Chakra Series: Heart

The heart chakra, or the anahata in Sanskrit, is the fourth chakra in our energy system. It is located at the center of the chest near the heart, although you probably could have guessed that! The general energy of this chakra is related to love, compassion, and connections. This chakra is symbolized by a six pointed star inside of a twelve petal lotus. Due to where this chakra is located, it is usually associated with the heart, lungs, thymus gland, and the circulatory system. One of the other things commonly associated with the heart chakra is air.

When the heart chakra is balanced we feel love, compassion, and empathy for ourselves and others. However, when this chakra is unbalanced or blocked you will experience sadness, insecurity, mistrust, and emotional meltdowns. You may also struggle to maintain relationships, become isolated, lack empathy, harbor jealousy or resentments, and generally just be emotionally detached. There is also the possibility that your chakra is overactive, which could cause you to be jealous, stingy, self-absorbed, co-dependant, overly giving, or overly attached to others. Some of these things may seem contradictory, but that is because the effects will depend on the person. 

One way to heal this chakra is through heart centered crystals. If the chakra is blocked, Peridot would be a good choice. If you are looking for some general balance, Rose Quartz or Green Aventurine would be perfect. However, if you have an overactive chakra, Pink Topaz is definitely the way to go. 

Another way to balance this chakra is through yoga and meditations. Positions like the Camel Pose or Cobra Pose in yoga can help clear this chakra of its ailments. This is especially true if you choose to pair them with deep breathing exercises that target that area. The meditations that benefit this chakra are heavily focused on love and compassion or encouraging acts of kindness and generosity. Some individuals may find that their meditations are more effective when practiced out in nature. During these practices, some people like to use words of affirmation to meditate on, some good examples of things to say in relation to the heart chakra include but are not limited to, “I am worthy of love and compassion.”, “I forgive myself and others with ease”, and “I am open to giving and receiving love unconditionally.”

Using color association is also a good method of stimulating this chakra. With this chakra being associated with the color green it is typically viewed as where our capacity for empathy, forgiveness, and acceptance originates. This means that you could wear anything that has green on it or consume green foods. You could also surround yourself with the color pink since it is also commonly associated with embracing the energy of the heart.

Overall, the heart chakra is a very important part of our system as it controls our ability to develop or block meaningful connections. This is why it is important to do everything that we can to make sure we have a healthy relationship with this chakra.