28/09/2020
What is Heart?
In yoga, the term heart can refer to one of three concepts: one physical, another transcendent, and yet another, energetic:
The physical heart, as we know, is the pulsating, blood-pumping, fist-sized muscle in the center of the chest. The transcendent notion of the heart, hrdaya as it's known in Sanskrit, is said to be the seat of pure consciousness. Sometimes referred to as the Self, or the atman, this concept of the heart is often described as a refuge, a home, a resting place, or our spiritual core.
On an energetic level, the heart center, or anahata chakra, is one of the seven primary energy centers in the subtle body. It’s located within the spinal column at the level of the sternum and the first thoracic vertebra, just above the physical heart. In the Western psychological interpretation, the heart center is associated with qualities of unconditional love, compassion, empathy, harmony, and joy.
Yoga, when done as a practice of self-honouring, calls forth the power of our heart center. It amplifies the heart’s characteristic feelings of loving connection, wholeness and kindness, and turns those qualities within, toward our selves. Consciously cultivating these feelings in yoga can help foster self-acceptance, emotional healing, and a loving self-regard that encompasses all parts of ourselves.
It can be helpful to understand that the heart has the capacity to hold both our light and our darkness, offering us a space to embraces our entirety – even the parts that we may want to hide away. As our inner dialogue shifts to become more loving and accepting, we may also find it easier to express these qualities in our outer lives as well.