This will drop on (or near, depending on how atop my shit I am) Valentine’s Day, and it’s a nice time to chat about the heart chakra. I briefly considered telling you the real history of Saint Valentine, but it’s filled with beheadings and tragedy and I didn’t want to put you off your Whitman’s heart boxes. See how much I love you? Now on to the goods!
First: a quick, dirty, and rather incomplete explanation of the Western world’s understanding of chakras. They’re the points where our physical and energetic bodies intersect; they correspond to organ and glandular systems and affect our emotional and energetic responses. They’re intuitive centers wherein we process information, kind of like vibrational email. Think of that saying “I knew it in my gut” translated as “I received that information via my solar plexus chakra.” [Note: depending on who’s talking, we have many more than just those listed above; I fall into the ‘more chakras’ school of thought, but that’s a longer story and I have dance class and these subways are mess.]
The most well-advertised chakras are the seven primary: the root (elimination functions and lower limbs), sacral (genitals), solar plexus (abdominal organs and digestion), heart (and lungs), throat (and thyroid), third eye (along with eyes 1 and 2, ears, nose, pituitary gland), and crown (pineal gland, cerebral cortex).
Anyway. The heart chakra is associated with the color green (again, depending on who’s talking, it’s also associated with the color pink, to which I say follow your bliss because who has time?) Its emotional focus is compassion, gratitude, hope, and (of course) love. Its traditional mode of expression is touch; some of its favorite essential oils are rose, neroli, geranium, and ylang ylang; its supporting foods are green – leafy veggies, green pears and apples, kiwi, cucumber, rosemary, thyme, basil, chlorophyll, etc. Make a green smoothie and your heart will be happier.
Obviously, this chakra is susceptible to the ups and downs associated with relationships, and after a lifetime of relating, it can get habituated to behavior that may not be in service to our highest good. We may have closed it in order to numb the pain of heartbreak or trauma, or we may have overextended ourselves to please a demanding partner or parent. In any case, these imbalances can become entrenched over time, leaving us in a mistaken place of “I’ve always been this way.” A deficient heart chakra can cause feelings of isolation, being overly critical, and/or unforgiving, (frozen) while an overactive heart chakra might cause us to behave co-dependently or feel victimized by unintentional, minor slights (bleeding). Either extreme can be a real bummer.
The good news is that we are extremely heal-able. The better news is that we have access to all sorts of tips and tricks to assist that process, including but not limited to everything aforementioned. Now, I like free stuff, so here are some heart chakra helpers that will cost you nothing but time and a modicum of effort – if you’re closed, start by practicing saying “I love you”. If that feels like too much, start with a sincere “thank you” (to your mailman, to your food, to your plants). If you’re too open: say it to yourself, thank your body for being such a lovely home, and give yourself props for a job well done (folding your laundry, for example; not engaging with trolls on social media, for another). If you’re feeling real gully, you could even do a heart meditation, which could be as simple as placing your hands on your heart and breathing into that space with intention.
You’ll find your way. Just follow the green light.
