Moving up from Manipura Chakra..
Anahata chakra, also known as the heart chakra; is located just below the sternum/breast bone. The heart is considered to be at the centre of the body and puts out thousands of times more electromagnetic activity than the brain; you really have got to live in a cave these days to not have awareness of the heart’s connection to love and relationships (both with ourselves and others). Anahata is associated to the element of air and thus also is related to the respiratory as well as the cardiac system; it’s representative colour is green.
The basic right of this chakra is to love and to be loved.
Some of the characteristics displayed if one is balanced in this chakra are:
- To be loving and compassionate (to self and others)
- Have a good immune system
- Being peaceful and balanced
- Empathic and altruistic
If one is working with issues in this chakra they may either have excessive of deficient energy, or both, and thus will potentially display:
Excessive energy
- Demanding and clingy
- Codependent and poor boundaries
- Jealous
- Unduly sacrificing
Deficient energy
- Lacking empathy or excessively self-interested
- Self-isolation, loneliness or depression
- Withdrawn and fearing relationships
- Judgmental, critical and/or intolerant
Due to it’s association with air and physical location in the body, good balancing activities for anahata chakra are breathing exercises or pranayama, journaling and potentially work on self-acceptance, emotional release and relationships. Helping us to comprehend and thus open our hearts from a place which feels right, rather than feeling we “should” or “shouldn’t” love; loving where we feel works best for our journey and those we influence/are influenced by.
..Next to Vishudda Chakra..