Loving Ourselves; Opening up our Hearts ❤

Happy February to all of our dear friends and family from around the world! This week, we’d like to speak about the Heart and the beauty it represents not only physically, but emotionally and mentally as well.  In Ayurveda, the heart is the seat of the 10 great vessels, supporting healthy circulation and a major aspect of both the lymph rasa channel as well as the blood rakta channel. These two in combination, make up an entire pathway in our body that supports our health and overall well-being. We consider the heart to be the center of everything. In addition to the physical channels of the body, the heart is also the seat of ojas–the 8 drops that are created from the entire nutrition cycle–giving us vitality, immunity, enthusiasm, and truly the essence of who we are. In this way, the health of this organ plays an integral role in the health of our overall being.  On a subtler level, our heart is also the emotional center of our entire being. When we look at the heart, we see that it is connected to the anahata chakra–the bridge between our lower and higher selves, the bridge between our physical and subtle bodies. We process emotions here, we process experiences here, we process our thoughts here as well.  Any imbalance in the body that manifests in the heart will manifest both physically in the organ or energetically in the space of the heart chakra. When we are at our healthiest state, our heart opens up to the universe, to all those around us, inviting in love and compassion, and ultimately sending that back out into the world.  From both an Ayurvedic and Yogic viewpoint, there is much that we can do to support all aspects of our heart.

Essential Oils for the heart:  Rose, Hina, & Sandalwood are 3 wonderful essential oils you can inhale or use on the heart directly to support opening up this energetic space. They all are relaxing and supportive to releasing any unprocessed grief/trauma in that region.

Herbs for the heart: Arjuna & Passionflower are 2 herbs that help to heal the heart from any imbalance to the physical organ. They can be made as simple teas or taken as supplements. They support healthy circulation and functioning of the heart which could support energetically the heart chakra as well.

Pranayama & Asanas:  Bhastrika is a wonderful pranayama for the heart which helps to cleanse any toxins circulating in the space as well as helping to strengthen the musculature of the organ.  Practicing backbends, especially those that open up the thoracic cavity, such as camel  or bow, can be beautiful to not only physically strengthen the chest, but also helps to release any unprocessed emotion and brings light into this space.

Color Therapy: Wearing the color green will help to directly impact both the physical and subtle channels around the heart. Green is affiliated with the heart chakra, so you can wear green clothes, or maybe even drink water from a green glass bottle.

Here’s something our Dean of Education, Sneha, does in her morning practice to support this beautiful space.

There are so many beautiful things you can do, including journaling, connecting with nature, sharing time with a loved one. But no matter what you do, we hope that you’ll take time to tend to this sacred aspect of your being. Care for it, grow it, and share the light out into the world.

Heart chakra is a seat of love, devotion and this is the point where the lover meets with the beloved, the devotee meets with devotion. There is a small window in this chakra, a small hole and there is a passage to go up to the Divine. That is why there are specific deities. Person cries out of emotion and a person gets dissolved in the emotion. So the heart chakra is a chakra of devotion, compassion, and cry. Vasant Lad