- What it is?
- Meditation benefits
- Tips to practice
- Mudras for heart chakra
- Guided Meditation
- Crying during meditation
Heart chakra meditation focuses on restoring the energy flow and breaking any restrictions that you may have consciously or unconsciously built around your heart.
The heart chakra is like a gateway to all our chakra, especially in connection with spirituality. Hence, when you meditate, you are letting the divine healing energy seep into your chakra and promoting self-love and love for the people and environment around you.
What is heart chakra?
The heart chakra, known as Anahata in Sanskrit, is the 4th energy centre of 7 chakras in our body. It is represented by the color green and its qualities are associated with providing unconditional love, compassion, empathy, forgiveness, acceptance, and joy.
The heart chakra acts as the bridge between the lower chakras (root chakra, sacral chakra, solar plexus chakra) and the higher chakras (throat chakra, third eye chakra and crown chakra) with respect to the spiritual connection and expression.
Due to the above reason, it is important to keep the heart chakra balances and healed of any blockages.
How do you feel heart chakra?
You can feel the presence of the heart chakra in your chest by its balance and imbalanced state symptoms.
In case of imbalance, you will not have a good relationship with yourself and the people around you. Feelings of jealousy, guilt, shame, numbness, and detachment will be a common occurrence. You will also notice a lack of intimacy with your partner and have a fear of being judged. Lack of empathy, codependency, unforgiving, lack of trust, and self-victimization are some other symptoms of a blocked and unbalanced heart chakra.
On the brighter side, a balanced heart chakra will let you see the beauty within yourself. By attracting feelings of empathy and compassion, it will pave the way to healthy and flourishing relationships. You will be able to give and receive unconditional love, joy, happiness, gratitude, respect, and kindness. You will be able to overcome episodes of grief and pain. A sense of wholeness and connection to the universe will fill you.
Heart chakra meditation benefits
The heart is the seat of love, compassion, empathy as well as spiritual love and devotion.
When you sit in meditation, it stimulates the heart chakra and opens up a world of bliss and unconditional love. Below are some benefits of heart chakra meditation:
- Meditation will open your heart to love for yourself, for the people around you, for the environment and also for the divine.
- When you’re performing a chakra meditation, it automatically identifies the point of issue and works toward healing it. Hence, the heart chakra meditation will speed up the healing process of your blocked chakra.
- The heart chakra meditation is also practiced to activate the chakra which will open your heart to positive feelings like joy, compassion, happiness, love, self-acceptance and bliss.
- Meditation helps bring peace of mind and let go of negative patterns and thoughts. Thus, it will help in overcoming heartbreak and lack of trust within oneself and others.
- You will become a positive person as you will be able to see the light in any dark situation.
- Chakra meditation is also known to increase the prana level in the body, which is beneficial in decreasing anxiety, stress, or any other negative thoughts and feelings.
- With a stress-free mind, your temper and anger will also reduce. This improvement in behavior will also improve your relationships, with yourself and other people.
- You will find it easy to let go of resentment and past afflicting thoughts when the heart chakra energy is revived.
- You will be able to grow your connection to spirituality with a balanced and healed heart chakra.
Tips to perform a heart chakra meditation correctly
Chakra meditation, in general, is not only sitting in a crossed-leg position and breathing deeply. You need to take care of a few things to make the meditation effective and for it to work on the target points.
Here are some essential tips to keep in mind while performing the heart chakra meditation.
1. Find a quiet space where you can concentrate on your feelings
For any meditation session to work, you need at least 20-30 minutes of peace. And this will not be possible if you keep your mobile or any gadget near you. If you are new to meditation, you will have trouble concentrating, even the slightest noise will distract you. Hence, it is always recommended that you practice meditation in a quiet place so that you can effectively clear your mind.
2. Wear comfortable clothes
Another important tip is to wear comfortable clothes. It is often said that loose-fitting clothes will help you breathe properly, however, if you feel comfortable in yoga pants, go ahead.
Each person’s comfort level differs hence there are no ideal meditation clothes that can be recommended. The overall idea is to be comfortable so that your clothes do not restrict you from getting relaxed.
3. Sit in a comfortable position
Generally, meditation is performed by sitting on the ground, as it grounds you to earth. However, due to any reason, be it medical or personal preference, the ground is not your choice, you can always substitute for a cushion, yoga mat, a blanket, or anything that is comfortable. You need to spend at least 30 minutes in a seated position, hence finding a position that does not make you fidget every 2 minutes is of the essence.
Another tip is to sit in an upright position. Slouching will create pressure on your spine and other organs of the body, which will be enough to inflict pain and discomfort.
4. Take benefit of healing music
Listening to healing chakra music is also a great way to relax your mind. The vibrational frequencies of the music will help in speeding the process of healing.
There are many heart chakra healing music available on the internet which you can play while meditating. These sounds have been made keeping in mind the vibration frequency of the heart chakra, hence, if it is not too distracting, it can be added as an addition to your meditation session.
A healing sound of 639Hz is recommended for heart chakra meditation. Here’s one below you can enjoy:
5. Chanting the bija mantra
Chanting bija mantra is could be your alternative to healing music. Some people prefer sitting quietly during meditation (no healing music at all), for them, chanting bija mantras is a good way to open chakra’s energy.
The bija mantra for the heart chakra is YAM, pronounced as ‘yum’, as in ‘yummy’. The bija mantra, when chanted in your normal tone, resonates with the heart chakra and helps in stimulating and activating the chakra. When you take deep breaths, chanting in exhalation is always suggested as it complements the effects of meditation.
