Of the eight widely recognised chakras, the human heart corresponds to the heart chakra.  We have often read that the heart is the centre of pure love and compassion.

But what if our epicentre of expansive joy feels like it has shrunk to be the size of a pebble? or worse yet, what if we cannot feel it at all? 

With a few simple exercises, you will be able to help your heart expand and soften and begin to open to your full potential as a vibrant emotional spiritual being.  Through this process, old wounds will start to heal, your heart will release, and your loving relationship to yourself and others will flourish.

Following are just a few, greatly simplified, ideas to the practice of what is called Energy Therapy. 

Due to the safe approach of energy therapy, it is especially gentle and helpful to those recovering from operations and for those living with difficult issues such as PTSD.

Some of these exercises may seem strange at first and it is fine to be skeptical. I urge you to try them anyway.  At best, you will feel a loosening of the tension and constrictions on your heart that are preventing you from being the person you are capable of being.

1. Heart Focused Breathing

Activity in the mind and the third chakra, the mental centre of the chakric system, can prevent energy from moving freely through the heart or fourth chakra.  Often the intellect, in an effort to maintain control and dominate the heart will frantically seek constant distraction and stimulation.  In Eastern Medicine, this is often referred to as the monkey mind.

To release the restrictive grasp of the intellect and will, we can begin with a method commonly referred to as ‘Heart Focused Breathing’.

A. Heart focus: Shift your attention to the area of your heart and place your right hand over your heart, which is only slightly left of the centre of your chest.  If it is comfortable to do so, additionally place your left hand over your right hand and begin to breathe slowly and deeply.  Should you wish, close your eyes.

B. Breathe: Keep your focus on the heart and breathe deeply – five seconds in and five seconds out.  Imagine that you are breathing through the heart.  Do this two or three times.  Continue breathing for five seconds in and five seconds out.

C. Envision: Evoke a sense of appreciation or care for someone or something in your life.  Think about something that is easy to love: for example, your child, a flower, or a puppy.  Hold that feeling for 30 seconds but do not forget to breathe.  Then begin to imagine that feeling moving outward, throughout your body.  Continue to radiate for ten minutes.

If you are so inclined, inquire as to what your heart needs from you right now.  It could be something as simple as a walk in the park or a cookie.  If possible, give this to yourself.

2. Body Awareness Exercise

“The ability to observe without evaluating is the highest form of intelligence.” 

― Jiddu Krishnamurti

The capacity to bear witness and be aware of your emotions without reacting to, or judging them is referred to as  ‘Witness Consciousness’. This is gently accomplished through body-centred exercises and taking the correct approach to physical disciplines such as yoga.

Try this for your heart chakra.

A. Preparation: Get comfortable and relaxed.  Pay attention to your breathing.  Notice how your breath goes in and out of your body.  Notice how your body is making contact with the chair and your feet with the floor.

B. Bring your attention to your heart.  How does it feel?  Remember not to judge those feelings.  Simply observe them.  If you have trouble doing this, do not try too hard.  Just continue to relax and to do this exercise.

Slowly breathe in and out for ten minutes.  Allow all sensations to surface without judging them.

Some of these sensations may be unfamiliar, unwelcome, or uncomfortable.  You may feel love, tightness, numbness, or grief.  You may note impressions of colour or see images.  Do not try to analyse this information.  Stay present to whatever is there and continue to breathe into it for ten minutes.

3. Heart Chakra Energy Clearing

Energy clearing has become very popular lately.  However, not all practitioners are skilled at this process.  For complex work, please see a skilled practitioner, in part, because it can sometimes unearth deep traumas.  I shall look at this topic in another blog post.

If you attempt energy clearing on your own, try this exercise:

Imagine that your hand is magnetically charged and can collect stagnant energy from your heart and, using the palm of your hand or your fingers, slowly move your hand counterclockwise, right to left.  Your hand will probably begin to feel heavy.  When this happens, shake off the excess energy.  This will begin to release blockages between the various parts of yourself. If emotions surface, try to maintain witness consciousness (see exercise number two), simultaneously feeling the emotions, continuing the energy clearing, and maintaining a non-judgmental vantage point. Be gentle with yourself. If this exercise becomes emotionally uncomfortable, stop.

To close, slowly move your hand in a clockwise direction (left to right) until you imagine a settling of the chakra and an energetic sense of ‘stop’.

4. Colour Breathing For the Heart

Practitioners of Eastern Medicine believe that the chakras are coloured.

Get into a comfortable position after calming your mind with a brief meditation exercise such as focusing on your deep breathing for 2 minutes.  Bring your awareness to your heart chakra.  Envision it as either a pink or a green light in the centre of your chest.  Observe the light as you watch it, breathe it in and breathe it out.  Visualize the colour on the in breath.

Do not visualize this light on the out breath.  Instead, visualize the colour at the out breath.  If the colour of the out breath is either lighter or murkier than on the in breath, there is a need to balance these two colours in your field.  This is accomplished through repeating the exercise until the ingoing and outgoing colours are the same colour.

5. Toning the Heart Chakra

Give yourself space and time for this exercise.

Centre your attention on your heart chakra.  Using the soft, gentle vowel sound “AH”, open your mouth, and begin to intone.  Keep your awareness on your heart chakra and feel your voice is causing this area to vibrate.  As you feel the vowel sound reverberating here, experience this energy centre coming into openness and comfort.  Repeat seven times.

Additional Reading – The Heart Speaks: A Cardiologist Reveals the Secret Language of Healing by Mimi Guarneri M.D.