Nourish your Heart

By eating food with different colors that vibrate different energies we can directly effect our energy state.

According to yogic philosophy the heart chakra vibrates a green energy and therefore green foods, like green apples, pears, kiwi and avocado and especially leafy greens with a rising energy such as kale, spinach, broccoli and sprouts, are considered to nourish the heart.

A great way to add more enzymes and chlorophyll to your diet and to boost your heart with vital energy is by adding a teaspoon of spirulina or chlorella to your morning glass of apple juice or smoothie!

Forgiveness

"Forgive others, not because they deserve forgiveness, but because you deserve peace"

Loving Kindness Meditation

Check out this post on YOGOBE, where I lead you through a loving kindness meditation resulting in softening your heart towards yourself and cultivating a deep feeling of love towards everyone and everything around you. 

Inspired by a good friend of mine, Johannes Vondey

Energizing & Nourishing Youtube Yoga

This Vinyasa Flow Yoga routine is designed with backbends and other yoga asanas to strengthen and open the heart chakra. Flow through this energizing and nourishing sequence with compassion and ease as you strengthen the body, calm the mind and open the heart. 

Click on photo for youtube link, Enjoy! 

Filmed and edited by Saara Oinonen 

4 Yoga Poses for Blood Pressure

Yoga slows down the heart rate, calms the nervous system, relaxes the muscles and can reduce underlying stress which usually is the cause for high blood pressure (hypertension).

Long deep breaths is the most effective way to trigger relaxation and is therefore also a natural remedy for lowering blood pressure. If you begin to experience dizziness anytime you practice yoga, back out of the pose and breathe deeply. 

1. Downward facing dog. Begin standing on all four and straighten the legs, sending the sit bones up and back. You can walk out the feet in downward facing dog to loosen up the backs of the legs. Remain in the pose for 10 deep breaths. 

2. Standing forward fold. Begin to walk the feet forwards to the top of the mat coming into a standing forward fold. Keep the knees as bent as you need to. You can shake the head slightly side to side here to let go of tension in neck and shoulders, take 10 deep breaths. 

3. Bridge pose. Come down to lie on the back, walk in the feet so you can touch the heels with your fingertips and lower down the palms on the mat. On an inhale lift up the hips towards the sky, option to interlace the fingers under you to deepen the backbend. Take 5-10 breaths in the pose before slowly lowering down on an exhale. 

4. Apanasana. Hug in the knees towards your chest and rock slightly side to side. Close the eyes and as you give yourself a hug and gently massage the back. Remain in the pose for 10 breaths before you extend the legs straight and rest in Savasana, final relaxation pose, for as long as you like to. 

Namaste

"My heart is centered and open"

If your heart chakra is closed or imbalanced, this affirmation can help you open your heart towards yourself and others. For more info on the heart chakra, click here. 

Concentrate on the area of your physical heart, the center or your chest as you say this affirmation either out loud or silently to yourself and visualize your heart open like a flowering lotus. 

Yoga to Boost Vitality

Enjoy this gentle sequence whenever you feel you need to nurture yourself and boost your vitality. Wind down to decrease the levels of stress hormones in the body in order to strengthen the immune systems ability to fight against infections and germs.

Yoga and the chakras correspond to and stimulate the lymph system by targeting different meridians and acupressure points through yoga poses. This  sequence is designed to strengthen the thymus, which is directly related to the immune system. Thymus is Greek and translated to life energy, it is located at the same area as the heart chakra, in the middle of the chest, therefore any heart opening postures can help to boost vitality and increase your energy levels if your feeling low! 

Always listen to your own body through out the practice and be gentle with yourself, especially if you're sick or feeling an infection or cold coming up, however avoid practicing yoga if you have a fever. Preferably breathe through the nose unless it's stuffed then breathe through the mouth. 

Before you begin it's helpful to find a timer to have by your side as some of the poses are held for up to three minutes. Mute your phone and begin to surrender in this time and space you have created for yourself right now. 

1. Butterfly. Place the souls of the feet together, either close to yourself or further away whichever makes more sense to your body and begin to lower down the upper body into a forward fold. If you have any lower back issues keep the spine straight, if your lower back is fine allow the spine to round. Allow the body to become heavy and the neck and shoulders to relax. Remain in the pose for three minutes.

2. Lateral Dragonfly. Extend the legs out to the sides only as far as feels okay, if this already is intense you can remain here in a seated position, place the hands behind you and lean the weight back into the hands. If you wish to deepen you can raise left arm and begin to fold the upper body sideways over the right leg. Support yourself with the right hand on the inside of the thigh or option to lower down onto the elbow. Remain in the pose for 10 long deep breaths before folding sideways over the other leg. 

