At Healthy Natured, we understand the significance of maintaining balanced and harmonious energy within the body. One crucial aspect of the chakra energy system is the Heart Chakra or Anahata chakra in Sanskrit. It is the fourth of the seven chakras.
The concept of chakras has been present in ancient Eastern philosophies for centuries. Among these energy centers, the heart chakra holds a significant place.
The heart chakra is associated with compassion, empathy, and forgiveness. An open heart chakra in optimal alignment allows us to experience profound states of unconditional love, joy, and connection with ourselves and the world around us.
To help you fully comprehend the importance of the Heart Chakra and how to keep it balanced, we will explore the physical and mental signs of blocked energy in this most vital energy center.
We will explore various techniques, including meditation, affirmations, healing stones, and yoga postures, to help you tap into the power of the heart energy. With the heart open the Anahata chakra fosters emotional well-being, love, and harmony in life.
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A Quick Glance At The Characteristics Of The Heart Chakra or Anahata
Zodiac signs: Aquarius, Gemini and Libra
In Balance: Achieve Balance, Love and Self Control
Chakra Element: Air
Mantra: YAM
Sound: Notes and Tones “F” & “F#”
Color: All Shades of Green / Pink
Meridian: The Heart
Location: Center of the Chest
Physical Body Function: Heart, blood circulation, lower lungs, rib-cage, skin, upper back
Glands: The Thymus
Emotional Component: Sorrow and Grief
Purpose: To Achieve Love and Balance
Understanding The Function Of The Heart Chakra
In Sanskrit the chakra is called “Anahata“. This term translates to “unhurt,” “unstruck,” and “unbeaten.” As the fourth primary chakra, it sits above the third chakra Manipura and below the fifth chakra Vishuddha. Anahata chakra is associated with, and is responsible for, self-love, compassion, and connection to others. It is the epicenter of our subtle body.
The element associated with this chakra is air. This represents the dispersal and integration of spiritual understanding related to love, compassion, and connection.
Just as air surrounds and permeates our environment, love, too, is both within and all around us. By keeping our heart center open, we can embody the qualities of air and allow love to flow freely through us.
The Heart Chakra is associated with the color green, symbolizing transformation and the energy of love. The ancient rishis were presented the specific colors and symbols of the chakra through deep meditation. The symbology acts as a visual aid that enhances our understanding of what the chakra governs.
The chakra is represented by a twelve-petalled lotus, symbolizing twelve divine qualities of the heart. These qualities are:
- love
- bliss
- peace
- harmony
- empathy
- purity
- understanding
- clarity
- compassion
- unity
- forgiveness
- kindness
The symbol of a six-pointed star is associated with the heart chakra. Formed by two overlapping triangles – one facing upwards and one facing downwards, the chakra symbol shows the union of masculine and feminine energies. The star represents the joining together of both energies.
The hexagram formed in the center of the star, illustrates the role of the heart chakra as the connection point in the energy system. It portrays the bridge, and how the balanced chakra allows the flow of energy between the physical chakras and spiritual chakras.
The chakra color aligns with the vibrational frequency of the heart chakra. In terms of Anahata this is our ability to give and receive love, to cultivate empathy and compassion, and to form healthy and fulfilling relationships.
PinThe Role Of Heart Chakra In The Traditional 7 Chakra System
Heart Chakra energy is a component of the “Subtle Body”. The subtle body is the energy which feeds our physical body and consists of chakras and nadis, and has three distinct chakra zones.
The three chakra zones are:
- The lower triangle: consisting of the lower three chakras
- The bridge: consisting of the Heart Chakra
- The upper triangle: consisting of the upper three chakras
Anahata is the bridge between the lower three which are associated with our physical and earthly needs, and the upper three, associated with our spiritual and higher consciousness. While the heart chakra acts as a bridge, it also plays an essential role as a gate keeper of all energies and controls the flow in both directions.
PinWhat Happens When the Heart Chakra Is Balanced and Activated?
An activated and balanced heart chakra allows you to experience a profound sense of love, compassion, and empathy towards yourself and others. You have a deep understanding and acceptance of all aspects of life, including both the joys and challenges.
A balanced fourth chakra becomes a gateway to connect with others on a meaningful level, fostering harmonious relationships and a sense of unity. This balance allows for the release of past traumas and emotional wounds, enabling forgiveness, healing, and the ability to move forward with an open heart.
You become more attuned to your emotions and intuition, making decisions based on love and compassion rather than fear or ego. You have an increased sense of gratitude and appreciation for the beauty in the world, as well as a strong desire to contribute to the well-being of others.
Overall, the energy associated with the fourth chakra when aligned and in harmony brings about a state of inner peace, love, and a deep connection to the essence of life itself.
