What does it mean to “open your heart?” To most yoga practitioners this term refers to postures that anatomically open the chest area, including asanas that bring the shoulder blades together including backbends. When you bring your shoulder blades together during Bridge pose, or when you do Camel or Cobra pose, you are opening your heart. More subtly, you open your heart during Warrior I when you bring raise your arms and bring them back towards the plane of your ears. Heart opening asanas are wonderful for counteracting the damage we are doing to our bodies when we hunch forward to read or watch something on our phones, read a book, or knit or (ironically) when we use a keyboard, as I am doing now.

More figuratively “opening the heart” refers to any practice that reaches into and balances the Heart Chakra. Located in the center of the chest, the 4th (Heart) Chakra, is our center, or place of holding, for love, empathy, gratitude, kindness, compassion and faith. In this context “opening the heart” means you are allowing yourself to both give and receive these attributes. You may think opening your heart emotionally is difficult, maybe exhausting, and it can be. Lately it seems that anger and hate is winning but it doesn’t have to. We can each contribute to bringing love and care to the world. Start with yourself. Practice self-love and self-care. Forgive yourself for mistakes and show compassion to yourself by resting when you feel you need to, or asking for help when a job is too big to tackle alone. Take that bubble bath in the middle of the day! Go to yoga or just take a few minutes in savasana on your mat in your home, or even on your bed. Don’t wait for someone else to do it – buy yourself those flowers and treat yourself to some chocolate! When we feel good about ourselves and treat ourselves well, we are better able to give to others.

Reach out to others and invite them into your heart. Help an elderly neighbor with a chore, visit a sick friend, or offer eye contact and a smile to a stranger who looks like they need you to recognize their humanity. Make a hat for or contribute a jacket to someone who needs one. Volunteer in your community. I’m pretty sure you are all doing things for others already and don’t need to be reminded anymore so let’s move on to yoga!

Here are a few things to stimulate your heart chakra. We have already discussed heart opening asanas. Try sitting or lying in a meditative posture while you internally recite an affirmation – something like “I Love,” or “I am grateful.” Place your hand on your heart, breathe deeply and slowly and visualize your heart swelling with love and fullness, or perhaps chant the seed sound for the 4th Chakra. That sound is YAM. Ask a partner to do one of these with you and double the love for Valentine’s Day and every day.

Looking forward to seeing you at Valley Soul Yoga!

Namaste, Claire