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Anahata Chakra: The Heart Chakra | Open Yourself To Love, Compassion, And Empathy

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The Chakra of love and compassion, relationships and everlasting friendships, self-love and confidence, balance and serenity, peace and harmony, the Anahata Chakra stays true to its title of “The Heart Chakra”. The source of humanity’s strongest and kindest emotions, an unblocked Anahata Chakra is your path to a strong and fulfilled life- a compassionate life with an abundance of love, joy, and friendship. The most influential energy point in your body, it is of utmost importance to strive to unblock your Anahata Chakra and activate it to its fullest potential.

Anahata-Chakra
Anahata Chakra
(Public Domain)

What is the Anahata Chakra?

The Anahata Chakra or the Heart Chakra is the fourth Chakra in the seven-Chakra system of Hinduism. It is considered to be the most “influential” energy center in the body and is widely revered as the Chakra of love, peace, balance, and harmony.

Owing to its location in the heart, the Anahata Chakra is also widely associated with the qualities of love and divinity. It is the Chakra that allows you to give and receive love and build and experience deep, meaningful relationships. It is also responsible for the feelings of compassion, empathy, unconditional love, joy, and happiness.

A stable and properly aligned Anahata Chakra allows you to open yourself to new experiences and challenges in relationships, allows you to take in the beauty of the people and world around you, helps you develop self-love and a true connection to your soul. It is also the Chakra of self-acceptance and acceptance of all human beings, no matter their shape and size.

However, if the Anahata Chakra is blocked, it greatly affects your ability to form relationships. In addition to this, a blocked Anahata Chakra can cause you deep mental stress, as it makes you feel insecure about yourself and your relationships, uncomfortable in your body, unable to be compassionate, happy, or kind, and unable to form solid relationships.

Origin of the Anahata Chakra

The Anahata Chakra has deep Vedic roots and is derived from the Sanskrit word “Anahata” which directly translates to “a sound that is produced without touching two parts”. It can also mean “Unstruck” or “Pure”.

A deeper look into the name tells us that it is symbolic of an “open mind”. The Anahata Chakra allows you to detach or remove yourself from a situation and weigh both sides with an open mind, allowing you to make the best decision. It allows you to obtain the result or solution that comes from a confrontation between two opposing forces without the actual confrontation.

The Anahata Chakra incorporates the two opposing energies and uses them to fruition without a collision between the two energies. This cooperation and integration are what lead to peace and balance in the world. 

What does the Anahata Chakra look like? 

Located in the center of your heart, the Anahata Chakra is most commonly depicted as a lotus flower surrounded by twelve petals. At the center of the lotus flower lies a smoky region with a diagrammatic representation of two triangles. This depiction of two intersecting triangles is referred to as a “Shatkona”- a Hindu symbol of male and female union. Symbolically, the male triangle represents Brahman – the Supreme force that governs the universe- and the female triangle represents Prakriti or Nature. 

Anahata-Chakra

Each of the petals is inscribed with a syllable – Kam, Kham, Gam, Gham, Ngam, Cham, Chham, Jam, Jham, Nyam, Tam, Tham – which correspond to the human qualities of bliss, peace, harmony, love, understanding, empathy, clarity, purity, unity, compassion, kindness and forgiveness respectively.

The deity associated with this Chakra is Vayu, God of wind. Vayu is believed to reside within the smoky area in the center of this Chakra and is depicted as smoke-like, four-armed, and riding his divine vehicle- an antelope. 

Green Colour

The Anahata Chakra is closely associated with the color green because it is a representation of growth, compassion, balance, and meaningful relationships. When your Anahata Chakra is unlocked, it will allow you to absorb the green color of the Chakra within yourself, which has proven to be calming to the mind and healing to the body. It can also bring stability, balance, serenity, and endurance to your life. 

Air

The Heart Chakra is closely associated with the element of Air and its ever-flowing free and expansive nature. Just as how Air symbolizes freedom, the Anahata Chakra can allow you to open your heart, mind and achieve complete freedom. If your Heart Chakra is unblocked, it will allow you to form compassionate relationships, develop self-love, positive feelings, friendliness, and motivation within yourself. It also allows you to become more understanding and empathetic towards others, hence helping you form meaningful and lasting relationships.

What are the Powers of the Anahata Chakra and What It Really Does? 

The Anahata Chakra is often believed to be an eternal flame within your heart, allowing you to expand your mind, body, and soul. It is also considered to be outside the realm of Karma and hence can allow you to make decisions outside the influence of Karma. In addition to this, the heart chakra is also considered to be the Chakra of love, compassion, healing, clarity, and joy. Unlocking this Chakra allows you to free your mind, develop endless love and compassion, and allows you to let go of undesirable thoughts and emotions.

How do you know if your Anahata Chakra is blocked? 

The Chakra of expansion, freedom, love, joy, compassion, balance, motivation, serenity, and relationships, an unbalanced or blocked Anahata Chakra can lead to a plethora of emotional and physical problems in your life. It can cause you to feel lonely, isolated, and unable to form lasting relationships. It can also cause you to feel anxious, unmotivated, and afraid. Some of the most common symptoms of a blocked Anahata Chakra include:

  • Inability to develop trust in a relationship. 
  • Being overly dependent on the other person in a relationship.
  • Detaching yourself from loved ones.
  • A constant fear of rejection.
  • Inability to give and receive feelings of love and affection.
  • Can cause you to put up an emotional barrier between yourself and others.
  • Heart palpitations and poor blood circulation in your body.
  • Heart pain and Asthma are also physical symptoms that you may develop due to a blocked Heart Chakra.

