The Heart Chakra

Hello! Here I am again, this time writing about the heart chakra. I am now half way through writing about the chakras - and the heart is indeed the bridge between the lower three chakras, which are more to do with the physical plane, and the higher three chakras which link us to the divine and the heavenly energies.

The heart chakra is located in the centre of the chest; a healthy balanced heart chakra means we are able to give and receive love. When we are unbalanced in this chakra, we can be cynical, distrusting, feeling unloved and out of touch with the softness of life.

The heart chakra is obviously associated with the physical heart; it is also associated with the breasts, the lungs and circulation. Physical illness that is typically to do with the heart chakra includes coronary heart disease, breast cancer (and some people would say all cancers), circulatory disorders and fatigue conditions.

Mainstream medicine also recognises this link between emotional health and physical conditions. I remember when my father had a heart attack, the literature he received from the hospital talked about the dangers of a cynical worldview, and how important it is in recovery to not give way to anger, and to remain happy! I remember almost joking with my father about this - but of course, this advice can be literally life saving!

Healing the heart chakra means first of all coming back to the self, going inside and reconnecting with joy, gratitude and appreciation - for oneself, for others and for life itself! Seeing the beauty in everyday life is very balancing for the heart chakra, as is being quietly in nature, assimilating the sights, smells and feelings. Similarly, letting go of resentment and forgiving oneself and others can be very healing, unblocking the energy that is stuck in those habitual patterns.

Often when we are unbalanced in this chakra, we have literally lost the ability to feel. Perhaps some of the things we experienced as children (or adults) were too difficult to comprehend. And so we blocked those emotions, and in time blocked our ability to feel both pleasure and pain. We became emotionally numb. I remember in a healing session one of my teachers saying to me when I was still very fatigued, that the fatigue came from the effort of holding the blocked emotions, and that the "remedy" was to learn to feel again, which would literally allow the flowering of the heart chakra, and the flowing of vital energy through the body.

Energy healing and reiki at their most basic level can be very healing for the heart chakra. Receiving loving touch is a way to "melt" the heavier emotions held in the heart chakra, and a way to open to receiving love. For some people, it can be even frightening to receive the gentle touch of energy healing or reiki (in which case it is possible to work in the energy field above the physical body); for others, whilst they may allow the physical touch, they may at first block or not allow in the love infusing the touch.

As well as the simple energy healing and reiki referred to above, other types of energy healing can also help here. An inner child healing can take the person back in time to where the feeling of lack of love, or distrust occurred, and release the energy associated with that feeling. A relationship cord healing can help to "balance" a relationship - and help the person come to forgiveness of themselves or of another person.

There are many meditation techniques that can help to rebalance the heart. Meditations from the Buddhist tradition that focus on developing compassion for oneself and for other people, and on awareness of the present moment can be really helpful here. Similarly the chakra balancing exercises mentioned for the other chakras are helpful. The balanced colour of the heart chakra is green or pink, and the balanced sound is "AAAH."

Finally, a very helpful simple exercise is simply to stand and hold the hands at the heart chakra. Then, slowly, and with awareness, open the hands out into an expansive, full gesture, really feeling the opening in the chest. This encourages openness and receptivity.

This ends the journey of the heart chakra. Next will be the fifth chakra, the throat chakra which is associated with communication and expressing one's truth in the world.