Welcometo the 4th newsletter in the Kundalini series. Anahata chakra is interesting from the point of view that it is located at the heart, which is considered the area where the spiritual world meets the physical world. It comes as no surprise that this chakra governs empathy, compassion and love for self and others. Forgiveness and selflessness is also situated at this chakra.The asana practice for Anahata centers around chest opening and invites us to practice back bends. Added benefits of this practice is ease of breathing and improved posture.The pranayama that best suits the balancing of the heart chakra is the Bhramari breath or the Humming Bee breath. After overcoming the initial embarassment of this breath, we were able to focus on the vibrations in our chest and head. We all enjoyed the deep mental and emotional relaxation of this beautiful pranayama.The music repertoire to balance Anahata chakra saw the juxtaposition of ‘heart rendering’ Gregorian chants as well as sythesizer ‘vibrations’. It was certainly interesting finding a wide variety of non-Indian music to balance the chakras.

May the benefits of your practice stay with you and extend beyond you.

Enjoy the break, Namaste,
Ernestine

 

Anahata in a nutshell:
Element: Air
Sound: Yam
Colour: Green
Endocrine system: Thymus gland – immune systemBalanced: Being capable of loving freely (self and others) , without expecting anything in return.
Unbalanced: Shy, lonely, lacking empathy or possessive and jealous. Physical suffering of asthma, lung disorders or blood pressure disorders.
Asana:

Puppy stretch
(Utthan Pristhasana) Fish pose (Matsyasana)

Cow Face pose (Gomukhasana)

Mudra: Hridaya mudra (heart mudra)

Wisdom:
…and love in your heart
Wasn’t put there to stay –
Love isn’t love
‘Til you give it away.
Oscar Hammerstein, Sound of Music, “You Are Sixteen ”