The Chakra System: Part 4 - The Heart

Let’s continue our Chakra series with the fourth one known as the Heart Chakra. Similar to your heart, this chakra is in the center of your chest between the lungs and center of the breastbone in the rib cage. The Heart Chakra’s mantra is: I LOVE.

The heart is your gateway to compassion and the seat of all relationships. It allows you to see things from a different perspective and therefore allows you to change behaviors, thought patterns and old survival skills which may no longer be needed. It’s integral in helping you to develop your own subtle and personal spiritual connections to the higher realms of possibilities. When you allow both harmony and balance in your heart, you begin to experience bliss. When you enhance the time of bliss, you begin to embody love. The more you love in the face of obstacles or life’s challenges [the unlovable parts of life] the more you understand that love is a state of being and not something to be given and received. Love is a frequency of the Divine which is assessable for everyone.

The main color associated with the Heart Chakra is emerald green. The frequency of this color aligns with harmony, renewal, the outdoors with grass and trees, and personal growth. You may also see pink associated with the heart. It helps to bring in love and compassion.

It’s not surprising that the physicality of the heart chakra includes the heart, but it also includes the thymus, lungs, rib cage, circulatory system, blood, pericardium, chest, shoulders, arms, and hands. In addition, the heart connects to the vagus nerve which acts as a superhighway to the brain to alert the body about your heart rate, mood, digestion and more.   

The heart chakra’s is responsible for the respiratory system. It helps to control the heartbeat and circulate the blood. Your lungs take in breath to oxygenate the blood which nourishes and your cells and clears waste such as nitrogen and carbon dioxide from your system.

The heart and thymus produce hormones and neurotransmitters which help with immunity.  Since there is a link with emotions and physical health, restricting your emotions can cause physical unpleasantries.

We learn through our heart how to manage lower vibrations such as disappointment, pain, or disgust. Through the practice of gratitude, we begin to learn to surrender, which leads to a deeper knowing and understanding ourselves. We learn to forgive and accept or release those things which are not in alignment with our highest and best self. Our sensory processing begins in the heart, which offers us an opportunity to discern physical, emotional, and social stimuli – giving us the ability to react with kindness and empathy. This is the superpower of the heart center.

Love, happiness, cooperation, and compassion are core values of someone with an open-heart chakra.  They have a natural flair for sharing these attributes. They can deeply empathize with someone without getting caught up in the drama. They have self-awareness to check in with themselves, so they don’t unnecessarily project any unwanted beliefs or opinions onto their relationships with others.

An overactive heart chakra can manifest as stubborn, narcissism, obsession, unchecked comparison, codependency, jealousy, and self-centeredness. If your heart chakra is in overdrive, you may notice you lack boundaries in your relationships and may be misusing the power of love. An overactive heart chakra can result in people pleasing and saying yes to anyone and everything even if its not in your best interest.

With an underactive heart chakra, you may come across as being emotionally shut down or closed off. The heart can break from many different influences – grief, loss, betrayal, abandonment, and rejection just to name a few. You may feel pain, emptiness, or loneliness. The lack of energetic flow can cause isolation or depression. It can be hard to forgive others, poor coping and sharing skills, apathy, aimlessness, loss of self-love and withdrawal in general.  A hardening of the heart can look and feel different to everyone and is sometimes marked with victimhood, defensiveness, and bitterness.

When you have a strong heart chakra, you can display gentle, nurturing, friendly, warm, and calm personality traits. These people tend to be even keeled and are natural intuitive as they empathize easily with their environment and everyone around them.

Remember the key to the heart space is to hold high vibrational attitude, infusing laughter into more moments and refreshing your stagnant energy by getting out of your routine and exploring to gain a fresh perspective. There are many levels of consciousness that you can gain access to, and if you align with the truth of your heart, you will find yourself on the right path.

- Dawn Hamilton is a Reiki Master and Akashic Record Healer who provides healings and readings at Tribalance Wellness.