The practice of yoga brings light to seven energy flows along the spine, called chakras, which translates to “wheel” in Sanskrit. These chakras are believed to influence all areas of your life. The Anahata or heart chakra, is the central and fourth chakra found at your heart center. Predictably, this chakra is all about love and awaking awareness for service, kindness, gratitude, and forgiveness.
To “open the heart” means to find balance and alignment in love and compassion, in terms of giving and receiving. Even small gestures of affection, like smiling at a friend, can fulfill this. Physically, there are ways to open the heart with movement and practice that will bring the heart center higher in alignment. For example, cobra pose, humble warrior, camel pose, and bow pose (just to name a few), are all yoga postures that encourage a higher positioning of the heart by way of the shoulders moving down the back to push the heart forward. Perceiving life through the heart chakra is being in a state of openness, acceptance, and compassion. Open your heart by practicing any Anhata Chakra yoga pose, keeping a gratitude journal, expressing your love to a family member, simply just exchanging a hug today, or spreading love on Valentine's Day. xoxox -Lee-Ann