Anahata – Heart Chakra: Everything You Need to Know About Opening Your Heart
- Griff
Table of Contents
The human heart is the most powerful organ in the body, pumping blood to all of our organs and working non-stop to keep us alive. The heart-chakra reflects this beautifully. The Anahata is located in the center of your chest and is associated with a feeling of love, compassion and empathy.
The Anahata is represented by the color green with the symbol of a downward-facing triangle.
When the energy in your heart center is balanced, your energy form will emit an emerald green auric color, and you will feel love for yourself and others.
The Sanskrit word ‘Anahata’ means “unhurt” or “unbroken”. This is one of our most emotional chakras, associated with a feeling of peace and unconditional love. When you love yourself, you can learn to love others.
Anahata Chakra Location
The 4th chakra sits in the heart region of the chest and connects the lower primary chakra’s (root chakra, sacral chakra, solar plexus chakra) to the upper chakra’s (throat, third eye and crown), making it the energy center that bridges us between the physical and non-physical world.
In the physical body, it’s positioned just below the thymus gland, slightly to the right of the actual heart organ. This is the area of the body where you feel love and compassion.
What Blocks the Anahata Chakra
As the Anahata is the heart chakra, it will come as no surprise that matters of the heart, such as love, jealously, and desire to be loved, can negatively affect this energy center.
Our experiences in life and love can have a major impact on whether the energy in this chakra is positive or negative. When we have been hurt by love and don’t feel loved, our energy gets blocked in this area.
Negative energy from abusive relationships or betrayal from a loved one can cause an imbalanced heart chakra, manifesting as emotional symptoms like commitment issues, finding it hard to forgive, a lack of empathy, and being overly critical of yourself and others.
What Happens When the Anahata Chakra Opens
We can spend our whole lives learning to love, and some of the lessons we encounter can be more challenging than others. However, being able to move past the resentment, guilt and grief we carry from the past and learning to love again is something that can happen at any time.
We can cultivate the feelings of unconditional love, compassion and empathy from the balanced chakra energy of the Anahata. This positive energy helps us develop meaningful relationships, a newfound appreciation for the beauty in life, and the realisation of our innermost heart.
How Do I Activate the Anahata
You can use many practices to activate and open your heart chakra. If you have a yoga practice or have attended a meditation class, you may be familiar with some of these techniques.
However, even if you are entirely new to these spiritual practices, just try to keep an open mind and look for something that seems right to you.
Anahata Meditation
This is a simple breathing techniques combined with visualisation that you can use to activate and open your heart chakra.
In conjunction with these two techniques, you could also use the Anahata mantra and mudra, which I will explain below.
Time 5-10 minutes.
Step 1. Sit or lay down in a comfortable position, with your back straight, and if you choose to, your hands in an Anahata mudra.
Step 2. Breath in through your nose, Breath in deeply, following the breath into your heart center.
Step 3. Visualise a deep emerald green aura surrounding your heart. Imagine that it grows in vibrancy and power when you breathe into it. Try to breathe compassion and love into your Anahata.
Step 4. Fully exhale through your mouth and repeat the process.
Option. Repeat the mantra ‘Yam’ in your mind as you practice this breath meditation.
Anahata Mantra
Each chakra has its own mantra that resonates at the same frequency. The Anahata mantra is ‘YAM’, which you can listen to below and resonates at 639Hz.
Use this mantra either with the meditation above or just as part of your mantra meditation practice.
Anahata Mudra
A mudra is a hand position that you can adopt whilst you meditate.
For the Anahata mudra, touch your index finger to your thumb and allow the rest of your finger to relax. Do this with both hands and let your hands rest on your knees.
Anahata Yoga
Many yoga teachers and yoga classes focus on poses that are designed to work on opening the chakras, particularly in bhakti yoga.
Obviously, this may be one of the more physically demanding methods I’m suggesting, but you also get all the benefits of yoga along with it.
Only try these Anahata asana yoga postures if you feel confident and comfortable with them.
Wild Thing - Camatkarasana
Camel Pose - Ustrasana
Upward Facing Dog - Urdvha Mukha Svanasana
Anahata Stone
Green Aventurine is a chakra stone formed of quartz believed to embody nature’s pure energy.
This stone is typically used as a tool for prosperity but can also be used to help heal the heart chakra.
Green Aventurine can be worn as a necklace to heal the heart.
Anahata Affirmations
Affirmations are a great way to form beliefs and new thoughts. This technique is done by sitting comfortably, closing your eyes and speaking the affirmation out loud.
When you say the affirmation again, think about the emotions it evokes within you. This will help you to experience the positive feelings and allow them to flow in your body.
Full list of heart chakra affirmations here.
I am loved and love others.
I can be vulnerable without fear of being hurt or rejected.
I am enough, I do enough, I have enough
I am blessed with love, life and happiness
Alternative Ways to Open the Anahata Yoga
Another way you can help open your heart chakra that fits into you everyday day life is to do random acts of kindness.
By helping others, you are enabling yourself to be a source of unconditional love and compassion. This will positively open your heart chakra and allow you to experience unconditional love for yourself and others in your life.
Griff Williams
MindEasy founder & meditation teacher
Griff Williams is an accredited meditation teacher and founder of MindEasy. He spent 12 years working as a London firefighter before changing paths to pursue building MindEasy. He received his diploma in meditation teaching from The British School of Meditation.
