Chakra Series: ANĀHATA, Heart
The Fourth Chakra: Anāhata, Heart
अनाहत
“As you dissolve into love, your ego fades. You’re not thinking about loving; you’re just being love, radiating like the sun.” - Ram Dass
This post covers the fourth chakra, Anāhata, if you want to learn more about chakras in general or the first three chakras, please see my previous posts.
The Anahata chakra is located in the center of the chest and is the middle chakra of seven. Anahata is often translated as “unstruck.” This refers to the universal sound of the Absolute Existence, OM which emanates from the heart without an instrument being struck.
Anahata is connected to the element of air, the sense of touch, and is represented by a green lotus of twelve petals. The first five chakras have attending animals and Anahata’s is a black antelope, symbolizing alertness and gracefulness of mind and body. The mantra associated with the heart chakra is “YAM,” pronounced “yum.” The seven mantras of the chakras are chanted in succession, meant to be a cleansing ritual.
Energetically, the heart chakra is tied to love and compassion. This chakra is where we begin to conquer the Ego. The previous chakras are about building identity in our surroundings, our community, our social roles and expectations. Now it is time to start letting go. Remember that the Ego makes a wonderful servant and a horrible master. The heart chakra encourages us to see where the distinctions lie between true Self, and all of the constructs that make up the Ego. In the space of the heart chakra, we are free to rest in our identity as pure love and compassion. In working with the Anahata chakra, our awareness becomes refined, we begin to open our hearts to all beings. We begin to see clearly the interconnectedness within all of us.An imbalance in this chakra is represented by attachment and desire. We learn from the Buddhist tradition that our suffering is due to our attachments. When we fail to see the interconnectedness of everything, we feel we are missing out or we will miss out. Healing the heart chakra gives us the opportunity to rest in the knowledge that we have all we need, that all is well, and that our cravings and our aversions are causing us pain. Our heart chakra allows us to be the calm in the storm.
As mentioned in my previous post, working with the chakras is one tool I use when dealing with anxiety and often this tightness lives in the solar plexus space. The other space my anxiety seems to frequent is that of the heart chakra. I am at a stage of life that encourages reflection on the past. I have recently entered my thirties and for the past few years, my spiritual practices have led me to consider my past experiences, my upbringing, the identity I have adopted based on conditioning, the mental grooves we call samskaras in yoga. I am often working with how my past has shaped my present and how to shed the samskaras that invoke suffering and keep me from moving forward. The heart chakra is where my inner child lives. I find that when I am working with an old trauma or a realization from my past, this is where the tension resides. Cleansing the heart chakra by using mantra, meditation, and asana allows me to work through the layers of ego-identity and reveal my authentic Self.
May you be well
May you be safe
May you embody love
May your heart be satisfied
REFLECTION
Consider the concept of Emotional Intelligence. According to Daniel Goleman , an American psychologist who helped to popularize the concept of emotional intelligence, there are five key elements to it:
Self-awareness.
Self-regulation.
Motivation.
Empathy.
Social skills.
Sit with each of these elements. What emotions come up? What memories? Is there anything holding you back from these elements?
MEDITATION
Find a comfortable seat that will allow you to feel alert and spacious. Find a long spine and draw the shoulders back. Close the eyes if this is comfortable, otherwise bring your focus to just a couple feet in front of you. Take ten conscious breaths to focus the mind. Now begin to draw attention to the space of the heart, right in the middle of the chest. In your imagination, draw forth the image of a closed 12 petaled, green lotus flower. Can you breathe into the heart space to open each petal, one by one. Notice as these full breaths loosen the area of the heart. Now continue to breathe as you recite the loving kindness mantra from above, this time to yourself: May I be well. May I be safe. May I embody love. May my heart be satisfied. Sit here. Feel what you feel.
Finally, continue to breathe as you recite the loving kindness mantra one last time, now focusing your love outward: May all beings be well. May all beings be safe. May all beings embody love. May all hearts be satisfied. Again sit here, and feel what you feel.
ASANA
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana, Bridge Pose
Start by lying on the back, bend the knees and place the feet on the mat about hip width apart. Press into the feet and lift the hips by engaging the glutes and hamstrings. Press into the triceps to lift the chest higher. Option to interlace the fingers and walk the shoulders toward each other. Take five breaths, separate the shoulders and slowly let the spine come down to the mat. Windshield wiper the knees to release the low back.
Camel with Half Anjali Mudra
Begin by kneeling on the shins with the knees hip width apart. Place the hands on the low back with fingers pointing down. Use the hands to encourage the tailbone to drop toward the earth. Lean back with the chin slightly drawn down. If this feels like enough work, stay in this position. To go a little deeper, reach back with the left hand to find the left heel. Place the right hand on the heart in half Anjali mudra. Take a few breaths then switch. To come out, engage the quads and the core to slowly lift back up to kneeling.
Ūrdhvadhanurāsana, Upward Facing Bow, or Wheel Pose
Lie down and bend the knees to place the feet on the mat as if you were setting up for bridge pose. Place the hands on the mat near the head with the palms down and the fingers facing the shoulders. Engaging the glutes and hamstrings, press down into the hands and feet to lift the torso toward the sky. Keep the upper arms rotating outward and continue to breathe. Stay for 5-10 breaths and slowly release by bending the elbows and gently placing the head on the earth, then allowing the spine to slowly come down. Windshield wiper the knees to release the spine.
Restorative Heart Opener
Find a bolster or thick pillow and place a folded blanket on one end. Sit near the other end of the bolster and begin to poke the back to find where your low ribs end. Line the bottom ribs up with the edge of the bolster and lie back. Let the shoulders drape over the side of the bolster and breathe into the chest. Legs can be in butterfly, constructive rest, or long on the mat. This is a restorative pose that can be held anywhere from 5-20 minutes.