PinSigns The Heart Chakra May Be Out Of Balance
When out of balance, it can manifest in various ways. One sign that Anahata may be out of balance is feeling disconnected from others and not being able to establish meaningful relationships. This can result in a sense of loneliness and isolation.
Another sign is difficulty forgiving oneself and others. When the heart chakra is out of balance, it can be challenging to let go of past hurts and resentments. Imbalance in the chakra is also displayed by feelings of anger, bitterness, and an inability to move forward.
When the Heart Chakra becomes blocked or imbalanced, it can manifest both physically and mentally.
Physically, symptoms of imbalance in the heart chakra include:
- poor circulation
- high or low blood pressure
- heart and lung conditions
- Infections of the lungs
- bronchitis
- circulatory issues
- chest pain,
- heart palpitations
Mentally, an imbalanced Heart Chakra can give rise to problematic behaviors and thought patterns such as:
- exhibiting symptoms of co-dependency
- displaying manipulative behaviors
- experiencing feelings of unworthiness
- showing problems trusting in yourself
- struggling with trusting others
- holding grudges against loved ones
- displaying an inability to forgive
- experiencing frequent jealousy
- displaying defensiveness
- fearing intimacy
Furthermore, individuals with a blocked Heart Chakra can tend to isolate themselves excessively which leads to greater mistrust and loneliness.
It is essential to address these signs and work towards restoring balance in the heart chakra to foster emotional well-being and better relationships with yourself and others.
PinWhat Happens When the Heart Chakra Is Overactive or Underactive?
When the heart chakra is overactive, a person may find themselves feeling excessively needy or smothering in relationships. They may become overly attached to others and have difficulty letting go.
An underactive heart chakra can manifest as being closed off emotionally, having a fear of intimacy, or lacking compassion for yourself and others. Individuals with an underactive heart chakra may struggle to form deep connections and may feel disconnected from their own emotions.
Both states can also lead to physical symptoms such as heart problems, immune system disorders, and respiratory issues.
Balancing the heart chakra involves practices that promote self-love and compassion. Techniques such as as meditation, yoga, and engaging in acts of kindness help to restore and realign the heart.
It is important to strive for a harmonious balance in the heart chakra which allows for healthy, supportive relationships and a deeper connection to others and ourselves.
PinHow to Open the Heart Chakra
There are various practices and techniques that can help you engage in practices that promote self-love, forgiveness, and emotional healing.
To restore balance here some tips for promoting the free-flowing of love, compassion, and empathy:
Cultivate Gratitude:
Keep a gratitude journal and make a habit of writing down three things you feel grateful for each day. Expressing gratitude opens up space for love and positivity in your life, aligning your Heart Chakra with a sense of appreciation
Consume Heart-Opening Beverages:
Incorporate heart-opening beverages into your diet, such as rose tea and cacao. These beverages have properties that support the energetic qualities of the Heart Chakra and promote a sense of love and emotional balance.
Engage in Loving-Kindness Meditation:
Dedicate time to practicing loving-kindness meditation, also known as metta meditation. This meditation involves cultivating feelings of love, compassion, and kindness towards oneself and others. It nurtures the Heart Chakra by fostering a deep sense of connection and empathy.
Practice forgiveness:
Holding onto grudges and resentments can create a barrier around our hearts, preventing us from fully experiencing love and compassion. By practicing forgiveness, we release these negative emotions and allow our hearts to open up to forgiveness and understanding.
Self-love and self-care:
Often, we neglect ourselves in favor of taking care of others, which can lead to an imbalance in the heart chakra. Taking the time to nurture ourselves, practicing self-compassion, and engaging in activities that bring us joy can help restore balance to the heart chakra.
Acts of kindness:
Engaging in volunteer work, helping family or friends, and offering support to those in need are all ways to foster a sense of connection and love.
PinThe Fourth Chakra Meditation To Heal Your Heart Chakra
When it comes to healing the heart chakra, meditation plays a crucial role. Through regular practice, you can unlock and keep the heart chakra balanced, allowing for deep healing and transformation.
Meditation provides a space for self-reflection and inner exploration, allowing us to connect with our emotions and underlying issues that may be blocking the flow of love and compassion.
Using the heart chakra as a center of focus during meditation, we can cultivate a sense of openness and receptivity, creating a fertile ground for healing. During meditation, it is helpful to focus on the breath, allowing it to guide us into a state of relaxation and stillness.
As we become more present in the moment, we can gently bring our attention to the sensations and emotions in the heart area. It is important to approach this practice with kindness and non-judgment, allowing whatever arises to be acknowledged and released.
Visualization can also be a powerful tool in healing the heart chakra during meditation. One popular visualization is imagining a radiant green light filling the heart space, radiating love and compassion throughout the body and beyond.
