Happy Valentines Day!

Regardless of the plethora of possible associations you might have to this particular holiday, it’s never a bad excuse to explore the essence of the day… The heart.

In western society yoga and meditation have started to receive recognition from the medical community as to their value for cardiovascular health and aiding in the prevention of circulatory and heart-related illness.

In yogic and tantric traditions the organ of the heart and the energetic heart or the ability to love and feel emotion is located in the fourth chakra, named Anahata Chakra. Chakras are described as discs or wheels of energy radiating through the body, that govern certain principles. When they are balanced and healthy a person is unified in their ascending and descending qualities (heaven and earth, grounding and inspiration). If chakras are out of balance or disturbed they can cause physical, mental and emotional illnesses as well as inabilities to function in certain ways.

Anahata Chakra is located behind the thoracic spine in the region of the heart and is related to the thymus, located in the chest. The thymus is an element of the immune system and the endocrine system. It is the site of maturation of T-cells which are responsible for fending off disease. The thymus is adversely affected by stress.
The Anahata Chakra is the fourth of the seven major chakras of the spinal column or central channel. Key issues involving the heart chakra involve complex emotions, compassion, tenderness, unconditional love, equilibrium, rejection and well-being. Physically Anahata governs circulation, emotionally it governs unconditional love for the self and others, mentally it governs passion, and spiritually it governs devotion

The middle chakra is the meeting point of heaven and earth, Anahata means “unstruck sound” this is the place where ether becomes matter through the vibration of sound or speech. To locate the chakra press one hand into the center of your sternum or breastbone and the other hand at the corresponding point in your back, between your two hands is the energetic heart chakra. You can visualize the shape of the chakra as two triangles, one pointing upwards to symbolize the masculine/ yang/ ascending energy and one pointing downwards to symbolize the feminine/yin/ rooting or descending energy. The two triangles overlap and at the center is twelve pointing lotus radiating light into the body.

If you dig the new age vibes, check out this psychedelic youtube heart chakra meditation! Congratulations if you’re celebrating the more enjoyable and pleasant aspects of the heart chakra today, if, however this day is inspiring you to feel blue instead of red, you may appreciate The Heart Sutra which reminds us that as delightful as some forms (of people or chocolate) may be, all form is ultimately empty.

xoxo- Love Renee

Feel the breath coming in and out through the nostrils. When you breath in feel yourself expanding to fullness and when you breath out feel yourself becoming empty. Enjoy the sensations of each.

Meditation:
Find an object of gratitude, something that makes you feel grateful. It can be a person or loved one, a memory you cherish, an activity you enjoy. It doesn’t matter what it is. Think of this and feel the physical sensation of gratitude, let it expand into your whole body.
Slowly begin to let go of the object of your gratitude and just maintain the physical feeling, the residue or essence.
If you have any aches and pains send this feeling there. If you carry critical judgements of yourself or others, extend the feeling of gratitude there.
See if you can imagine the physical sense of gratitude taking on a color or texture, perhaps a kind of light. Imagine this quality being in your body and heart and then practice extending it outwards. First to the air around your body, then to your friends and loved ones, then to people that you don’t know, then to relationships who are challenging in your life. Imagine this lights filling all beings and coming back to surround you. Breath in let yourself receive, breath out to strengthen your visualization of gratitude.