Anahata - The Heart Chakra

We enter the central area of ​​the Chakra System. The Heart Chakra, or Anahata, is our spiritual center, our core, the point that consolidates the energies from above and below, inside and out. Anahata in Sanskrit means "unstruck," "unhurt," "fresh" and "clean." When this chakra is clear of free from the sorrow of old pains, its opening is honest, pure and luminous. If the third chakra, Manipura, has played its part, it is easier to accept our circumstances, and its battle is replaced by recognition.

The job of our Heart Chakra is to unite and harmonize the different characters of our essence. In so doing, it brings a radiant feeling of wholeness to the entire organism. As spirit and matter interpenetrate, Shiva and Shakti come together in the heart. In their endless dance of creation, their love reflects throughout all being, granting it the stability that allows the universe to continue. We transcend our ego and rise towards something more meaningful, deeper, and more reliable. This chakra is the center of love, but the love we experience at its level is different from that found in our sacral chakra. The latter is sexual and passionate; the presence of a particular person stimulates desire. In Anahata, love is separated from external stimulus, although it is felt inside as a state of being. In this way, it expands, bringing love and empathy to whatever arises into our field. Unlike the dynamic nature of the second chakra with its ephemeral passions, the love of the heart is constant, timeless, and eternal. Its element is air, the least dense of our physical elements so far. The air symbolizes freedom, openness, freshness, lightness, simplicity, and softness. The air indicates space, which we accomplish by letting go. Finally, air denotes breath, the vital process by which our cells are kept alive. Opening the heart chakra demands a mixture of technique and knowledge. First, we need to understand and see the world through relationships, which brings things together and keeps them that way. It requires a comprehension and application of balance between mind and body, inner and outer realms, self and other, giving and receiving—a transcendence of the ego, allowing us to surrender to forces more significant than the self. Finally, opening the heart chakra entails an understanding and controlling of the breath, the means to physical and mental transformation.

You can continue your journey through the chakras, with this practice focused on the Anahata Chakra: