“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.” ~ Oscar Wilde
February is the month of love. So naturally it makes sense to make it about the heart; that beautiful vessel where the physical and spiritual come together.
The heart, or heart chakra (the 4th chakra located at the centre of the seven),governs how we see ourselves, our relationships and other people, all creatures and the surrounding world. Wounds that are filled with our deepest insecurities and fears reside in the heart chakra. If we do not clear emotional baggage from this areas, it can then become a blockage that prevents love from flowing freely.
Open heart chakras are full of love, compassion and forgiveness and little emphasis is placed on material possessions, or the trivial things in life.
Learning how to open the Heart Chakra can be a beautiful experience. Whether a person has experienced blockage since childhood or due to a recent encounter, opening the heart is the start of your healing process.
If you feel you are experiencing the symptoms of a closed and imbalanced Heart Chakra, try these tactics to restore peace, keep it open and engage in joy and ease effortlessly.
+++
- Undertake breathing exercises.
Breathing exercises help to clear the heart chakra, as this chakra is associated with the element of air. Sitting in an upright position inhale deeply through the nose feeling the belly area and chest area to expand and then hold for approximately five seconds. As we exhale, feel heart chakra begin to open up by drawing all of your attention to your heart space and breath. Deep breathing allows the flow of energy (prana) to move around the body and helps to relieve any tension surrounding the heart area
- Be open with your emotions and stop clinging to your feelings.
Do yourself a favour and consciously work on speaking your truth and being open with how you feel. If an uncomfortable emotion emerges, rather than identify with it, cling to it or run away from it, hold space for it as you would a small child until it passes. And it will alwayspass. Feel to heal. Another way of being open with your emotions and ensuring they don’t remain bottled up in the body is to write them down or scream them out loud; whatever it takes to let them out. This is a great way to become comfortable, aware and at peace with the plethora of feelings that arise.
- Chant mantras and affirmations
Mantras and positive affirmations are a great way to connect with your chakras. Using one of #HANAKO’s vibrational natural perfumes (try I AM… LOVE), spritz around your auric field. Then chant ‘YAM’. The heart chakra is associated with the vibrational sound of "YAM", so it’s best to chant this when you feel yourself closing your heart to the world. The Metta meditation is also a great Buddhist practice that will help you lead passionately with your heart. It allows for unconditional love to occur by simply cultivating loving and kindness through our thoughts and feelings.
AFFIRMATION: “I am strong, confident and beautiful in my being. I am divine love.”
- Indulge in yoga
Practicing yoga teaches you to be in the present moment and will guide you in opening your heart. Dwelling in past loves or past problems only brings us down, and if we stress about the future then we aren't living fully. A few great poses to aid you in "opening your heart" are camel pose, eagle pose, and a back-bending practice.
- Surround yourself with green
The heart chakra is represented by the colour green. So eat more dark green leafy vegetables and drink green tea. Yummo!
- Practice acceptance
Ever heard of the saying, if you can’t change it, forget it? In terms of clearing the heart space, this rings true. Why worry over something you have no control over? Focus on what you can control. On what you can change. That’s what will bring you contentment and happiness. Make your daily intention to go with the flow and let it be.
- Use crystals
There are many crystals and gems that can also help to balance the heart chakra. Green and pink stones are the two most powerful colours to enhance healing and to stimulate the heart chakra. Rose quartz and Calcite are especially helpful and handy to have nearby at all times.
- Practice forgiveness
We can begin to heal the heart simply by forgiving ourselves for all of our flaws, imperfections and errors. Rather than be shackled by the past, we can let go and be free to live the life that feels right to us. Before we can even begin to offer anyone else profound and absolute love we have to first fully accept and unconditionally love ourselves through forgiveness.
- Be guided with The Heart Kit
When it comes to heart chakra healing, essential oils such as rose, geranium, neroli, ylang ylang, jasmine, bergamot are key. The Heart Kit provides a loving, helping hand by assisting in bringing you back to your highest state of being to the here and now. The 4-part kit guides you through heartbreak, loss, trauma or relationship difficulties – which can often stir up a range of emotions including anger, resentment, regret, bitterness and jealousy. Left unprocessed, these emotions can cause the heart chakra to harden, which is the opposite of what we want to achieve.
Inside the Kit you’ll find – PINK BABY ROSE – an essence that helps you to access a deep yet subtle level of healing by surrendering issues of the heart to the highest self. I AM… LOVE is an essence of the heart, a nourishing and supportive aroma that allows you to feel safe, secure and supported as your heart opens again. The two meridian blends – HEART AND GALLBLADDER – stimulate Qi energy lines around the body that will help ease stress and anxiety related to emotional upsets, allowing space for forgiveness and compassion for yourself and others. Beautiful, isn’t it?
