Ready For Bold Self-Love? Try These 4 Tone Ups For The Heart Chakra

There are over 700,000 heart attacks1 reported each year in the U.S., and cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in this country. Rightfully so, conventional medicine puts a great deal of effort toward preventing heart disease. And yet, our nation continues to die of heartbreak—literally. Managing risk factors such as high blood pressure, elevated cholesterol levels, diabetes, and obesity can be very effective, yet I believe there is an additional dimension to the heart that requires an entirely different kind of support. 

When the great poet Rumi wrote "you have to keep breaking your heart until it opens," he was not talking about the physical organ. He was talking about an emotional experience that many of us are familiar with. Emotional heartbreak can cause great pain and suffering, but it can also lead to breakthrough. With each heartbreak, we learn how to give and receive love more fully. 

In my practice, I use the chakra system as a guide to explore the spiritual aspects of health. The chakras are like the organs of the subtle body (the energetic part of ourselves that can be felt but not seen). These energy centers follow a developmental path, beginning with the root chakra, the foundation for safety and survival. They continue through the sacral chakra, the epicenter of emotional well-being and feelings, and the solar plexus, which houses the belief systems that contribute to our sense of self-worth. It is not until the foundation of the lower three chakras is solid that we can truly experience self-love, an essential ingredient to an open heart.

Though there is a tendency to associate the heart with romantic relationships, the work of the heart chakra extends far beyond romance. If you want to open your heart chakra, loving others is not enough—you need to cultivate bold self-love, too. We are not dying of heartbreak because we do not know how to love one another. We are dying of heartbreak because we do not love ourselves!

Most of us are walking around like hunchbacks, unconsciously closing our hearts. Begin to become aware of your posture while sitting, standing, and walking. Straighten the spine, engage the core, open the front of your chest, and drop your shoulders. Check in frequently to make sure you don't lose it, and notice if you feel somewhat vulnerable in certain scenarios. 

Close your eyes and visualize yourself sitting in front of you. Wish yourself the following:

May I feel safe.

May I be healthy.

May I be joyful.

May I know love.

Next, visualize someone in your life whom you love or appreciate. Wish them the same phrases of loving-kindness:

May he/she feel safe.

May he/she be healthy.

May he/she be joyful.

May he/she know love.

Next, visualize someone in your life whom you have conflict with or someone whom you find challenging. Wish them the same:

May he/she feel safe.

May he/she be healthy.

May he/she be joyful.

May he/she know love.