The He❤rt of the Matter

At least, for me, it is.

The Heart is something that is I am personally working on. After my Chakra training in Italy, I realized that my biggest block in my own life… is in my heart Chakra. In the course, I identified that while there was still some residual work to be done in my Chakras 1-3, it was my heart Chakra that was causing the stagnant energy in my life.

Over thirty-six years, I can see that I created this wall around my heart- and I got good at it. I protected myself. I protected myself from getting hurt from things from growing up that I internalized in my own way- which at the time seemed right, but looking back, was probably way off.

It took a childhood friend to reignite that childhood ‘heart protection’ and Chakra training to identify the source and location of this wall. It has affected my friendships, my love relationships, my own self love. I set myself up to never get close to anyone in various ways. I subconsciously dated unavailable people (geographically, emotionally, physically). I would travel all the time and have a full schedule to avoid cultivating my friendships.

At age thirty-six, I’m learning how to dismantle the wall. I am learning how to recognize my patterns and change them- change them to reflect what I truly want in life- lasting and fulfilling relationships with friends, family, and a future significant other. After I describe Anahata (Heart) Chakra, I’ll tell you ways I am  opening up my heart.

Quick Recap:

Each post, I am posting about the individual Chakras. Each Chakra has a color, location, sense, element, Sanskrit translation, bodily systems, health issues due to blockage, development period, principles, and archetypes.

The idea is to have all Chakras balanced, so that your life energy can flow easily top to bottom, bottom to top. By breaking each of them down, you can see areas where you may have blockages or areas that appear to be working well. Chakras are our life energy… you are giving away or adding to that energy all the time. The idea to maintain the right amount of energy, so the flow can occur in the body, resulting in a balanced, happy life :).

CHAKRA 4: HEART CHAKRA (Anahata in Sanskrit)
The Emotion/Compassion Chakra
Love of Self and Others, Compassion, Forgiveness, Peace, Acceptance, Empathy

This Chakra is developed during ages 4-7 years of your life. Where Chakra 1 related to our ‘tribal’ power, and Chakra 2 relates to the flow of power between ourselves and others, Chakra 3 is about personal power in relation to the rest of the world, Chakra 4 is about our internal world. The shadow feeling here is grief.  Abandonment, loneliness, confidence, hope, despair, envy can affect this Chakra.

Basic Rights: Basic Right to Love and Be Loved
Color: Green
Mantra: YAM
Element: Air
Sense: Touch
Location: Heart region, lungs, Chest, Arms, Breasts, Shoulders, Hands, Ribs, Diaphragm

Sanskrit: Anahata
Systems: Circulation, Respiration, Immune System
Archetype: Child
Excessive Heart Chakra Energy: In love with love, give too much of yourself
Deficient Heart Chakra Energy: Lack of love, lack of compassion, hold grudges/unforgiving, jealousy, bitterness, anger, hatred
Balanced Heart Chakra: Connection to something greater than yourself, love all beings, compassion, dedication, inspiration, trust
Fears: of loneliness, commitment, inability to protect self, fear of following your heart, fear of emotional weakness and betrayal

Physical Ailments (symptoms of poor Solar Plexus Chakra):
Congestive Heart Failure
Heart Attack
Asthma
Allergies
Lung Cancer
Pneumonia
Breast Cancer
Addictions to marijuana, sugar and smoking

4th Chakra Activities and Foods

Activities: Nature hikes, spending time with family and friends, gardening, reading romantic novels or watching romantic movies, candlelight dinners, hugs.  Yoga Focus: Heart openers and pranayama (breathing practices)

Foods: Leafy veggies (spinach, kale, dandelion greens), Air veggies (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, squash), Herbs (basil, parsley, thyme, cilantro), Green Teas

Questions within Fourth (Heart) Chakra and how this Chakra may be impacting you and your life:

Am I able to receive love as easily as I give it?
Do I give love without expectation for love to be returned equally?
Do I easily forgive myself and others?
What emotional memories do I still need to heal?
Do I ever use my emotional wounds to control people or situations?

While in Italy, I had a masseuse who ended up being a Chakra healer tell me my heart/shoulder area was blocked, and it stemmed from my childhood. She told me my posture was slouchy because I was, quite literally, protecting my heart.

When I had determined that I was potentially undermining myself with this blocked Chakra, I sprang into action. I devised a Heart Opening program for myself. And I’m going to share it with you:

8 Week Heart Opening Plan  June 1-July 31, 2013

The Physical Heart:
Massage: Work out tightened muscles in chest, back and shoulder area
Acupuncture to unblock energy flow
Heart Opening Poses in Yoga
Heart Opening Stretch 2x daily
Run 2-3x per week to get heart pumping

The Emotional Heart:
Writing a Letter and Having Conversations with Family members that may have affected my relationships later in life
Writing letters of gratitude
Hypnotherapist Sessions to Retrain the Subconscious on creating walls
Chakra/Energy Healer
Listen to Meditation/Recorded Self Hypnosis from Let Love In AM and PM

Understanding and Breaking Down Walls in the Heart:
Read and complete: Let Love In by Debra Berndt  – A Self-Hypnosis book on letting love into our heart
Read and Complete: Soul Love Awakening Your Heart by Orin.
Cutting out those that are feeding into the wall blockage (unavailable guys)

Nourishing the Heart:
Heart Tea
Heart Healthy Foods – no meat/Dairy at home, green foods (as listed above)
Mala being made by Chelsea www.myglobalnamaste.com
Smile/eye contact with one new person daily
Watch movies about love and romance
Setting up weekly activities with good friends to grow our friendships
Spending time with my pups

I know this is what is contributing to where I am today – as a single person, as a friend. I’ve never really taken the time to understand the root causes of my walls, and while it may seem like I am being hard on myself, I really just want to be true to myself. I understand now where and why I have blockages, and I am using the tools I know to clear myself of these so I can live out the life I’ve always truly wanted to live. As I always like to say, in the words of MJ, “if you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, and make that change.”

*all Chakra material from Mukti School, Wendy J Yoga, and Anatomy of the Spirit, by Caroline Myss, PhD