Heart Opening Yoga

Work from your heart, not your brain to create harmony” - BKS Iyengar

Backbends are often referred to as ‘heart opening’ poses and their many benefits are pretty clear. Physically – they stretch the hips, open the shoulders and chest, build strength in the legs, arms and back muscles and can even alleviate back and neck pain. Mentally and emotionally they invite courage and vulnerability, help us to face fears and remain calm in the face of difficult situations.

How many times in yoga class have you been told to open your heart, lift your heart, or draw your heart forward? This is a very common cue indicating students should drop their shoulders away from their ears, lift their chest, and bend through the thoracic spine. Including backbends in your practice encourages an even deeper physical opening of the chest and heart center. They also elongate the spine; release tension and stress from the neck, shoulders, and back; create space for the lungs and deeper breaths; and energize your practice, body, and mind. In addition to backbends, focusing on love and gratitude while practicing will open your emotional heart. Opening the heart teaches us to be humble, vulnerable, and lead with our hearts in both practice and life.

Explore the following yoga practices to open your heart, cultivate gratitude and bring more love into your life:

Set up your practice space

Use colors, stones, and essential oils related to the heart chakra in your yoga practice space and on your body. The heart chakra is located in the physical heart and governs love, kindness and compassion. It’s represented by the colors green and pink, the stones rose quartz and watermelon tourmaline, and essential oils of rose and jasmine.

Body Scan

Begin your yoga or meditation practice with a body scan. Sit in a comfortable seated position and check in with your posture. Is your chest collapsed or lifted? If your chest is collapsed, you are physically protecting your heart. Lift the chest and open the shoulders to bring the heart to the front. Then rest one or both hands on the heart. Leave them there for a few deep breaths. Note how this feels.

Breathe into the heart

Focus your breath work on your heart. Imagine you are breathing from the heart and into the heart. Feel the chest rise and fall with your breath. Again take note of any feelings that arise.

Mudras

A mudra is a gesture or seal that channels our life force. Incorporate mudras into your practice to energize the heart. To practice Anjali mudra, bring the palms together at the heart and press the thumbs into the sternum. Use Anjali mudra at the beginning of practice while seated and in Mountain pose (Tadasana). As you grow comfortable with the mudra, use it with different poses throughout your practice.

Mantras

Use a mantra during your practice. The mantra for the heart chakra is “yam” pronounced similar to “young” or in English, “I love.” If using “I love,” think “I” as you inhale and “love” as you exhale.

Bring gratitude into your practice

Lasting, loving relationships are significantly influenced by expressions of gratitude. According to a study published in 2014, gratitude is what holds two people together. The study reported that after expressions of gratitude, participants reported feeling more loving. Gratitude also increases feelings of happiness and well-being. Practice gratitude on the mat to get comfortable expressing thanks to your loved ones. Think of three things you are grateful for at the start or end of your yoga practice.

Asana

When practicing heart opening backbends, it is important to maintain balance by using counterposes. After any deep back-bending yoga pose, neutralize the spine with a simple twist and then counter with a forward folding pose. Backbends energize and physically open, expand, and lift the heart. Forward folds give your heart a chance to recharge and rest. Begin with gentle backbends such as Dog Tilt pose (Svanasana), Cobra pose (Bhujangasana), or Bridge pose (Setu Bandhasana). For a deeper backbend try Camel pose (Ustrasana) or Upward Bow pose (Urdhva Dhanurasana). These backbends bring the heart above the head. This is a physical representation of following or leading with your heart. For more specific asana recommendations, try this heart-centered sequence.

Heart Meditation

Close your practice with a heart-centered meditation. This can be as simple as breathing into the heart and using the mantra “I love” as mentioned earlier. You may also incorporate a mudra here, such as Anjali mudra.

Take any or all of these recommendations and mix them into your daily practice. As you move from your mat and through your day, come back to your intention of love and gratitude.

Why building a yoga community is to important

Community is about union and connection. The actual definition of community according to Webster’s Dictionary is, “A group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common.” It can be created because of a work culture, a commonality such as having a baby, or an interest a group of people shares such as yoga. Community requires a little something of each person as well. For example, if you’re going to be a part of a community, then you’ll have some responsibility to create a positive energy around the other people. By bringing positivity and a desire to impact others via new connections, a community can grow and be a safe area for expression.

Building a yoga community is a beneficial step to bringing every yogi together to increase positivity and health.

YOUR YOGA COMMUNITY

A practice community, sometimes known as a sangha in Buddhist circles, is a group of people that support you in your chosen lifestyle. Most often this support comes as a result of a shared set of values or ethics that need not be spoken about, but that you have all decided on for yourselves as a beneficial or healthy way of life, for example the Yoga Sutras. A practice community doesn’t have to be formally affiliated, and sometimes you even find yourself within such a network without having had the intention of joining or being part such a group.

Living ‘on the path’ of consciousness, towards enlightenment or awakening or even just with the intention of putting health and wellbeing before money and materialistic goals isn’t always easy. In many ways it feels as if you are swimming against the tide. Modern society has been built, to a large extent, on the premise that we all want to make a lot of money and spend it, while still thinking anxiously about what comes next. So if this isn’t your goal, if you’re working on a life of contentment, of being present and accepting of each moment as it shows up, then inevitably there will be times that you find yourself at odds with people around you or with processes that you are expected to participate in. This is when it helps to have other people that have similar goals or intentions to you that can help you remember what works for you, what is authentic for you, what helps you find happiness and health.

Humans, by nature, are social animals. From birth we rely on others to validate and confirm our existence. We watch the behavior of others to learn and seek out the support and comfort of others when we are sick or hurt. But we don’t always make the best choices for ourselves. And, just like with food, ‘we are what we eat’, or in this case, who we hang out with. This doesn’t mean we judge or look down upon those who live a different lifestyle than we do, but just begin to think about who you spend your time with and what you do when you are together. We have limited time here in this body, a finite period in which to experience life as a human being. If each minute were a dollar, how much would you pay to spend time with the people you choose to be around? Are these people your friends?

When you actively join a practice community, such as a yoga class or meditation group, you not only gain support for your lifestyle but you also take on responsibility for supporting others. Be considerate in the way you interact with those in your practice community. Remember to give what you would like to receive, share love and happiness rather than gossip and negative attitudes. Practice being happy and joyful for others, compassionate, grateful, non-judgmental and above all else, be a good friend to those in your practice community. Know when to set your ego aside and be present for others.