Heart Chakra: Gateway To Our Higher Self

Our fourth chakra

Often we call the Heart Chakra our centre for love and devotion. It is associated with the colour green and we connect with this chakra between the ages of 22 and 28 when we are forming deep relationships with the hope of shared love. Our heart chakra is located in the middle of our chest and is associated with the sense of touch and the element of air. Many of us associate the heart chakra with falling in love, but our heart chakra is opened by the kind of love we get when we look at a beautiful sunset or the scent of a rose. It is the love of creation that gives us pleasure, bliss and joy. This is where our emotional development or emotional wisdom happens. The fourth main chakra manifests and expresses unconditional love for self, others and creation.

In Sanskrit, our heart chakra means unstuck sound or note, unhurt and unbeaten. When our prana, the life force energy, is balanced and moving freely through our heart chakra we can feel and acknowledge our emotions in the most challenging situations, express our emotions and, with the unconditional love of self, release these emotions to forgive and finally give way to allow the divine to guide us. When we open ourselves to the divine, we connect with our higher self.

With a heart chakra that is balanced, we

• express our love with kindness, and without fear

• have a sense of peace and self-love

• forgive no only others but ourselves

• have a sense of joy

• have compassion for others

• feel and express gratitude

When our prana, that vital life force, is not flowing through our heart chakra, because either there is too much (stagnant) or too little (blocked), we can be affected physically and emotionally in the following ways:

• feelings of being personally attacked

• selfishness

• being overly secretive in expressing our feelings

• jealousy

• withdrawal from relationships