Melting Heart Pose - Anahatasana

From low kneeling, place both hands on your heart centre, and pause to take three conscious breaths here, mindfully drawing your breath into your open heart space. Feel the sensation of each breath. Be curious. Was the breath open, easy and full? O did you feel restriction, a sharp intake, a dense, dull ache?

With each exhale allow yourself to drop down into your heart space and just be. Feel it's beat, it's pulsation. Feel it's space. Is it warm or cold? Does it have a colour?

In Sanskrit, “Anahata” means unhurt, unstruck and unbeaten. This fourth chakra serves as our center of love for self and others. It's the centre for compassion, empathy and forgiveness.

On your next exhale visualise that sweet surrender and the return to the earth as your lower your, perhaps stiff upper body, in relation to the soft yield of the forgiving earth with Anahatasana. You may need to dvelve into the pose a couple of times before comfort can be felt in order to maintain this pose for steady upper chest breathing. Expanding the heart energy. This fourth chakra is air element. Air like love is within and all around us.

When the heart chakra is in alignment you feel surrounded by love, compassion, and joy. An open heart chakra allows us to see all of the beauty and love around us, and truly connect to ourselves, our loved ones, and the natural world.

The heart chakra directly affects the heart, lungs, chest, arms, and hands. When misaligned, poor circulation, blood pressure, (high or low), and other heart and lung conditions can result. Issues that can occur in the body can also include infections of the lungs, bronchitis, and circulatory problems.

Blocked chakras can affect our entire being. Symptoms can manifest as physical ailments or disease.

Blocked energy can also have a profound effect on the nature of our mind and mental state. Mentally, an imbalanced heart chakra can result in problematic issues, such as co-dependency, manipulative behaviors, feeling of unworthiness, and an inability to trust yourself or others.

Other signs your heart chakra may be blocked:

• You excessively isolate yourself

• You experience loneliness

• You fear feelings of intimacy

Come back to healthy heart balance through some of these simple tips.

• Express gratitude.

• Use rose quartz and other heart-opening crystals.

• Practice heart-opening affirmations.

Healthy and balanced chakra energy is vital for our mental and physical well-being. Our heart center relies on an open anahata charka for free-flowing love, compassion, and empathy. When you feel stuck in these areas, you can balance this energy center with simple tools to open your heart to the love and beauty always surrounding us.