Last updated: December 21, 2023
What Does
Heart Chakra Mean?
The heart chakra is said to be a center of energy located in the channel of the spine, close to the heart. The heart is the fourth of the seven primary chakras. It is believed that this circle of prana, or life force energy, has an activation point in the center of the chest. Practicing yoga poses that open the heart can help stimulate and balance this chakra.
The heart chakra is associated with relationships, love and self-acceptance. Physically, it is associated with the thymus gland, heart, lungs and circulatory system.
The Sanskrit name for the heart chakra is anahata.
Yogapedia Explains Heart Chakra
It is said that when the heart chakra is balanced, one is able to give and receive love openly and freely. This chakra corresponds to the healing energy of love and is the center of compassion. Because it is seen as a unifying chakra, an open heart chakra allows one to feel connected with the universe as a whole.
However, if the heart chakra is out of balance, it is thought to cause high blood pressure, immune system issues and physical problems with the heart — even cancers of the heart and breast.
The heart chakra is represented by the colour green and a twelve petaled circle with and interlaced upside-down and right-side up triangles in the center. The bija mantra of the heart chakra is Yam, and chanting this bija is one of the ways thought to bring the heart chakra into balance. Yoga poses which are believed to help stimulate and activate the heart chakra include backbends, such as upward-facing dog pose (urdhva mukha svanasana) and camel pose (ustrasana).
During These Times of Stress and Uncertainty Your Doshas May Be Unbalanced.
To help you bring attention to your doshas and to identify what your predominant dosha is, we created the following quiz.
Try not to stress over every question, but simply answer based off your intuition. After all, you know yourself better than anyone else.