Healing the Heart Chakra: Daily Practices to Open, Balance and Connect
For those unfamiliar with Chakras, seven energy centers reside in our body along the spine. Each is associated with energetic aspects of wellness and balance in the mind and body. The seven Chakras are the Root, Sacral, Solar Plexus, Heart, Throat, Third Eye, and Crown.
The Heart chakra, located in the center of the chest, serves as a bridge between the upper and lower chakras. It is associated with love, compassion, empathy, emotional balance, and connection. Opening the heart chakra brings peace and deep compassion for others. When you are open, receptive, forgiving, accepting, generous, and connected to yourself and others, your heart chakra is strong and balanced.
Things like COVID-19, news of natural disasters, and political divides create a sense of social isolation, loneliness, resentment, bitterness, or fear, causing blocked and off-balance heart chakras for many.
One might think the heart chakra is associated with the color red or pink, but its color association is green. Green symbolizes nature, growth, and renewal; think of your feelings on a warm spring day.
So now that we have a rudimentary understanding of the heart chakra, how does one ensure it is open and balanced? Here are a few suggestions for daily practices that I have been taking on.
- A gratitude journal. It is so easy to find things to stress and complain about; I know I often find myself in that space. Thinking about and writing down 5 things that you are grateful for every day! I am always taken back to the saying, “ I cried because I had no shoes until I saw a man with no feet”. Look around and find the positive in your life!
- Try a short meditation. Close your eyes and hands over your heart, and think these words: “May I be free of anger, fear, or worries?” and “ May I nourish myself with joyful activities every day.” Combining these with deep breathing, even for five minutes a day, can go a long way to opening the heart.
- Heart-opening yoga poses. We often sit at computers or in a car, hands on the steering wheel much of the day. Opening the chest area helps to heal the heart poses like camel pose, sphinx, or camel pose. Not into yoga? Just sit, clasp your hands behind, and take a few deep breaths.
- Diffuse essential oils or combine them with a carrier oil and rub them over your heart area. Rose oil is my favorite, but I love Jasmine, ylang-ylang (also suitable for blood pressure support), bergamot, and lavender. As you breathe in the lovely aromas, take a moment to close your eyes and picture a green glow surrounding your heart.
- Find compassion: Looking at the people around you, knowing that we are all struggling with our past, things in our present space, and fears for our future. You never know what one is going through and what they have gone through. Of all the practices, finding compassion for yourself and others is the most powerful practice to heal your heart chakra.
Foods associated with the heart chakra are green foods such as leafy greens, broccoli, asparagus, green apples, and kiwi. Some herbs related to heart health are rose petals, hawthorn, linden, neem, moringa, and motherwort. I like mixing a teaspoon of rose petals, hawthorn berries, and linden flowers, steeping them for at least 15 minutes, and sweetening them with honey if desired.
Wellness comes from much more than what we eat and how we exercise. More than ever, the energy of love is needed to heal ourselves and the world.
If you’re feeling called to deepen your heart chakra healing and bring more balance into your life, I’d love to help! Reach out to me for personalized guidance, energy practices, and holistic wellness support. Whether you have questions or are ready to take the next step in your journey, let’s connect.