Yoga Nidra for Loving Kindness

This week in classes, we worked with the heart chakra, also known as Anahata in Sanskrit. I love working with this energy centre as it is soft and gentle which is how I perceive myself to be, so it feels natural to be in this centre. It is also the midway point in the chakra system, so it is as concerned on the physical lower three chakras as it is with the three higher less tangible centres. This concept of balance is something I constantly try to achieve and one that shows up in my teaching often.We worked with the concept of Mettā which is loving kindness. So we focused on sending out love and kindness not only to other people, but also to the person who deserves it from us the most . . . ourselves!  The Yoga Nidra for this week is focused on this concept of Mettā.

Lovely Little Brain

We’ve moved from earth to water to fire and now to air. We make our way from the tangible to the intangible. Air will be the focus for all of my classes this week. Air is the element associated with the heart chakra or Anahata. Anahata loosely translates as “centre of unstruck sound.” It is our own unique vibration that emanates from our heart, which coincidently is the physical location in the body for the air element. The area of the heart, the chest and the lungs represents air in our body - the lungs which we use to breath in oxygen, and the heart which has the power to produce a light, airy quality in our body, mind and spirit. It is our heart that allows us to connect to such intangible things as our genuine and authentic thoughts. Due to relatively recent research, the heart is beginning to be referred to as the little brain. It was mostly believed up until this point that the mind was what controlled the brain, when in actuality the heart has it’s own ability to learn, remember and act independently of the brain.  In fact, the heart is being shown to send more information to the brain on a daily basis, than the brain sends to the heart. The air element is the element that represents things such as possibilities, inspiration, joy, and freedom. What better way to achieve these things than by allowing ourselves to be led by the heart. This week we will focus on feeling lighter by taking those amazingly deep, full breaths, and opening up our hearts in order to access the wisdom of our little brain. See below for further ways to work with this chakra.

Glowing with Gratitude

This week is all about the heart – love, joy, compassion, kindness, connection,etc.  In other words all the good stuff in life!  This is the domain of the fourth chakra, aka the heart chakra, aka Anahata in Sanskrit.  The element for this energy is air, so physically it is fairly easy to connect with this chakra simply by breathing deeply and focusing on our breath.  Of course we will be doing breath work in class, but we’ll also work on expanding and opening up the chest.  How often do you let your heart lead?  Does it feel natural to allow your chest to open, or do you tend to hunch the shoulders and close off?

Bridge of the Heart

What better way to get ready for the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend then by focusing on the heart chakra.  The heart chakra, also known as Anahata (centre of unstruck sound) is the 4^th of the 7 major chakras, so it is the midpoint between the outer, physical reality of the lower chakras and the inner, other realms of the upper chakras.  This chakra illustrates the importance of balance and how both sides of any coin are important.  The yantra (symbol) for Anahata is a triangle and an inverted triangle intersecting to form a six-pointed star.  The upright triangle points up towards the higher chakras and the inverted triangle points down towards the lower chakras with the heart chakra located in the center.  It’s important to lift up and awaken to higher consciousness and spirituality, but it’s just as important to root down and stay firmly grounded to the earth and the physical reality we came here to experience.

I LOVE

From the dynamic, exciting, sometimes intense fire element of the solar plexus (3rd) chakra, we move up to the more gentle and flowing air element of the heart chakra.  This 4th chakra is where we can find all of our answers.  It’s that place inside us that knows everything we need to know.  It’s the best teacher we will ever have (the Guru Haridya Manas (inner teacher) chakra lies within the heart chakra), and contains the only voice we should work on hearing and following.  It’s the bridge between our three lower chakras (the physical world and feelings) and our three upper chakras (the unseen world and thoughts).  So, our heart chakra is that place of perfect balance or the union between our feelings and thoughts and our conscious and subconscious minds.     

I Am Love

Anahata chakra deals with heart related issues such as love, trust, compassion and acceptance.  We all thrive when we’re loved, but we are also easily crushed, defeated, closed off or guarded when we lose this love or we feel we never had it to begin with. Like the second chakra, this energy center is very much about letting feelings and emotions flow through.  It is about processing our emotions – both the “good” and “bad” – and not allowing any of these emotions to close us off and prevent us from making the connections that are so important to this heart center. 

The Heart Knows

Halfway up our chakra journey, we come to the heart chakra, which is located here at our hearts in the center of our chests.  This energy center is all about love, compassion, forgiveness and joy.  It is our ability to both give and receive love in order to feel a connection to ourselves as well as those around us.  Ultimately, this connection allows us to come to the realization that we are all one.  The Sanskrit term for this energy center is Anahata, which means "unstruck sound."  It refers to that sound that is reserved for only us to hear.  It is our unique vibration, where if we are silent and really take the time to listen to our hearts, we will hear it and hopefully follow its wisdom and guidance.