What more appropriate chakra to explore on Valentine’s Week than the heart chakra?
We are all familiar with the sensations of the heart. Almost everyone can relate when someone says that they feel ”light-hearted” or that they have a “heavy heart.” In this way, the sensations of the heart chakra are some of the most accessible of the system.
At the heart, we reach the very center of the chakra system. Perfectly balanced between the upper and lower chakras, anahata is the chakra guiding relationships, compassion, and emotional well-being. It is in the heart that the intuition of the body and the wisdom of the spirit come into manifestation.
While the heart chakra usually is thought to be outer directed (compassion to others), it is also the place where we come into deeper and more harmonious relationship with ourselves. Here we resolve the myriad of relationships within different (and frequently contradicting) aspects our own life. Only through the compassion and spaciousness of love can we fully accept and integrate the lost or shadowed parts of our history and personality. When we are able to accept ourselves fully, then we can also begin to accept others fully, without being triggered by the remembrance of fragmented parts of ourselves.
As you practice heart-opening, notice if any judgments or restrictive sensations arise. Practice nurturing a space of radical self-acceptance and expansion. Utilize the surrender and freedom of the inhalation to physical space for compassion and integration.
