Day 4 Heart
The Heart Chakra governs marriage, partnership, and commitment of all types. Being in relationship, we are asked to be completely honest, no hiding or holding back. The cobwebbed corners of half-truths or denials must be swept out and illuminated. Loving a parent, spouse, child, friend, pet, or other is a way of extending and expanding the heart outside our own selves. This reminds us that we are a web of interconnected organisms.
When opening the heart to true, universal love of your self, others, your mission, and life... forgiveness, compassion, and harmony are not only possible but inevitable. It is profound and beautiful to allow yourself to be truly open.
Vulnerability is courageous. And yes, being vulnerable has its risks and requires strength and stamina, but a life without connection to others is not a healthy or natural way to spend our time on earth.
Take the time to ask how someone is doing. This may be a loved one or a person on a park bench. Really listen to their story. Implement empathy and compassion without judgment or pity, and allow your heart to melt for humanity.
Luxuriate in another’s presence, and allow yourself to be in awe of love. When down in the dumps, this is an especially nice practice to remind us everyone isn’t “out to get us.”
Sadness happens; it’s a part of life’s journey and a great teacher if we allow it to move through us. Heartache and grief are arguably the most intense feelings a person may bear. When we experience an intense trauma, the loss of a loved one, a break up, major letdown, or humiliation, retreat is a natural response. Broken trust can send us into self-preservation mode.
Energetic daggers in the heart are incredibly painful emotionally as well as physically. Stress creates cortisol, which hurts the heart muscle . . . so one can actually die of a broken heart. Release turmoil with crying, screaming, exercising, laughing, time in nature and with friends, extinguishing the “heart attack” and allowing love to permeate the protective armor.
If one is attracted to unhealthy relationships while pushing away potentially good ones, do the personal work in order to acknowledge and release old hurts, pains, fears, and biases you may be bringing to the table. To the best of your ability, get right with your own heart before embarking upon another relationship.
We all have wounds to address and heal in this life, and when we heal ourselves we become a healing presence to others. When in doubt, forgive . . . yourself, your parents, your friends, your enemies, people you have never met. Reach out, apologize, send out tendrils of love, go all in because there’s really no time for anything else. When cleared from the inside out we give the Universe room to work magic and present us with amazing opportunities.
Your breath is an incredibly powerful energy, and the element associated with the Heart Chakra is air so it’s no wonder when our hearts are full of love we feel like we are “walking on air!” Hunch your shoulders inward and try finding your breath. In this constricted posture, it doesn’t work too well. Shallow breathing and asthma are symptoms of underdeveloped heart health. Now roll your shoulders back, sitting straight and feeling the space created. You may feel instantly more open to giving and receiving. Slow, deep, long breaths are the key to balancing and attracting love.
Now for some energetic open heart surgery on yourself. Think of a limiting belief you have, a pattern that doesn’t serve you anymore, or an action you perpetuate that is downright annoying. Breathe it in, and let it permeate your body. Feel the sensations, however uncomfortable, and hold it in until you are about to burst. Now spew it out, emptying your lungs and breathing in the fresh new expansiveness. This is a form of Tonglen, the Tibetan practice of breathing in pain, your pain and the pain of others. We must go to the places within where we are harboring grief, shame, loneliness, resentment, anger and all the “ugly” stuff in order to be able to let it go.
Now reverse the process. Breathe in the positive, the beautiful, the compassionate. Exhale the hurt, the outdated, the story you may be living that no longer serves you. This steady flow of breath in and out helps to purify the body. Beyond our personal stories of heartbreak and sadness there is a knowing that we are infinite and whole. When we have cleared the hurts and griefs from the past, this is where the unstruck, unstuck, unhurt, unharmed and freeing air element of the Anahata Chakra comes into play.
A stick of incense burns in one place, but we smell it all around because air seeks balance. When we light the Solar Plexus fire, airy Heart provides the fuel. Put a match or candle flame to a bundle of smudging sage, sweetgrass, lavender, palo santo, and/or cedar, and watch the smoke waft. Reverently focus your intention on clearing blocked energy and releasing your love into the world. When outside, enjoy wind chimes and breezes in the open air. Like love, air wants to expand and find its way into every nook and cranny.
The thymus, derived from the Greek word “thymos” meaning “life energy,” is a gland in the chest which helps create equilibrium in the body. It does this by controlling the creation of white blood cells, which assist the body in fighting infection. It is also called the “happiness point” for when activated, the thymus can dissipate anxious energy, replacing it with calm vitality. While breathing deeply, try the “thymus thump” technique by using the index and middle finger knuckles to gently thump the center of your breastbone for about thirty seconds. Feel those endorphins spread throughout your body!
Your chest, arms, hands, and fingers are extensions of your heart. Let everything and everyone you touch be an act of love. Wear a green shirt or paint your nails green to remind yourself of this as you hold, touch, caress, exalt, honor, and hug it out! Open arms welcome open feelings of love and compassion, sharing and caring. In a hug from the heart, bodies intertwine and energies are melded. Turn “ughs” into “hugs” as you vibrate green love vibes.
