Happy Valentine's Day...

I am still under-the-weather. It's hard to believe...but as this week has progressed I have become clearer and clearer about the root causes of my sickness. The last time I can remember feeling this weak was in October of 2005, when I closed my Yoga studio. Of course, it is through our weakness which we realize our strength. This is one of the profound lessons I learned from that experience and my Yoga practice continues to remind me of on a daily basis. We grow strong in the poses by becoming conscious of the places where we feel weak. And, it's ok to not always feel strong. I haven't admitted the magnitude of the change I am going through until now. I've never been married or been through a divorce, but considering we owned a place together, this feels as though it must be somewhat like that. Most of the things in our place were not my posessions. At the time we met, I was seriously considering a move to Asia to teach with Pure Yoga, so I had let go of most of my "stuff" in light of that. So, after my ex moves out this weekend, I will have very few things in my condo. It's scary to let go of things, even though they are just things. Speaking of that previous post about wanting to spend time in an Ashram, I suppose this degree of nothingness will be a tiny glimpse of what life in an Ashram might be like...

Of course, I could rush out and get more "stuff." But, I'm choosing not to right now. I actually think we are going to offer some semi-private classes in my downstairs living area. Hey, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade, or a Yoga studio. A couple of fellow Yoga friends want the opportunity to practice and teach and I've envisioned having small classes here. I am really longing for connection and community right now. This is the bigger Heart I am opening myself up to, instead of just experiencing this deep connection with one person. I am wanting to feel that love and connection, loving my neighbor as I love myself, with more people in my life than just a few close friends, family members and significant other. As I release this past relationship, I must say I have felt more supported this week while I have been sick by so many different people in my life, some new connections, some old. So, that community and support is there for us if we just open ourselves up to it. The following is an awesome reflection for this day of Heart awareness...

As we expand, we melt. Our hearts open. Our thinking changes. Our obsessions subside, our addictions quietly pass away. This is the slow, elegant, loving process through which, little by little, we let go of the old and welcome the new. We open our hearts and allow in a few more people, just a few more relationship experiences, just a few more kinds of relationships. We learn there are no mistakes, and our hearts become a circle so large that there are no more boundaries, no differences, no judgments. We know the graciousness of that great undivided familiarity, in which there are no more strangers, only friends.

We stretch, and to our amazement we don't break. Instead, we grow. Suddenly, everything becomes easier, and our hearts, which once we believed could love only one person, or were battered so badly we thought they could never love again, expand so fully that the whole world is welcome. In such a state of openness, we see that we've only forgotten how to be together, we faintly and beautifully remember that once we were all together. We remember the way we were in a universe of incredible softness where there were no edges, no walls, no mind games, no rules. In that incredible world, we were happy. We loved one another. It wasn't a feeling. It was a state of being called joy.

The future of love is this all-encompassing embrace. For when we have expanded so much, we will finally arrive at a place where the heart can open its doors to everything and everyone. Our souls have been taking us on this journey and Love is the magnificent destination to which they have been leading us. Now we can feel joy. Now, at last, we can be satisfied. Now, finally, we are home.

-Daphne Rose Kingma

In Yoga, our Heart Center is called Anahata Chakra which means the Unstruck Note. The following is from a website called Mind Body & Soul. I love how it describes the Heart Chakra and its importance, as well as, the essentialness of awakening to a healthy relationship with our heart.

"We have now reached the halfway point in our journey of discovery concerning the seven main chakras of the body. Anahata, our fourth chakra, sits just over our heart and keeps our bodies and minds in balance.

To keep the bottom three chakras (which are connected to the external physical world) balanced with the top three chakras (which are connected to the internal, mental and spiritual world) all you need is love. And Anahata is a huge reservoir just waiting to be tapped.

The heart chakra is often associated with the colours green and pink. For this reason, jade and rose quartz are worn by people looking for balance in their fourth chakra. This chakra vibrates to the musical note F.

It is associated with the element air and symbolised by two triangles placed over each other; one pointing up, the other down. This signifies the interlinking role Anahata has regarding our spiritual and physical natures.

Anahata governs the heart, hands, lungs, shoulders, breast, thymus, oesophagus and the circulatory system of the physical body. Blockages in this chakra can manifest themselves as diseases in these parts. The heart chakra records and stores emotional information regarding the people we love; therefore, emotionally hurtful experiences can often trigger physical symptoms in body parts associated with this energy wheel.

Have you ever known someone who gets an asthma attack if they are emotionally upset? This is probably due to Anahata closing itself up a bit. Heart problems and immunity problems are connected to Anahata also. If you have unresolved childhood hurts, it is best to deal with these for a healthy Anahata. The hurt inner child takes refuge in the heart chakra.

Anahata is often seen as the seat of the spirit. The spiritual lessons Anahata wants to teach us are about compassion, forgiveness, trust and unconditional love. A fourth chakra that is too open will lead a person into being too giving; generous to a fault. If it is too closed, it may lead a person into lacking compassion and empathy. One needs to strike the perfect balance between self-love and the love of others.

There are many yoga postures one can practise to balance Anahata; for example, cobra and fish. These open and energise Anahata.

Anahata is the fulcrum upon which our emotional and physical wellbeing balances. If the scales are tipped too far in either direction, our mind, body and spirit may be at odds with each other. So find the balance in your heart and let your love run free."

You can read about other Chakras on the Mind Body & Soul website, too.

May you know the fullest potential of your hearts ability to give and receive love and may your love run free... Read more