Tanja Alexandra Kern 
Guide to Opening Up the Heart Chakra: 5 Tips on Ways to Open Your Heart Chakra
Love is in the Air. Red roses, chocolate hearts, and teddy bears start popping up everywhere around us and we realize that Valentine’s Day is just around the corner.
Valentine’s Day offers us a lovely reminder to celebrate love.
Please remember, that whether you are in a relationship or single, the first person to accept and love is yourself. And by this, I don’t mean in a selfish way but in a self-affirming and self-empowering way.
Only when you can accept yourself, can you fully love and appreciate others.
Let’s not limit the celebration and cultivation of love to Valentine’s Day but let this day be the beginning of a daily appreciation of love. Here are 5 ways to open your heart chakra and feel the love!
1. Loving-Kindness Meditation
Begin by finding a comfortable seated position, either on a chair with your feet flat on the floor or on the floor sitting up on a cushion or yoga block. With your inhale begin to lengthen your spine and exhale to root your feet or hips into the earth.
Start to expand your in- and exhales and breathe all the way down into your belly, letting it rise and fall with every breath.
On your next inhale, bring your awareness to your heart center. Think about someone (a loved one, baby, pet, family member, or friend) who you love unconditionally. Picture them in your mind’s eye and silently say to them
“May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be free from suffering. May you live in ease.” Feel each statement from you heart.
Now begin to offer loving kindness to yourself. Imagine your face in front of you. And then silently repeat, “May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be free from suffering. May you live in ease.”
Next think of a neutral person (maybe your barista or check-out person at the grocery store). With your intention on them silently repeat “May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be free from suffering. May you live in ease.”
Then think of a challenging person in your life and do your best to send them loving-kindness from your heart, repeating to them “May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you be free from suffering. May you live in ease.”
Then bring your awareness back to your heart, stay for another few breaths, and when you feel ready gently blink your eyes open.
2. Yoga
Sit on your yoga mat or floor and place a bolster behind your sitting bones. If you don’t have a bolster, stay with me. Bend your knees, and gently lie back on the bolster, arms by your side, palms facing up. Another option is to roll up a few blankets and use them instead to lie back on.
If you don’t have a bolster, you may choose to place one yoga block underneath your shoulder blades and one block underneath your head. If you like pad the blocks with hand towels and place a few extra ones for under your head. Bend your knees and lie back onto the blocks. Stay with your knees bend like this, or step your feet mat width apart and let the knees drop in to each other. Guide your breath into your heart and allow your shoulders to soften. Breathe in and open your heart, breathe out and let go of something that doesn’t serve you any longer. Let your mind become quite and stay here for a few minutes. When you are ready to come out, gently roll over to one side, resting you head on your arm. Pause here and then gently find your way back to seated, being extra gently with your head and neck as you find your way up.
3. Rose Meditation
Find a comfortable seat. Place a few drops of Rose essential oil in the palms of your hands, rub them together a few times, close your eyes and cup the palms over your nose. Make sure to not touch your eyes. Now take deep inhales and guide the exquisite fragrance of rose to your heart. Give yourself permission to connect to your true essence and allow the healing and loving qualities of Rose oil to touch your heart at its deepest level.
4. Music
Put on your favorite song (love song or not) and sing and dance your heart out. Fully express yourself. Nobody is watching or judging you. Feel the music and let it touch your heart and soul.
5. Crystal Meditation
Find a comfortable seat. Place your favorite rose quartz crystal into the palms of your hands and hold it there for a few breaths. As you deepen your breaths, feel how the crystal is warming up to your touch and begin to sense its vibration and energy.
Now program the crystal in your hands with an intention like “I am loved, and I am love” or “I am enough” or “I fully love and accept myself”. Repeat your intention silently a few times and when you feel ready lift your hands up to your heart center and cup both hands over your heart and the crystal. Open your heart and receive the loving and healing energies of your intention and the rose quartz.
Remember the love that you are! Many blessings from my heart to yours!
Tanja
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Tanja Alexandra Kern
