Unconditional love From the 4th Chakra: Anahata

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A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination.
- Nelson Mandela

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Last month, I wrote more broadly on the seven major Chakras, including how they are related to anatomy and physiology, and their emotional aspects.  This month, I’ll delve into one Chakra in particular, which so neatly aligns with February’s celebration of love.  The Anahata Chakra, or heart Chakra is the fourth and therefore, central Chakra of the central nervous system.

Swami Satchidananda actually recommended that when working on the Chakras, we focus only on the higher Chakras (from the Anahata up to the seventh, which is called the Sahasrara).  The lower Chakras will figure themselves out if we focus on the higher ones.  

The reason for this suggestion is that the lower Chakras are related to the movement of energy downward (apana), which when focused on has the tendency to lower our own energy.  Focusing on the higher Chakras has the tendency to raise energy.

This Chakra has a special place for me.  As I mentioned last month (and in other places on this blog), before I began going deeper into yogic philosophy, I was centered entirely in my head.  My own teacher, Sonia Sumar, has a very heart-centered approach, which has opened me up to my entire body.

Sonia often mentions that the heart is the very first organ formed in utero, even before the brain.  And that perhaps this is a message about where to lead our lives from.  That’s not to say that the head is unimportant but that the heart should lead the head and not the other way around.

So in service of the heart, I offer you this primer on the Anahata Chakra.

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If you want to know more about the Anahata Chakra, join Laura at her Chakra workshop on February 13th about this very topic!  Explore the heart through yoga with us on Valentine’s Day with a heart-centered beginner’s practice or bring a loved one to practice Partner Yoga with Asra.