incorporating with your yoga poses for the heart chakra, meditation and mantras for the heart chakras. It also as a perfume so your mind will subliminally recall any meditation or mantras every time you wear it.
Yoga Poses for the Heart Chakra
Camel pose (ustrasana), Upward facing dog (urdhva mukha svanasana), Cobra (bhujangasana) and any other poses which opens up the chest area. Breath into the heart and really feel it.
Meditation and Mantras for the Heart Chakra
The mantra corresponding to the heart is the sound YUM. A very powerful mantra to repeat is OM MANE PADME HUM. My teacher Uma Dinsmore Tuli finishes all her fabulous trainings with “I honour my heart, my inner teacher. I honour my heart, my inner teacher. I honour my heart, my inner teacher”. This mantra didn’t resonate with me at first, but now I love it and I feel it. It’s a beautiful surrender to the ‘unstruck’ and ‘unhurt’ part of ourselves.
Self-Massage for the Heart Chakra
The sense of touch is associated with the Heart Chakra, so Abhyanga (or yogic self-massage) is another wonderful self care routine for opening the heart chakra. When you want to speak, feel or think from the heart, give the sternum a few taps. This stimulates the thymus gland which boosts your immune system. One of the essential oils to open the heart chakra is marjoram. The award-winning yogandha Muscle Soothe is full of organic divine sweet marjoram – so that’s perfect for a heart-centred self-massage.
Muscle Soothe or the full set of body oils are perfect to underpin your heart-opening practice, whatever form that may take. Use the oils to bring your intention into your every single day. Their application as part of a daily ritual of calm self-connection will be your window out of fight-or-flight and into a self-connected heart-centred state of being.
This blog post was written by Sinéad Duffy, creator of yogandha. yogandha create 100% natural, vegan aromatherapy blends for mood, mindfulness and everyday wellbeing.
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