Meditation for the Heart Centre

Here is a lovely, simple but beautifully powerful mediation for the Heart Centre – Anahad Chakra. It's closely based on an exercise by Ruth White in her nice book "Using Your Chakras."

1. Start by centering in a way that you are familiar with. If you are not sure what to do simply stretch out a bit and then become very still, like a beautiful tree on a windless day and breath deeply and a little slowly for about 3-5 breaths – or until you feel calm and "centred."
2. Now imagine you are breathing in and out at your heart centre. Use an active but calm, fairly normal breath, i.e., not super slow/deep – but still significant. Continue until you feel you "are" breathing through you heart lotus.
3. Now "breath in" through the petals of your heart, hold the breath in its centre for a count of three, then "breath down" into the root chakra (down the base of the spine, through the legs and out the soles of your feet) and out deeply into the earth. Practice this for about 10 in-out breath cycles. (Depending on your way of experiencing you can visualize the breath coming in the petals of the heart chakra on your chest; you can verbalize "I'm breathing in through the petals of my heart chakra; or you might "feel" the breath or energy moving in and through you in a more tactile way – any of these types of experience will definitely work.)
4. Change to breathing in from the earth, into the root chakra (from the earth through the feet and into the base of the spine), holding the breath in the centre of the root chakra for a count of three, then breath on up into the centre of the heart chakra and out through the petals of there. Practice this for about 10 in-out breath cycles.
5. Relax your breathing and the visualization, notice how you feel and enjoy.

Try to practice in the country or in a park with bare feet on the grass or sand as often as possible. This totally works anywhere though, in the city, in your office, with shoes or otherwise. If indoors, just imagine the breath goes all the way through your shoes, through the building and right into the natural earth, which is below every structure.

Connect to Nature – Connect to Community – Connect to YourSelf