[Chakra image from Peter Lomas at Pixabay]

Colour: Green

Location: Center of your chest

Mantra: Yam

Relates to: Love, Forgiveness, Empathy, Partnership, Expression of Feelings

Today we’re talking about the heart chakra. The fourth chakra in the chakra system is about your ability to love, forgive, empathize, express your feelings and partnering with others. Physically, the heart chakra is linked to the heart, lungs, and thymus gland. The vowel sound for the heart chakra is Aw (like saw).

Underactive = lacking in energy
Overactive = has too much energy

If your heart chakra is underactive you will likely be feeling unloved, self-pity, have a fear of rejection, be needy, clingy, and uncertain. If your heart chakra is overactive you’ll act with a sense of entitlement, jealousy, blaming others and giving too much.

Someone with a balanced heart chakra radiates love, is loving, empathetic, compassionate, altruistic, and has good vibe that is contagious. When you’re around someone like this you just feel good.

If you feel your heart chakra is under or overactive and want to heal it, here are some ways to do so. Pick whatever resonates with you. If you’re not sure that you like it, try it and see if you do. Move on to the next thing if it doesn’t work for you.

• Chant the mantra: Yam. You can do this with background music, or into silence. Do this for at least 3 minutes if you’re pressed for time.
• Do some yoga postures for the heart chakra like: bridge, camel pose and wheel.  An illustration of the poses can be found on this website. Modify the poses if you want or need to. I can’t do camel because of arthritis in my knees so the way I would modify this is to get a chair with strong arms. I would stand in front of it with my arms behind me supported on the arms of the chair. And then I would extend my chest upwards as I lean back. You could also do a standing back bend which isn’t as extreme as modified camel but still opens up your chest area where the heart chakra is located.
• Do acts of love. Let’s face it. We live in a world where we’re usually taught only to give if we get something back. To open your heart chakra more do some kind of action where you don’t expect anything back. It can range from something small to something big. For example, if you’re out and see something that a friend would like, and you buy it for them just because you know they might enjoy it. Another example is, you could help an elderly neighbour get groceries, or sit and talk with them if you think they might be lonely. Random acts of kindness is an act of love, especially if the recipient doesn’t know who you are. Now that’s really giving unconditional love!
• Use a solfeggio heart chakra meditation. The solfeggio frequency for the heart chakra is 341.3 Hz. Here is a meditation you cant try from YouTube which uses a Tibetan Singing Bowl. There are many solfeggio meditations online for free. Do a search on YouTube or your chosen search engine to find some.
• Use crystals:  Rose quartz, Emerald, Green Jade, & Green Aventurine are all crystals good for the heart chakra. Rose quartz although it isn’t green, is known as the crystal of unconditional love and it’s vibration resonates with the heart chakra. You can carry them with you, wear them in jewelry, or meditate with them.
• Do breathwork. One technique to open your heart chakra is doing alternate nostril breathing. Yogis will be familiar with this type of breathwork. You can find instructions here. Another simpler breathing technique is to put your hand on your heart and breathe in to a count of 5, hold for a count of 5 and exhale to a count of five. When you have your hand on your heart focus on how your heart is feeling.
• Express your feelings. When I want to express myself I sing. If I want to open my heart chakra I sing my favourite songs that have the topic of love. What do you do to express yourself?
• Do what you love. Most of us don’t take time to do what we love. I love to sing, paint, and write. When I get too practical and only focus on what I have to do my life becomes tedious. Doing what I love brings joy back into my life. When I’m happy I’m more open to giving love to others and to being loved in return.
• Take time to laugh. As adults we’re often so serious! But we don’t need to be this way all the time. Take time to laugh. Watch your favourite move or tv show that makes you laugh. You could also try laughter yoga.
• Practice Forgiveness. Forgiving someone doesn’t mean forgetting or saying what they did is okay. In some cases people can do truly horrible things. Forgiveness means letting yourself release the emotions that were a part of your reaction to an event or circumstance. Do you really want to carry that baggage with you the rest of your life? Usually the only person who suffers is the one who is unwilling to forgive. When you forgive you say that I’m not willing to suffer anymore for what happened.
• Volunteer your time. Creating an impact on your community is a way to show your love for your community. When people see you giving back to the community it shows that you care. You can volunteer your time at many places. An example of some are: Homeless shelters, the hospital, a senior’s home, in the office of a charity, and at charity events. I’m probably forgetting some, but you get the idea.
• Wear the colour green or have it around you in your home where you can see it easily.
• Use affirmations. Create your own or use one of these affirmations:
  • I love and accept myself completely.
  • I am loved and supported.
  • I am grateful.
  • I am open to loving others and to be loved.

I hope this article has given you some insight into the heart chakra and tools to heal it. Did you try any of the tools above? I’d love to know! Please comment below.