![]() ![]() ![]() Direct the breath to expand your ribs on the inhale and deflate on the exhale. Place your hands on your ribs on the sides of your body. And so how can I ever say that I am alone?” - C. ![]() When I breathe in, I am breathing in the laughter, tears, victories, passions, thoughts, memories, existence, joys, moments, and the hues of the sunlight on many tones of skin I am breathing in the same air that was exhaled by many before me. The air itself supplies me with a century of love. Learning to breathe with the entire body can bring a fuller awareness to physical tightness and trapped emotions, and breathing into the side body and back body is an essential part of the practices that will support an open heart. The opening of our hearts happens in a spherical manner. Practicing pranayama techniques and bringing awareness to the quality, quantity, and placement of the breath can have a great impact on the heart space. Because most of our cognitive awareness of the senses is directed outward from the front of our bodies, we tend to be unaware of our side and back bodies. Just as this fourth chakra is the bridge between the lower chakras and the more ethereal higher chakras, our breath is the bridge from our physical body to our mind and emotions. The air element is related to anahata, the heart chakra. “I stand before what is with an open heart.Īnd with an open heart I dwell in possibility.” - Macrina Wiederkehr The Breath as a Bridge Furthermore, you are able to move through life with hope, optimism, and a healthy give-take balance in relationships. The appreciable contrast of having an open heart shows up as feelings of love, kindness, compassion, and having the ability to see the positive in yourself and others. Also not uncommon are feelings of disconnect, which may lead to the fear of rejection and abandonment. The individual may experience low self-esteem and become overly critical of themselves, and possibly overly critical of others. One may also experience indecisiveness, lack of compassion, and may find themselves overly dependent in their relationships with others. When one’s heart is closed, it might result in feeling actual physical pain or emotional restriction. ![]() As the practice evolves, this will blossom into being truthful, not stealing, moderation of the sense organs, controlling sexual urges, and non-grasping. If we move through life with the foundation of non-harming, softness and openness in the heart will naturally occur. When applying the eight limbs of yoga to our heart-opening goal, it is wise to begin with the first yama, ahimsa, or non-violence. Opening The Heart and The Eight Limbs of Yoga For lasting benefit and healing, we also want to implement the other seven limbs of yoga- yama (ethical standards), niyama (self-discipline), pranayama (breath work), pratyahara (withdrawal or restriction of the senses), dharana (concentration), dhyana (meditation), and samadhi (integration). We need to remember that asana, the physical postures of yoga, are only 1/8th of the equation. Being bendy is good but having a truly open heart is vital. Our life energy moves through the heart space. While these chest-forward expressions are helpful in creating space, a student can perform backbends until Armageddon and still have restriction to the heart chakra and the flow of prana, our life force. The topic of heart-opening yoga most often brings forth images of various back-bending yoga postures. Focused work will give us the fluidity, flexibility, and strength needed to experience our true nature as conscious blissful beings. Thus, if the heart is the seat of our consciousness, we should be encouraged to spend our energy maintaining an open-heart space. The Charaka Samhita teaches, “hridaye chetana sthanam,” which translates to “the seat of consciousness is in the heart.” Consciousness can be defined as the state of being awake and aware of one’s surroundings and also the actual state of the mind being aware of itself and the world. Over time, these experiences can lead us to close and constrict our heart space. In this online and offline tribe people who are interested and involved in the conscious shift and living a connected life, come together to share their skills, experiences and open heartedness.As we move through life, it is inevitable that we will experience pain and suffering. CONNECT WITH ME FOR COACHING YOGA AND MORE: ☖ SUBSCRIBE TO THIS CHANNEL AND CLICK THE BELL TO KEEP UPDATED. We are going to open our heart, nourish ourselves and practice some self love today. This is intermediate flow class with adjustment suggestions for all levels. You can follow my classes here on YouTube, my website, or Vimeo, or join the Be Love Tribe for my classes and so much more! Every week I teach a 60 to 75 minute vinyasa flow class at the Be Love Tribe online community. ![]()
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