How to Balance And Unblock your Anahata Chakra?

To lead a life full of love, compassion, and joy, it is of utmost importance to stabilize your Anahata Chakra. It allows you to experience the world as your true self, unwavering in the face of society and its expectations. An open and flowing Heart Chakra allows you to experience confidence like never before and teaches you to develop trust- in yourself and others around you. The Anahata Chakra can be unblocked by a plethora of techniques, ranging from meditation to Yoga.

Seed Mantra To Unblock Your Vishuddha Chakra

The Seed Mantra (the Mantra or word that imbibes this Chakra with spiritual power) is “Yam”. The Mantra “Yam” is a metaphor for growth, liberation, and letting go of those that hold you down. 

In the ”Bindu” or dot above the syllable “Yam” resides Isha, an elemental deity in Hinduism. He is depicted as five-faced, ten-armed, and adorned in tiger skin. Depicted next to him is Kakini, his Shakti (a manifestation of his power). She is often depicted as yellow-skinned or rose-skinned and atop a red lotus. 

Meditation To Unblock Your Vishuddha Chakra

Meditation has proven to be one of the most effective methods to unlock your Chakras and access them to their full potential. It is a way for you to rewrite the negative thoughts and patterns in your mind by using your focus and connection to your inner self.

Meditation-Art
Meditation-Art
(Public Domain)

To unblock the Anahata Chakra, you can perform a “Seed Mantra Meditation”, where you chant the Seed Mantra “Yam” during your meditation. Sit cross-legged on the ground with your back upright and imagine the Anahata Chakra and its energy flowing within you. While doing this, chant the seed mantra “Yam”. Chanting this mantra can help to heal your heart, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

This act will send an abundance of positive energy throughout your body. It allows you to expand your body, mind, and soul- freeing you from the clutches of anxiety, fear, and irrationality. 

Affirmations To Unblock Your Vishuddha Chakra

Another useful technique to unblock your Heart Chakra is by constantly repeating positive affirmations to yourself. Positive affirmations have proved to have an extremely positive and healing effect on the mind and body as it fills your body with positive vibrations. It can also allow a positive flow of energy to and from your Heart Chakra. Some positive affirmations that can help you unblock your heart chakra include:

  1. I am wanted.
  2. I am loved. 
  3. I am grace and beauty defined.
  4. I can trust myself and my decisions.
  5. I forgive myself for making mistakes, it is just a part of being human.
  6. I deeply and completely accept myself and my body the way it is.

Food To Unblock Your Vishuddha Chakra

Owing to the green color of this Chakra, it has been found that maintaining a green diet can help to unblock it. The quality of food that you put into your body is of extreme importance and it affects your Chakras just as much as it affects your physical body.

Eating food of the same color as the element can promote healing in that particular area of your body and can restore energy flow. Green foods are also scientifically proven to be healthier for your body and mind.

The best green foods to eat to unblock your Heart Chakra include kale, spinach, Matcha, green tea, green apples, cucumbers, broccoli, and so on. 

Breathing exercises

Another sure-fire way to kick start your Anahata Chakra is by practicing various breathing exercises and techniques. One of the most effective breathing techniques is Anulom Vilom, as it is extremely effective in restoring balance and energy flow in the heart chakra.

To perform Anulom Vilom, sit upright on the ground with your legs crossed. Place your thumb on one nostril and close it, and breathe in and out deeply through your open nostril. Following this, hold both your nostrils closed and count till 8. Then, switch to your other nostril and repeat. 

Practicing forgiveness go a long way in unblocking your Heart Chakra. Often, grudges and ill feelings towards others can cloud your judgment and bring negativity into your life. Letting go of these feelings is the first step to completely unlocking your Chakra. Talking to someone about your feelings or visiting a professional – like a therapist – to help you let go of resentful feelings can have a healing effect on your Heart Chakra.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Anahata Chakra has a highly influential effect on your mind, body, and soul. It also has a deeply impactful effect on your personality and can mean the difference between a compassionate life filled with love and an unkind one. To lead a meaningful and balanced life, it is important to unlock the Anahata Chakra and develop a connection with others, yourself, and the universe.

Last Modified on : 16 January 2022

EDITORIAL REVIEW

This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to publication.


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Cassidy Ellice is an experienced yoga instructor who has been teaching in New York City since 2004, with a unique approach that integrates Kundalini, Iyengar, Ashtanga, and Dharma yoga. Growing up in a conscious family and studying Cultural Anthropology provided her with the spiritual and intellectual nourishment to take bold steps and trust in the universe’s guidance. In a significant transition last year, Cassidy made the decision to leave her financially secure job and join the Vedgyaan Family as a full-time writer. Her diverse background and life experiences inform her creative and inspiring writing, which continues to resonate with readers seeking wisdom and insight into the human experience.
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