Visualization when used for the heart it energizes and activates not only physical healing, but also healing of the spiritual heart center. This brings about a balanced chakra, deep contentment, a happy heart and a profound sense of harmony.
When the heart is closed engaging in Loving-Kindness Meditation can work wonders. Dedicate time to practicing loving-kindness meditation, also known as metta meditation.
It involves cultivating feelings of love, compassion, and kindness towards oneself and others. Plus the Heart Chakra is also helped to nurture and foster a deep sense of connection and empathy.
Below is a guided loving-kindness meditation you may wish to use. You can also use self guided meditations from devices such as the core meditation trainer.
Heart Chakra Affirmations To Balance Your Heart
When we repeat positive affirmations, we are actively rewiring our thoughts and beliefs. To harness the power of affirmations for heart chakra healing, it is essential to choose those that specifically target the heart chakra.
Practice those that resonate with the qualities you wish to cultivate within your Heart Chakra.
Examples of heart chakra affirmations are:
- “I am open to giving and receiving love freely.”
- “My heart center is filled with unconditional love and compassion,”
- “I trust in the process of love and relationships.”
- “I radiate love and compassion towards myself and others.”
- “I forgive myself and others, releasing any resentment or anger.”
- “I am grateful for the abundance of love in my life.”
- “I am worthy of love and happiness.”
Allow the words to penetrate into the depths of your being, and truly feel the energy resonating within your heart.
Repeat daily and incorporate them into your morning or evening routine. You can also write them down and place them somewhere visible, such as on your mirror or in your journal, to reinforce the positive energy throughout the day.
Remember, consistency is key. The more you affirm these positive statements, the more you will begin to embody and manifest the qualities of an open and balanced heart chakra.
PinHeart Chakra Yoga Poses To Balance The Heart
Nurturing self-love and compassion is a vital aspect of opening, balancing, and healing the heart chakra. Incorporating heart-opening yoga poses into your practice can be incredibly beneficial in cultivating these qualities within yourself.
These poses not only provide a physical stretch to the chest area but also create a deep sense of openness and vulnerability, allowing you to connect with and nurture your own heart space.
Camel Pose (Ustrasana): Start by kneeling on the mat, with your knees hip-width apart and tops of the feet flat on the ground. Place your hands on your lower back, fingers pointing downwards. Inhale deeply and press your hips forward as you arch your back and lean back, allowing your head to gently fall back.
Opening the chest, feel the stretch across the front of your body, while maintaining a sense of stability and grounding through your legs. Breathe deeply and hold this pose for a few breaths, feeling your heart expand with each inhale.
Bridge Pose (Setu Bandhasana): Lie on your back with your knees bent and feet flat on the ground, hip-width apart. Rest your arms by your sides, palms facing down. On an inhale, press into your feet and lift your hips off the mat, engaging your glutes and core muscles. Interlace your fingers underneath your body, bringing your shoulder blades closer together.
Feel the opening in your chest area above the heart organ as it lifts towards the sky. Breathe deeply and hold this pose, allowing any tension or blockages to be released.
Incorporating yoga poses into your practice regularly can help foster a sense of self-love and compassion. As you continue to nurture and heal your chakra, you may find that your capacity for self-acceptance, forgiveness, and empathy expands, not only towards yourself but also towards others.
PinUtilizing essential oils if the heart chakra is blocked
Utilizing essential oils can be a powerful and effective way to unblock and strengthen the heart chakra.
The following are the best aromatherapy oils that can help heal and bring balance:
Rose: Known for its soothing and uplifting properties, rose oil can help to heal emotional wounds and promote feelings of love and self-acceptance. Simply dilute a few drops in a carrier oil, such as jojoba or almond oil, and apply to the chest area or pulse points. You can also add a few drops to a diffuser to fill the room with its beautiful fragrance.
Lavender oil: Known for its calming and balancing properties, lavender can help to promote feelings of peace and emotional well-being. It can be used in a similar way to rose oil, either mixed in a carrier and applied directly to the skin or diffused into the air.
Ylang-ylang: Having a sweet and floral scent, it is said to promote joy, happiness, and emotional balance. Like the other oils, it can be applied topically or diffused into the air.
Sandalwood: Sandalwood possesses the ability to induce a sense of tranquility, alleviating stress and anxiety. It is an oil used for self-discovery and allows us to confront our vulnerabilities while enhancing our vitality. It is said to harmonize the heart and promote a sense of inner balance.
Chamomile: Chamomile possesses calming properties that contribute to positive self-care and overall well-being. It has properties that help regulate emotions and is highly recommended for balancing Anahata.
When using essentials remember they are highly concentrated and should be used with caution. Always dilute them in a carrier oil before applying to the skin, and test a small area first to check for any sensitivity or irritation.
