How to balance your heart chakra…

Keeping the heart chakra balanced can be hard sometimes and most of us will have experienced heartache at some stage in our lives. This could be due to break ups, health issues such as respiratory conditions or negative self talk and low self esteem. When in balance, the heart chakra is full of beauty, acceptance, unconditional love, innocence, joy and emotional power. However, with a blocked or unbalanced heart chakra we may suffer from jealousy, defensiveness, suspicion and an inability to forgive others and yourself. There are also physical symptoms that can be felt through having an imbalance in the heart chakra which usually manifest in the form of upper back pain, shoulder pain, respiratory problems such as asthma and upper arm pain. There are many ways that we can unblock and rebalance our chakras. It’s not something that is going to happen over night. It takes time, patience and practice however the results can be very powerful. Here are a few of our favourite ways of rebalancing and opening that heart chakra to let in more love and more light.

1. Practice yoga.
Yoga is an amazing way of getting into the heart space and opening up. Some of our favourite postures include camel pose, wheel, bridge and upward facing dog.

2. Forgive and let go.
A blocked chakra can often be related to holding onto past traumas and not letting go. Anger, hurt, loss, regret. These emotions are only going to make your heart blocked. Try writing a letter to the people who may have hurt you – you don’t need to show it to anyone but just get it out of your mind, and remove it from your energy. You may benefit from seeing a professional to help you in dealing with whatever you need to let go of. Try talking therapy or breath work. Look after yourself and don’t allow things to eat away at you.

3. Be green, see green, breathe green.
The heart chakra corresponds to the colour green. Surround yourself in green. Get out in nature, take a walk in the park or a trip to the forest. Visualise the colour green by doing a short visualisation meditation. With each inhalation, imagine that your body is filling with a soft green light and with every exhale, release stagnant negative energy. Wear green clothes, eat green food just surround yourself with as much green as you can.

4. Love yourself and love others.
The heart chakra is the chakra of unconditional love and love starts from loving within. Tell yourself everyday of the things that you love about yourself. Use affirmations and repeat them throughout the day, e.g ‘I love myself unconditionally’ ‘I am love’

5. Receive healing.
Physical and energetic therapy is another wonderful way of opening the heart chakra. From reiki to crystal healing massage to reflexology they all have their benefits and they are all an act of self care. Charlotte is a crystal healer at The Refinery and works specifically with our 7 chakra points to pull them back into balance and remove any negative or unwanted energy.

Opening the heart chakra can be a slow process. It can be a painful and raw. Be gentle and patient with yourself during the process. It can be tough revisiting the past and letting go of what we no longer need, but remember, removing makes space for new life opportunities and opens up a space where you can love yourself unconditionally.