The translation of the Heart Chakra, Anahata, is unstruck. It refers to a time before we learned to guard our hearts, before we were struck by the difficult and painful life experiences that everyone faces in one form or another, i.e., loss and rejection. These experiences taught us to close down a bit in our heart area and to create boundaries around our openness and vulnerability, which is sensible. If you experienced more than your fair share of rejection and loss, or sadness, around relationships and love, you can become unbalanced energetically in this chakra and aspect of life.
I have also heard Anahata translated as Unstuck, and this makes a lot of sense to me. The element of the Heart Chakra is air. If we have dealt, from young, with loss, rejection, abandonment or abuse, we can develop deep pain and fear around our hearts, and a broken sense of self. It feels like a heaviness — the opposite of the light and free qualities of air.
In life, we are often working with extremes. The teachings I offer guide us back into balance.
First, we become aware of our tendencies and habits and, perhaps, the “why” behind our motivations and experiences — this part isn’t as important, in my estimation, but can help us understand why we may be drawn to people who don’t treat us well or whom we can’t trust or truly rely on. We don’t want to get ‘stuck’ in this phase of analysis though, and so we move through and clear emotions with body and breath work.
Besides body and breath work, I utilize in this healing work (and it is work; we need to commit to it): the insights and rituals of Ayurveda (a holistic system for wellness), expressive writing/journaling to connect to our voice and truth (or any creative project that inspires you), and a bit of Astrology (if it resonates). FYI: In Astrology, love is represented in the 5th house of the Natal Chart and relationships are reflected in the 7th house. We can gain further insight or, simply, confirmation of what we already know from our Natal Charts, which can feel affirming.
Some of the Mantras we work with in the Anahata/Heart Chakra, credited to my most beloved book on the Chakras, by Anodea Judith, are:
“I am worthy of love.” Our first task is to (I know, cringe) develop self-love, but we won’t get anywhere without it … so our work begins here (self-care, self-love, self-worth, oh my).
“I am loving to myself and others.” We may want to lash out at those who have hurt us, and believe me, I know a thing or two about this, but that doesn’t get us anywhere either, and it can become a vicious shame/blame cycle that we stay stuck in. This does not mean that you accept abusive or unfair behavior — we are learning how to move on from relationships that are not working … it may take a few trials.
“There is an infinite supply of love.” I do not need to attach myself to someone who is unavailable, for the breadcrumbs of affection they toss my way. There is lots of love (what my aunt thought LOL stood for) in the world, once I can see and allow it. What looked like love and affection to me really isn’t because the person I am focusing on also does not love him or herself — a recipe for dysfunction.
“I live in balance with others.” For those of us with Heart Chakra imbalances, relationships are often highly dysfunctional and difficult. We learn how to create balance in our lives for ourselves and others.
Learn about my: Get Unstuck and Move on from Unavailable People Course.
