3 Yoga Poses to Embrace Love and Connection - Heart Chakra

What is the HEART CHAKRA TEMPLE?:

Anahatha is the Sanskrit name for the Heart Chakra meaning; infinite, unstruck, unbeaten, or boundless. This signifies an impartial and infinite love allowing a deeper understanding of self and others. The heart chakra is located at the center of the spine situated in the center of the chest, same highest as the thymus gland, located just behind the sternum. It is connected to unconditional love for oneself and others, compassion, empathy, joy, and forgiveness. The heart is the bridge between the lower chakras: the root, sacral and solar plexus, and the upper Chakras: the throat, third eye and crown. Making it the boundless gateway that connects our physical to our spiritual energy center.

The heart is the door to our inner temple and our soul, that connects us to the infinite part of ourselves. This spacious place within where we transcend our heart-centered actions that connect ourselves though love in the world and universe. The heart chakra links us to self love, to love yourself unconditionally and fully. Being able to give and receive love and connect to others and the world around us with grace and ease. Connecting to infinite love to embrace feelings of forgiveness, kindness, and compassion for yourself and others. The heart guides us to a sense of belonging and teaches us to trust our heart as it guides us like an inner compass. 

Love and Connection:

Imagine your heart boundless as a bird flying in the sky, as this Energy Center element is associated with Air. Air is all about space and feeling the boundless freedom of the infinite that connects as it flows. The heart chakra is associated with love and relationships, helping you regulate feelings of love, wholeness, and balance. Anahatahave 12 petals emerald green. Unconditional love and acceptance of the self. Able to be compassionate for the self and all life. Forgiveness and empathy. Your heart will never lead you astray and is a compass that is always guiding you to wholeness and abundance. When in balance, feelings of harmony, connection, balance, wholeness, clarity, trust are some of the few higher vibration feelings/emotions. 

Yoga’s Connected Wisdom:

Yoga practice is an expansive way to connect to your heart compass to bridge your way to the abundance of love and connection to yourself and the world around you. Heart opening poses not only simulate the heart, yet its help open and balance other Chakras as well. Heart opening poses guide your heart center to shine bright and lead the way on and off the mat. Invite your heart to expand with these yoga poses: 

1. Anahatasana - Extended Puppy Pose:

Puppy pose stretches the entire back and opens the Heart Chakra, while also relieving and tension we carry in our shoulders. Not only is this pose deeply therapeutic for our heart and spine, it is also therapeutic and soothing for the nervous system. It soothes the nervous system by easing anxiety by bringing the body into a slight inversion. Not only a deep chest opener perfect for opening  the Heart Chakra. This mini backbend inversion is incredible for increasing circulation flow throughout the entire body.

Guidance to Explore: Anahatasana - Extended Puppy Pose

• Coming down onto the mat on all fours

• Exhale, guiding your sit bones half way towards yours heels, guiding your third eye to the mat or a block.

• Inhale, reaching the arms toward the top of the mat. 

• Activate your arms by pressing into the palms of your hands and lifting your elbows and forearms away from the ground.

• Exhale melting your heart towards the Earth.

• Draw your shoulder blades down your back, while reaching your hips up high toward the sky.

• Invite your neck and head to relax and breathe into your back, lengthening your spine in both directions.

• Breathe, hold for 3-11 breaths.

Affirmation: I Am aligned with the highest frequency of love.

Essential Oil: Rose

Stone or Crystal: Rose Quartz

2. Camatkarasana - Wild Thing:

Wild thing pose is a free and wild flowing heart opening pose. This pose guides our awareness to the heart chakra and its expansiveness of the body as it reaches for the sky. As it opens the chest it also brings spaciousness to, spine, hips, arms, lungs, legs, and inner thighs. 

Guidance to Explore: Camatkarasana - Wild Thing:

• Start in a Side Plank pose, invite the body to roll onto the outer edge of your right foot. Placing your right hand directly beneath your right shoulder.

• Externally rotate your right arm so your elbow faces toward your feet. 

• Inhale, reaching your left arm up toward the sky, while pressing the right hand firmly into the mat/ground.

• Exhale, lift your left  leg and bend your knee. Place your left foot behind you with your heel lifted. 

• Inhale, rotate your heart to face upward towards the sky, and press through your right leg firmly into the mat/ground, with an Exhale. Bring your awareness to grounding through your big toe as well

• Externally rotate your raised arm with your palm facing backward and reach overhead, then up towards the sky.

• Extend through your side body, lift your hips even more, and engage your glutes.

• Invite gaze up towards the sky.

Affirmation: Love is my compass and guiding truth, I follow and trust my heart as my guide.

Essential Oil: Lavender

Stone or Crystal: Green Jade

3. Ustrasana - Camel Pose: 

Camel Pose directly connects to your Heart Chakra. Opening this Energy Center invites energy to freely flow through your heart. This DEEP opening of Anahatha cultivates unconditional spaciousness from a place of love that connects us to the flow of openness. Camel Pose has many benefits to the nervous system, increases flexibility in the spine, opens shoulders, improves circulation, simulates the thyroid and aids digestion, and stimulates the thyroid.

Guidance to Explore: Ustrasana - Camel Pose

• Come to a kneeling position and place your knees and feet hip-width distance apart. 

• Bring your thighs perpendicular to the floor to begin. Press the tops of your feet, toes, and shins into the floor. 

• Exhale, keep your pelvis neutral and your pelvic floor muscles engaged.

• Inhale, mindfully bring length to your spine and lift your chest. 

• Place your hands behind your back with your palms to your lower sacrum.

• Draw your elbows in slightly and engage your upper back.

• Inhale, lift and expand your chest towards the sky.

• Exhale,  reach your hands back to take hold of your heels (one hand at a time) without compressing your lower back. (If you are not able to reach your heels, you can curl your toes under to bring the heels closer to you. Listen to your body, another option is to keep the hands on the low sacrum.

• Inhale guiding your heart and gaze to shine up toward the sky.

• Exhale, continue to keep the chest lifted, allow your hands to guide you.

• Breath for up to 30 seconds.

• Slowly and mindfully come out in which you came (one arm at a time, keeping the length in the spine)

• Come down slowly to the mat, meeting in Childs Pose breathe.

Affirmation: I am open and ready to receive unconditional love and blessings.

Essential Oil: Jasmine

Stone or Crystal: Emerald

Yoga to Embody Love and Connection:

Yoga is an incredible practice to embody feelings of Love & Connection. Come back to these Anahatha-Heart Chakra yoga poses, that can help bring balance to this energy center. When in balance feeling of love and expansiveness, as well as integration and dissolution of ego. When open our Heart guides us to giving and receiving love, compassion, forgiveness, nurturing, and being generous.  Anahata creates an energetic wholeness and connection to the world and others around us. These poses are a foundation for you when you're needing to feel lovingly connected within the foundation of life on and off the mat.

May you have peace in the mind, strength in the body, and love within your heart…Namaste