Hearts are everywhere. Especially in Valentine’s season, we’ve got heart-shaped candy, heart-shaped jewelry, heart-shaped balloons. And they figure big in our digital vocabulary. You like someone’s text or post? Give it a heart. Or the more primitive <3.
It’s such a ubiquitous symbol of love, agreement, and support that it’s easy to forget it’s actually a stylized picture of that beating organ in your chest.
In classical Chinese medicine, it is said that all feelings pass through the heart. Among the communinty of internal organs, the heart is seen as the supreme ruler and is considered to be the conduit through which Spirit enters the being.
The ruler’s job is to maintain an environment of love and inclusion throughout the whole kingdom of You. No part should be excluded. It circulates its influence though its extensive network of vessels, and it beats out each successive moment in an effort to bring you always back to now.
Imagine a pipe as wide as a dinner plate entering your upper back behind your heart. A continuous stream of experiences pours through this pipe. The heart acts as a portal, feeling what moves through, and then the stream continues forth.
When you resist experiencing what’s passing through the heart, it’s a bit like crimping a hose. It’s a natural response to feeling something uncomfortable, but ultimately it’s not healthy.
Years of habitually contracting this aperture results in a reduced range of feeling and experience. Eventually this energetic pattern may manifest physically as a weak or congested heart and hardened vessels. It’s probably part of the reason why cardiovascular disease is our leading cause of death.
This is why one of the most valuable ways to support your overall wellness is to make a practice of opening your heart.
Imagine you’ve been clenching your heart like a big, tight fist. Can you feel that? Now open that fist. Soften your chest and imagine your heart center widening.
Allow yourself to willingly feel whatever is present, letting it pass through you without resistance. Learn to perceive what closing your heart feels like (reading the news might help you tune into this habit).
Lie on a yoga ball or do a chest stretch in a doorway and let your body gently open. Try the mantra “OPEN” silently or aloud.
Breathe deeply and fully, sing freely, and speak with kindness, honesty, and purpose.
Actively love and forgive – yourself, your loved ones, and your broader community. Gradually stretch your capacity for love and forgiveness to encompass a larger and larger circle, including even those you find difficult.
This practice of opening the heart inspired a new piece I recently created, a visual reminder to soften, feel what moves through you, and return to openness. If you’re curious to experience it for yourself, I invite you to take a look.
With Love,
Peter