Essential oils when included into your daily self-care can be a beautiful and nurturing way to unblock and strengthen your heart. Whether through massage, aromatherapy, or simply taking a moment to inhale their beautiful scents, these oils can help to bring balance, healing, and love.
PinThe Best Crystals and Chakra Stones to balance the heart chakra
Using chakra crystals can be a powerful way to open, balance, and heal the heart. The following are our recommended stones for Anahata.
Rose Quartz: Known as the “stone of love,” Rose Quartz is one of the best crystals as it promotes unconditional love, compassion, and harmony. It is ideal for healing emotional wounds and enhancing relationships.
Green Aventurine: Green Aventurine is a comforting stone that brings abundance, luck, and optimism. It helps the chest and heart to release negative emotions and promotes emotional healing and balance.
Rhodonite: Rhodonite is a powerful crystal for emotional healing and forgiveness. It encourages self-love, compassion, and unblocking energy.
Rhodochrosite: Rhodochrosite is a stone of love and compassion, helping to heal emotional wounds and promote self-acceptance. It is one of the pink crystals that enhance our ability to love ourselves and others deeply.
Emerald: Emerald is a stone of unconditional love and compassion. Over time the heart chakra can become blocked and store stagnant energy. Emerald helps to open Anahata and remove these blockages, enabling balance, harmony, and emotional relief.
Malachite: Malachite is a powerful stone for heart healing and transformation. It absorbs negative energies and helps release past traumas, promoting emotional growth and inner peace.
Prehnite: Prehnite is another stone of unconditional love and healing. It helps to alleviate stress, anxiety, and emotional pain while promoting peace, joy, and harmony in relationships.
Watermelon Tourmaline: Watermelon Tourmaline combines the energies of pink and green tourmaline, creating a powerful tool for balancing emotions and promoting love and compassion.
Amazonite: Amazonite is a soothing stone that promotes emotional healing and balance. It helps to calm the mind, release negative energy, and enhance communication from the heart.
Kunzite: Kunzite is a stone of the heart that helps to heal emotional wounds, promote self-love, and enhance compassion. It brings a sense of peace, emotional balance, and harmony.
When using crystals it is essential to set your intention and create a sacred space. Take a moment to connect with your heart and visualize the energy flowing freely and harmoniously. Hold the stone in your hand.
Allow yourself to be open to the healing energies and let go of any emotional blockages or past wounds that may be hindering the flow of love.
Remember that healing is a process and requires consistent practice and patience. By incorporating the heart chakras crystals into your routine, you can enhance the journey and create a loving and balanced heart space within yourself.
PinMusic For When Your Chakra Is Out Of Balance
Specific musical compositions using the notes and tones “F” & “F#” are designed to resonate with, and restore harmony to Anahata.
Crystal singing bowls emit pure tones that can help align and balance the chakras. Using a specifically tuned heart chakra bowl or playing bowls tuned to frequencies associated with Anahata can be beneficial.
The Solfeggio frequencies are a set of ancient musical frequencies that are believed to have healing properties. The heart chakra frequency is 639 Hz and can be incorporated into your healing music playlist.
Chanting the mantra, or seed syllable YAM helps to activate and brings healing to both the physical and the spiritual heart. The use of the syllable YAM for the chakra also brings about peace, contentment, joy, love and compassion for yourself and those around you.
The sound of flowing water, birdsong, or gentle rain can create a calming and nurturing atmosphere, allowing this chakra to open and heal.
Anahata Chakra Healing FAQ
What Does the Anahata Chakra Do?
Anahata is responsible for love, compassion, and emotional well-being. It is associated with qualities such as forgiveness, empathy, and self-acceptance and is believed to govern relationships, both with oneself and others.
What Happens When the Heart Chakra Is Blocked?
When Anahata is blocked it manifests as difficulties in giving or receiving love, feelings of loneliness, or being overly critical of oneself or others.
How Do You Unblock the Anahata Chakra?
Participate in acts of kindness and engaging in activities to express gratitude help to condition the energy. And practices such as meditation, yoga, sound baths and use of specific crystals can help achieve balance in Anahata.
What Blocks the Heart Chakra?
Negative emotional experiences such as stress in relationships, grief or emotional pain are the main factors that cause the heart to close and become blocked. Common causes include bad memories, or bad experiences that are linked to emotions, as well as overthinking or worrying about relationships, or the lack of one.
Balancing Chakras – Anahata Conclusion
Balancing and aligning the Heart Chakra is essential for your overall well-being and the quality of your relationships.
By understanding the signs of a blocked heart chakra and implementing the practices and techniques mentioned above, you can restore balance, foster love and compassion, and experience a profound connection with yourself and others.
