Heart Chakra Awareness

​We’re continuing our journey through the chakras and the endocrine system, the network of glands that secrete hormones to regulate all the activities of the body. It’s amazing how the yoga practitioners in ancient days were intuitively aware of these powerful connections, even before science could describe concepts like “glands” and “hormones.” These connections endure even today since we get the benefits through our yoga practices.

With this post we reach the fourth chakra, usually called the heart chakra. Its Sanskrit name is Anahata. Its location tells us a lot about what it controls: the heart and lungs, circulatory system, chest and breasts, upper back, skin, lymphatic system, arms and hands. The heart chakra covers a lot of territory because of the energy that flows from the heart to the hands.

The heart chakra is also quite emotional since it is linked to our feelings of love, goodwill, empathy and compassion. It ties us together in friendship, marriage and partnership. It draws us to the work we want to do to make our mark on the world. 

The endocrine gland that sits just behind the sternum (breast bone) is the thymus, a small gland that supports the immune system. It produces special white blood cells called T-cells, and like all white blood cells, they fight infection and disease. Three interesting facts about the thymus: 1) Most T-cells are produced in childhood thereby providing us with immune protection our whole life. 2) The thymus is very large when we’re a baby, then shrinks throughout the rest of our life. 3) Thymus means “soul” in Greek, as the ancient Greeks believed that our soul is located in this special space behind the sternum. 

Here are some ways we can support the thymus and heart chakra through our practice of Yoga:

• Heart opening poses like Cat/Cow, Sphinx, Cobra, Bow, Wheel

• Poses with arms extended like Warrior variations, Triangle variations, Tree, Crane

• Twisting poses like Shiva twist, Half Lord of the Fishes, Lying down spinal twist

• Heart breathing: Sit in a meditation pose with spine extended but relaxed, or lie down in Savasana. For the first minute breathe naturally and feel your connection to the earth. To begin the practice, imagine that you could breathe in through the top of the head. The breath passes through the crown chakra, third eye chakra, throat chakra until it reaches the heart chakra. Imagine you could breathe out through the heart chakra, sending the breath into the space in front of the body. If you like, you can link the breath to heart-felt emotions such as love, empathy or compassion. Practice for 5-10 minutes. To finish, return to natural breathing. Notice how you feel in body, mind and emotions. Slowly get up to return to daily activities.