Healing The Heart Chakra

The heart chakra is all about being connected with yourself, as well as cultivating joy, self-love, and compassion. The following meditations, crystal techniques, essential oil applications, and yoga postures will help you connect with what you may be holding in this chakra. Most importantly, they should help you initiate the connection with this energy vortex within you, so you may open into the wisdom it holds.

1. Meditations

Here’s an easy, tried-and-true meditation and visualization to connect with your heart chakra:

1. While sitting or lying down comfortably, take three slow, deep breaths. Each time you inhale, imagine the breath energizing the center of your chest. Each time you exhale, release anything you may be holding in that area—any fears, pain, or even expectations around how you’re supposed to feel while doing this meditation. Holding your hands over your heart as you meditate on each chakra may help you more quickly connect to the chakra you’re concentrating on—especially the heart chakra!
2. “Wake up” the connection with this chakra by gently tapping the center of the chest, or by gently massaging the area in a small, circular motion with your first two fingers.
3. With each following breath, inhaling and exhaling through the nose, continue directing your breath to your heart chakra. Imagine a green sphere of light in that area, pulsing and growing larger. Those who identify most with male energy should whirl the sphere counterclockwise, and those who identify most with female energy should whirl the sphere clockwise.
4. As you drop deeper and deeper into a calmer state, ask your heart chakra what it needs right now. Allow yourself a few more breaths to see if you receive any feedback. It could be in the form of a word, sound, song, image, color, feeling, or intuition. Then act on the feedback you get. If you don’t get any immediate feedback, not to worry! It will come as you continue practicing.
5. If you don’t receive any of the intuitive hints listed previously, you may instead feel an awareness in that area, similar to an expansion in your chest, or a feeling like the energy at the center of your chest is rising slightly upward. If so, you are connecting with your heart chakra!
6. At the end of your meditation, take three slow, deep breaths, directing the energy of your inhales into the soles of your feet, grounding yourself. Gently open your eyes.
7. Caution when doing this meditation/visualization: Because this practice takes some time to cultivate, be patient with yourself. If you find that your heart rate is elevating in a way that is uncomfortable, you are pushing yourself too hard. It’s time to take a break and revisit when you’re more rejuvenated. Also, as you perform your meditation, understand that even seasoned meditation practitioners get what’s aptly termed monkey mind, where other thoughts begin to enter your mind and may momentarily distract you. Just take this as a chance to observe the thought without judgment, let it pass through, and gently bring yourself back to the center.

2. Crystals

To use crystals to connect with your heart chakra, make sure that they are first cleansed from the energies of others who may have handled them before you, and that your intention for how they will be used is set. You can clean your crystals by:

• Smudging with white sage. Simply light the tip of a white sage bundle until it begins to smoke, blow out the flame, and hold your crystal in the rising smoke for a few seconds, setting the intention that you’ll be using the crystal to help you connect with your heart chakra. This is my favorite method because after your cleanse your crystal, you can also cleanse your body by directing the smoke toward your chakras (and the rest of your body) with your free hand.
• Laying them out overnight under the moonlight to soak up the moonbeams.
• Running water over them or soaking them in saltwater. When cleaning with water, use caution. Any stones that rate low on the Mohs hardness scale (a scale that helps identify mineral specimens and compares the resistance to being scratched) may get damaged or dissolve as a result.

Now that you’ve cleansed and charged your crystals, you can work with them in a few ways:

• Get into a comfortable seated or lying down position. Hold the crystal in your left hand—the receiving hand—so you can receive the healing energy from the crystal. Notice what you pick up from the crystal. Does it feel like a throbbing in your hand? Like static prickles? Or just a simple awareness of its energy? If you don’t feel any of these things, that’s okay. Sometimes it takes a while to create awareness with a stone’s energy. Ask the crystal to help you connect with the wisdom of your heart chakra. Allow your mind and heart to open to feedback in the way of images, colors, sounds, words, memories, emotions, or other impressions that may flow through. Keep in mind that working with crystals can take some getting used to. So, if your heart chakra doesn’t open into an epiphany right on the spot (which is unlikely on a first try, but anything is possible!), understand that you are still one step closer to being more connected with it. Be compassionate with yourself. Know that it is on its way.
• While lying down, place your selected heart chakra crystal at the center of your chest. Take three slow and deep breaths. Allow yourself to drink in the crystal’s energy. As with the preceding holding technique, you may feel the energy expand within your heart. You may feel slight static energy. Or you may have an awareness that the crystal’s energy is interacting with your energy. If you don’t feel any of these things, that’s okay. You may want to say the affirmation listed in the last paragraph of the Essential Oils section (below) to more intentionally connect with your heart chakra.

3. Essential Oils

• Rose, geranium, neroli, palmarosa, bergamot, lavender, melissa/lemon balm, and ylang-ylang are the essential oils that correspond with the heart chakra.
• To use a single oil (or a blend of oils) to help you connect with this chakra, add 5 or 6 drops maximum per oil to a dime-size portion of carrier oil (such as jojoba oil). Apply with a cotton ball to the heart chakra, at the center of your chest, to anoint yourself.
• Or, you can put the mixture in your hands, and rub your hands together. Through friction, you will release the scent and energy of the oils. Open your palms to release the fragrance, and deeply inhale the scent. You may also want to simply lay your hands on your heart, with the activated oils.
• Whether you choose to anoint your heart chakra or activate the properties of the oils by rubbing them between your palms, take the time to intentionally create a connection with your heart chakra. Say something like, “I now intend to create a connection with my heart chakra. May I fully and completely connect with myself in loving and compassionate ways, and extend that outward to those around me. I release all fear that keeps me from receiving and giving love. I ask to be supported in elevating the vibration of my heart to one of joy. May I love and accept all of myself, including my flaws. And so it is.”

4. Yoga

The heart chakra is the heart center and seat of our soul. Using yoga to open this area of our bodies could be done with upper backbends, such as in Camel Pose, and chest openers, such as a Seated Spinal Twist. Eagle Pose is good for the backside of this chakra (the arm positioning spreads the shoulder blades wide). In addition, arm
balances are good to help your heart, dreams, and wishes take flight.

5. Other Tips

• Buy yourself a bouquet of roses. Roses resonate at the heart chakra.
• Make yourself rosebud tea. These tiny rosebuds, which you can buy at herb shops, specialty tea shops, and at many health food stores and Asian markets, are actually a Chinese medicinal herb called mei gui hua. By steeping a few buds in a large mug of hot water for a few minutes, you can create a love ritual for yourself and ingest the love of the roses.
• Practice forgiveness—of yourself and others.
• Chant to the mantra sound of “YUM.”
• Be open with genuine love and affection for those you truly love.