Building Internal Harmony with Yoga: The Heart Chakra by ANNE-MARIE HARDIE on FEBRUARY 18, 2009 Pregnancy has

really brought me in touch with my emotions for a few reasons: the increase in hormones has opened both my mind and body to truly feeling my emotions. Just ask my husband and he will definitely state that Ive become much more emotionally expressive. But really what I found that has brought me most in touch with how Im feeling, is the simple fact that my body is working on developing a beautiful new baby. This baby is part of my body and when I feel emotions: I am sharing these feelings with her. In this personal journey, Ive had to do a lot of letting go of my own need to control. My body and my baby have their own agenda and they are going through their own changes. Although I can still control some of the basics, Ive had to really learn to listen to what my body needs: whether its taking an afternoon nap, going for a walk or indulging in some chocolate. To help me focus on this transition Ive been working on balancing and opening up the fourth Chakra: Anahata. Anahata: Harmonizing Emotions Anahata: the fourth Chakra is about harmonizing emotions. The location of this Chakra is in our thoracic cavity: this area includes our heart, rib cage, sternum and the front of our spine. It is governed by our intuitions and ultimately love as this the chakra which is directed by our emotions. In his book Chakra Yoga, Alan Finger discusses that by balancing this Chakra it will open our bodies and minds to kindness and goodwill towards both yourself and others. It is about accepting, the whole person including our individual emotions, actions and thoughts. A Heart Meditation Will Help Connect You to Your Emotions I have found that the best way to begin working on this chakra is with meditation. A Heart Release Meditation will help you to become aware of the emotions that you are currently feeling and it may even make you aware of those emotions that youve tried to ignore in the past. The key with this type of meditation is to become aware of your emotions, recognize them and accept them for what they are. Working through the heart chakra is not about thinking through your emotions but simply accepting them. A heart meditation is also the perfect way to introduce your body to the yogic poses that will help open up and balance this chakra. By meditating, we will begin to focus on this neglected and possibly repressed area of our body. Once the meditation is complete, we can use this positive energy to work through the poses. The poses that work well on this chakra are those that focus on opening our rib cage area. This combination between balancing and opening this chakra is extremely important, as this will help us to balance both the negative and positive emotions that surround us and start on the path of unconditional love. Yoga Poses that help work on the Anahata Chakra as recommended by Alan Finger: Upward Facing Cat/Downward Facing Cat Pose Sphinx Pose Crescent Pose Hare Pose Camel Pose

Take your time working through these positions and on harmonizing your emotions. Throughout this whole process, remember that there isnt a perfect way of developing this chakra. This chakra is deeply personal. Embrace your own individual journey and thank your spirit, body and mind for the small changes.