The heart is the sacred symbol of the pulse of life. When we close down in an attempt to protect our hearts, we can experience depression, anxiety, loneliness, and find ourselves faced with life-threatening ailments such as heart disease. When we choose to keep an open heart, no matter how much heartache we've gone through, the whole world opens itself to us. For every one of us, our hearts intimately know our ultimate purpose and will guide us in that direction every time we're willing to listen. The following suggestions are simple and practical ways to care for your heart today-to soothe it, listen to its whispers, and give it the support it needs:
Physical alignment: Keeping your shoulders integrated and in alignment helps the chest area and heart remain available and open. They simply draw up, back, and down to support the chest opening forward.
Aromatherapy for the fourth chakra: The heart area is the home of the fourth chakra, aptly called the heart chakra by many. For subtle healing and balancing, apply lavender and rose essential oils to the heart chakra area.
Emotional release: Laugh!!! Hearty laughter releases happy and healthy hormones, oxygenates the blood, and caresses the heart.
Ask for guidance: When you need advice or support, remember that you are never alone. Reach out to a friend, mentor, counselor, or coach. Or go beyond your current circle of support to contact a wise teacher or author you have admired from a distance. When you are open to receive answers, your request for guidance will come-and sometimes in surprising ways. Know that it will be the guidance you need.
Give thanks: When you feel grateful for what you have, it creates a positive chain reaction where there is simply less to complain about or be upset by. I believe that gratitude is one of the most nourishing "superfood" for healing and strengthening both the physical heart and the emotional heart.
