Opening the Heart – Reflection and Centering

At a recent admin meeting, Cynthia shared a centering designed to bring awareness to, and open the heart. Renee asked her to share it on the Director’s Blog for others to enjoy, as well.

Point to yourself

Take a moment to close your eyes and relax into the rhythm of your breath. When you feel more relaxed, go ahead and point to yourself.

Notice where you are pointing. Chances are, you’re pointing toward your heart, or somewhere near your heart chakra.

This is on purpose. We humans point to the heart because we intuitively know our truest selves are not the brain, but the heart. The heart serves as a secondary brain and even has its own magnetic field.opening the heart

What we do with the heart

We do a lot with the heart. We have heart-to-heart conversations. When we’re happy, our heart swells. When we’re sad, we’re heartbroken.

In the presence of beauty, we say we’re heartened. When we like someone, we say that they have a kind heart. A trustworthy, well-meaning person has a heart of gold. Conversely, a cold, unforgiving person has a heart of stone. When we feel bad for someone, we say, “bless their heart.” When we experience surprise, our heart skips a beat.

When we see someone’s heartfelt actions, we know it’s them expressing their truth. Furthermore, we send heart emojis when we mean to send loving thoughts.

Some of us wear our hearts on our sleeve.

Caring for our “heart self”

Our culture values the relentless pursuit of knowledge. We feed the mind. We feed the brain. We spend decades educating ourselves. But how often do we remember to feed the heart? How often do we remember to care for our heart self?

When we focus on the heart, our communications improve. Our relationships flourish. Still, our hope for the world turns rosier, as if we put on rose-colored glasses.

Pink and green

The color pink is the representation of the heart and a symbol of romantic love. On the other hand, the heart chakra is green. It’s the opposite of rose. Green is a color of expansion, growth, openness and unconditional love – love for self and love for others. The heart chakra sits in the center of the chest, not at the heart as many believe.

As a centering, we can do a little care for the heart – the heart itself, and the heart chakra.

opening the heart

A heart-centered breath

This is a practice that you can do at any time: while going about your day, while meditating, while exercising, or wherever.

Sit with your feet flat on the floor, or in a comfortable position. Hands can rest on your lap.

Relax your body. You can keep your eyes open, capped (open half-way) or closed.

Bring your attention to the breath as you breathe through the nose. Feel the cooler air as you inhale, and warmer air as you exhale. Don’t control or regulate your breath. Just observe.

Focus your attention…

Now bring your gentle attention to the rise and fall of the chest. Gently move your attention to the heart. Visualize your breath moving in and out of your heart space, filling it with soft green light and exhaling that same green light into the air around you.

Move into silence for three or four breaths, with each inhale and exhale taking in the easy green light and filling your heart space. Your exhale fills the air with this same light.

If you notice your thoughts wandering, just bring them back to the heart, and the light. Be kind to yourself.

After a few moments, bring your attention back to the breath. When you’re ready, open your eyes if you had them closed or capped.