Loving the Heart Chakra

The heart chakra, or anahata chakra in Sanskrit, is a huge favorite among people who study and know about chakras.

It encompasses the heart, lungs, shoulders, arms and hands. I like to say that everything we touch, feel, experience and hold is hopefully done with the energy and spirit of the heart.

Simply put, the strings of our heart make music. The heart is built to unconditionally love. This capacity of the heart is always turned on and ready to meet the world.

Our job as spiritual teachers is not just to have that sound play, but have it sound clearly and be resounding for everyone we encounter so they feel it from us.

Love and the Heart Chakra

One thing to point out that is often confused – the heart chakra is actually not about romantic love with an intimate partner. That is guided by emotional reactions which are relegated to the sacral chakra and you can learn more about that second chakra here.

Instead, the unconditional love of the heart is for everyone and everything. It’s not about how we feel about someone.

We all have the capacity for unconditional love – as long as we aren’t trying to muffle the resounding brilliance of the heart’s beat. We can get jammed up by people who have hurt us, or by people who are deemed unworthy of our love. People we judge for various reasons. That judgment covers our ability to unconditionally love.

Note: Unconditional love doesn’t mean that we fully approve of what someone believes or does. It means that this type of love is a state of presence and acceptance – not an acceptance that someone did a terrible thing and saying that it’s okay, but that the action was just done. No judgment. No adding emotion to it. It happened. This is the foundation of forgiveness.

How to Heal Your Heart Chakra

Nothing more than forgiveness is going to heal the heart. When we get messages from the heart chakra in our meditation or asana practice, and feel something happening in this area, the most important work we can do is forgiveness. Accepting that everything is exactly as it is. There’s nothing to change. We can’t regret or wish things were different. We can’t argue with reality. We need to accept what is.

From this level of acceptance, we then have the clarity to make positive choices to move forward. Forgiveness also doesn’t expect a different behavior from the other person; it doesn’t assume there will be change.

But it allows us to change our own field of energy so we don’t have to suffer from the poison of judgment. It helps us put forth the resounding music of our heart.

Leading with the heart chakra allows us to talk the talk and walk the walk as spiritual leaders and teachers. Which is always our goal!