Yoga For Your Heart Chakra

Our heart chakra is where our love, compassion and kindness come from. It is located over our heart and breastbone and goes up to our throat.

When in balance we feel love for ourselves and for everyone around us and are kind, and compassionate. When the heart chakra is overactive we are in danger of putting other people’s needs in front of our own and this can lead us to make unwise choices, when it is underactive we can build walls around ourselves to stop others from getting in which can be just as destructive.

The heart chakra presides over the air element of our body and to balance and energise our heart chakra we need to concentrate on ourselves and show ourselves love and compassion.

Yoga To ‘Open Your Heart’

Cat/Cow Pose

• Lower your knees to the floor and put your hands in front of you so you’re on all fours.
• Keeping your arms straight, place your palms directly under your shoulders maintaining a neutral spine.
• Inhale and drop your belly and roll your shoulders back into Cow Pose.
• Exhale, press your palms into the floor and arch your back, dropping your tailbone into Cat Pose.
• Repeat 3 times.

Puppy Pose (Uttana Shishosana)

• Start in a tabletop position with your feet parallel and hip distance apart.
• On an exhale walk your hands out in front of you and bring your chest to the floor and rest your forehead on the mat.
• Spread your fingers out and press your palms firmly into the mat, keeping your shoulders away from your ears and your elbows off the mat.
• As you inhale deepen the stretch by pointing your hips and back behind you.
• With each breath you will feel yourself nestling into the mat a little more and should feel a soft and gentle stretch in your back, your chest and your shoulders.
• Stay here for a few breaths and then bring yourself out of the pose by going back into tabletop position.

Seated Half-Fish Pose (Ardha Matsyendrasana)

• Sit on the floor with your legs straight out in front of you
• Bend your knees and rest the soles of your feet on the mat.
• Take your left foot under your right leg so it rests on the outside of your right hip and lay the outside of your left leg on the floor.
• Cross your right foot over your left leg so it stands on the floor outside your left hip.
• Bring your right hand behind your right buttock and rest it on the mat. Sitting tall, reach up with your left arm and as you exhale place your left arm on the outside of your right thigh.
• Bend your left elbow if this feels comfortable for you.
• Gaze forward past your shoulder. If it feels comfortable for you to do so move your head slowly to gaze over the opposite shoulder.

Bow Pose (Dhanurasana)

• Lie with the front of your body on your mat
• Rest one side of your head on the floor or rest your forehead on a folded blanket in front of you
• Placing your chin on the floor bend your knees and take hold of the outer edges of your feet or ankles
• Keeping your knees hip-distance apart inhale and raise your chin off the floor and look straight in front of you
• Exhale and push the soles of your feet up towards the ceiling lifting your thighs off the floor whilst pressing your belly to the floor and lifting your chest.

Cobra (Bhujangasana)

• Lie with the front of your body on the mat
• Place your forehead on the floor or on a folded blanket in front of you. Your hands are by your sides and your toes point to the back of the room.
• Bring your arms closer to your chest, inhale and raise your head, shoulders and front of the body keeping your pubic bone grounded onto the mat.
• Exhale and push your palms down into the mat and raise the front of your body as high as you can comfortably go, looking straight ahead.

Camel Pose (Ustrasana)

• Begin in a kneeling position with your knees hip-distance apart and your toes pointing to the back of the room flat on the floor.
• Keeping your pelvis over your knees
• Lean back, curling your back gently as far as you can go and grab your heels, lifting your heart and relaxing your throat.

Along with asanas, pranayama, relaxation and meditation are also instrumental in helping to keep the heart chakra balanced.

Pranayama

Pranayama, the fourth limb of yoga follows asanas and is all about the breath. The breath is our life force and controlling our breath helps us to focus our mind. In yoga the breath is used to direct the flow of our prana (life force) through our whole body.

Nadi Shodan Pranayama (alternate nostril breathing) is a breathing technique that helps calm the mind and soothe the nervous system.

• Sitting in a comfortable position, place the thumb of your right hand on your right nostril and your ring finger on your left nostril, resting your index and middle finger on the bridge of your nose.
• Slowly inhale through the left nostril closing the right with the thumb.
• Exhale through your right nostril. You will find that your exhale will be longer than your exhale.
• Repeat 3 times to begin with then gradually increase to 9/10 times as you become more comfortable with the technique.

This is a great technique to use before meditation as it really calms and relaxes your mind.

Relaxation

Relaxation is a fundamental part of yoga. It brings a stillness to our mind and body and not only is it the first step to meditation as it promotes a calm and de-cluttered mind but it also increases blood flow bringing oxygen and nutrients to our vital organs.

Meditation

Meditation or mindfulness is another term for living in the moment and concentrating on the here and now. Meditation not only helps focus your mind but staying calm and focused in the moment can help bring your nervous system back to balance which is great for eliminating stress and negative energy.

All you need for mindfulness meditation is:

• A quiet environment – somewhere where you feel comfortable and can relax.
• A comfortable position – sitting with your legs crossed, in lotus position or just sitting in a comfortable chair. Try to avoid lying down as this could make you fall asleep.
• Have a point of focus. This could be an internal thought or something external such as a candle flame, your favorite photograph, a meaningful word or phrase or you could focus on any object in the room you’re in.

You only need to do this for a few minutes every day but you’ll feel its benefits for hours on end.