3. Half Saddle. Extend the right leg straight, bend in the left knee and lowering down the foot beside you (as shown in photo). Either remain seated here or begin to lower down onto the elbows to deepen the sensations in the hip flexors and quadriceps. Option to lower down all the way to lie on the back, only if your knees allow you to. To deepen even further you can bend in the right led and hug in the knee towards your chest. Remain three minutes in the pose before you move slowly to switch legs. 

If you experience pain in the knees here, skip this pose.

4. Camel. Come up to stand on the knees and measure the distance between the knees with the knuckles so they are hip width apart. Place the hands by your lower back, on an inhale roll the shoulders back and begin to lean the upper body backwards. Press the hips forwards and if it feels okay you can allow the head to fall back. If you can stay connected to your deep breaths here, remain in the pose for 10 breaths, if your body tells you to back out of the pose sooner then do so and counterpose in childspose for 10 deep breaths. 

5. Caterpillar. From childspose roll up to seated and extend the legs out in front of you. On an exhale begin to lower down into a forward fold to counterpose the heart opener once again and bring your awareness back inwards after opening the physical and emotional heart in the backbend. Remain in the pose for 3 minutes.

6. Savasana. Roll down to lie on your back for savasana, final relaxation pose and rest here for as long as you like to. Allow the body to soak in the benefits of your practice to recharge, strengthen and boost your immune system and your energy.

Namaste :)

Heal your Heart Meditation

A meditation to heal your heart chakra,

for more information on the heart chakra, see previous blog post. 

• Set a timer for how long you wish to meditate, recommended time 10-20 minutes. If you are new to meditating, I advise you to start with shorter meditations and successively lengthen the time.
  
  
  
• Sit in a comfortable position, lengthen the spine and slightly lower the chin to chest, allowing the shoulders to drop down away from the ears.
  
  
  
• Place the hands in dhyana mudra, thumb and index finger touching on both hands. Rest the left hand on the knee and place the right hand in front of the breastbone. (If holding this mudra becomes to intense during the meditation you can lower down the right hand to the knee as well, but try to remain in the position for as long as possible even though the mind might start to resist it.)
  
  
  
• Close the eyes and begin to turn your awareness inwards, allowing the outside world to drift away.
  
  
  
• When you are ready, begin to visualize a spinning wheel of green energy at the center of your chest.
  
  
  
• Silently to yourself begin to chant the mantra YAM to activate the heart chakra.
  
  
  
• Whenever you notice your awareness had drifted of, gently bring your awareness back to the center of your chest, visualizing the green spinning wheel with the energy of love and compassion as you silently repeat the mantra, Yam, Yam, Yam.
  
  
  

"May your thoughts support yourself and all other beings,
may your words support yourself and all other beings,
may your actions support yourself and all other beings."


Namaste

Chakra of the Month: Heart Chakra

The fourth chakra is the heart chakra, located Close to the physical heart at the center of the chest. The sanskrit name is Anahata, which can be translated to unhurt or unstuck, implying that beneath any pain or stagnation there is an endless flow of joy, love and compassion. 

The three lower chakras are considered to be more physical and the fifth, sixth and seventh chakra more spiritual. The heart chakra, which is the center of the seven chakras therefore becomes a bridge between the physical world and the spiritual dimension, connecting the lower chakras to the higher ones. This makes the heart chakra important in spiritual development or healing.   

Balanced & Open Heart Chakra: 

Kind, caring and outgoing. Able to forgive others and yourself, open to love and compassion. Feeling complete and accepting yourself. Accepting others, circumstances, thoughts and feelings as they are. Strong immune system, connected to the present moment.

Buddhists call an open heart chakra Mahakaruna, meaning it is an open channel for universal love and compassion. For this flow of universal love to flow freely through us and our heart we must first love ourselves before we can truly love others. 

Imbalanced & Closed Heart Chakra may occur as:

Fear of betrayal and feeling hatred towards others and yourself. Feeling lonely, searching for others approval and having a tendency to rush into relationships. Easily lost in emotions such as sadness, grief, anger or jealousy and inability to express feelings in a healthy way. Having a negative outlook on life and victimizing oneself. Trust issues, scared of intimacy and of getting hurt. Fast and irregular heart beat, chest pain, poor circulation, high/low blood pressure, shallow breathing and/or  asthma.

How to balance Anahata: 

- Spend time with and give love to friends and family
- Practice gratitude, daily! Also express gratitude towards people in your Life
- Eat green (the color of the heart chakra) Foods and wear green clothing

- Forgive others and yourself

- Follow your dreams and desires

- Spend time in nature, especially when windy (air is the element of the heart chakra)
- Listen and speak to others from an open heart

- Smile towards others and practice random acts of kindness

- Practice acceptance of emotions, circumstances, others and things you can't Control

Yoga sequences, meditations, affirmations and more practical tips to strengthen the Heart Chakra coming up this month :) Namaste