6. Don’t let your thoughts distract you
Our brain never shuts down. When you start meditating, you might notice that a lot of thoughts will come up and try to distract you. However, you have to learn to dismiss them to focus on your meditation.
Not saying that the thoughts are unimportant, you should acknowledge their existence. But now that you are taking some time to heal your chakra, you should rather have them parked somewhere else so that you can concentrate.
7. Morning is the best time to meditate
The effects of morning meditation for heart chakra can be felt in the way you immediately relax when breathing in the fresh air. You feel rejuvenated and energized with your lungs filled with pure air.
The warmth of the sunrise is perfect for slowly awakening your senses and energizing you from within. All of these positive things will help you with your heart chakra meditation as the element of air will be beneficial in stimulating the chakra.
Hand mudras for heart chakra meditation
Any type of meditation in general is assisted with hand mudras of yoga.
There are many mudras for meditation yogis used according to their convenience and what specific result they want to achieve. However, some particular yoga mudras are used for 7 chakras which focus on energies around a specific chakra, hence helps in cleansing blockages.
Some of the mudras that you can practice during heart chakra meditation are:
1. Prana Mudra – Join the tips of the pinky finger, ring finger, and thumb, while keeping the index and middle finger straight. This mudra will improve your overall energy levels and also helps in activating any dormant energy levels in your body.
2. Dhyan Mudra – With your palms facing up and the thumbs joined at the tips, keep them on top of each other, right on top of left, and place them on your lap. Here, the right hand represents enlightenment or spirituality and the left represents worldly illusions. Lord Buddha is often seen in this mudra. It helps you achieve a profound sense of concentration and tranquility.
3. Hridaya Mudra – Place your index finger at the base of the thumb. The tip of the thumb should join the tips of the middle and ring finger. Keeping this placement, place the hands, palms facing upwards, on your knees during meditation. This mudra helps in relieving any emotional stress, rejuvenates and opens the heart, and releases any blocked emotions.
Guided meditation for the heart chakra
Sit cross-legged on the ground, cushion, yoga mat, or any other comfortable place. Keep your spine straight, chest open and shoulder pulled back for an upright position.
You can opt for any of the above mudras, however, for easier reference, we will be meditating with the Gyan mudra. Your facial features should be as relaxed as possible. Subsequently, relax the muscles of your entire body.
Lightly close your eyes and take deep breaths through your nose. Feel the breath filling up your lungs and then your belly. Notice the rhythm of your breath and get aware of any sensation in the chakra location.
Bring your attention to the center of your chest, where your heart is located. Visualize a small green light, the color of the heart chakra, spinning in a clockwise direction.
- Here, if you’re having trouble focusing, you can bring your right hand, keeping the Gyan mudra intact, to touch the chest. Your left hand should be kept on the knee. This will aid in keeping your focus on this location.
As you breathe in, notice as the size of the light grows into the size of your heart. Take a few minutes and let your heart bask in its healing energy. On your next exhale, imagine this light surrounding your entire being.
This emerald light has now engulfed you and is now filling you with compassion, self-love, empathy, and connection. It fills your heart with love for people known to you.
Keep taking slow deep breaths as you are showered with the warmth of this light. Your self-love, compassion, empathy, and self-acceptance are increasing with each breath. You have opened your heart to let soak in the love from this light, making you vulnerable to all the past traumas and unwanted emotions to be revealed.
- You may feel the need to cry or notice tears falling. Do not panic as this is a natural reaction to some negative and/or positive triggers of heart chakra meditation. Let the tears fall and relieve yourself of the built-up emotions.
Imagine the faces of the people you love or are close to and also the people with whom you do not have a good relationship or are facing some issues. Imagine those faces very clearly and allow yourself to send the light of love to them. Lastly, imagine yourself being completely engulfed in the green light.
Now, slowly bring your breathing to a normal pace for a few minutes to prepare for chanting the bija mantra.
Take 3-4 deep breaths from your belly and with the 5th inhale, chant YAM by extending the ‘M’ during exhalation. Do this for at least 2 minutes and slowly bring your breathing to a normal pace.
- If you want to say affirmations, you can recite them after you have finished chanting the bija mantra. While imagining the emerald light surrounding the heart chakra area, recite the heart chakra affirmations that you want.
To end the meditation, sit silently for a few minutes while you feel all the sensation in your body. Take some time to feel your physical body by slowly wiggling your fingers and toes and moving your shoulders and arms. Open your eyes in a relaxed manner whenever you are ready and get on with your day.
Why some people cry during heart chakra meditation?
Crying is a part of the healing process. It helps in letting out all the suppressed emotions and also releases toxins. In your life, you suffer from pain, heartbreaks, emotional traumas, betrayal, etc which will deeply hurt you. While some of us cry to let out the emotional stress, some people find it difficult and unintentionally store these feelings in the unconscious mind.
When you meditate, you have opened the doors of the heart and your mind, which also releases these hidden emotions, feelings, and thoughts. Due to this sudden onslaught and realization, you will feel the need to cry.
Besides, there doesn’t always need to be a negative trigger for the tears to flow. You may also have achieved the peace that you required for a long time, or have sensed a deep connection to the divine. These positive sensations are also enough to make you cry happy tears.
Whatever may be the reason, let these tears flow freely. Take time to realize the worth of these feelings and slowly let them go with the tears. It is a natural reaction and you should not stop your meditation due to it.
Conclusion
A well-functioning heart chakra lets you see the beauty within yourself and the world. Meditation is a great tool to help you stimulate this energy centre to make you learn to accept yourself and face challenges with ease. For a balanced physical and mental wellbeing, you must keep your heart chakra balanced and healed at all times.
