Follow your Heart (Chakra) – Everything you need to know about the Green Chakra

Love, compassion, and joy are the kinds of things that everyone wants to experience in their daily life. The best way to tap into these qualities is by working with the Green Chakra (Heart), also known as the Anahata Chakra, to build more unconditional love in your life. When you learn to tap into the energy center of the heart, you will be guided on a path of connecting with your true purpose and joy.

What is the green chakra?

The Heart Chakra is the fourth chakra of the seven chakra system that runs along the spine of the physical body. It is represented with the color green and resides right in the heart center of the body. The heart chakra is the midway point between the lower and upper chakras, representing true balance and the true center of our beings.

As an energy center, the heart is associated with feelings of love, both for others and for yourself. This particular chakra is connected with self-love because from a healthy sense of self-love, you are able to give and receive love with an open and loving heart.

Located right in the centre of the chest, this chakra allows you to connect with your own sense of Self. To deepen this enquiry, the heart asks you the following questions:

Benefits of an open heart chakra

All of the chakras are functioning at their highest potential when energy can flow freely through the body. In some chakras it can be difficult to feel the energy flow, but in the heart chakra it creates a physical sensation that cannot be missed.

Open and free flowing energy through the heart chakra results in a sense of inner peace, unconditional love and feelings of harmony. It is what makes you feel grateful for life and grateful for love. It allows you to create healthy relationships both with yourself and with others. This chakra is associated with feeling the emotions of compassion, kindness and happiness.

An open heart chakra will allow you to feel connected to life itself. It is from this connection that the heart chakra can grow and expand into feelings of deep and unconditional love.

Why is the heart the green chakra?

As part of the rainbow bridge of the chakras, the color green is connected with the heart. The green chakra is associated with feelings of love but when out of balance, love changes into jealousy. It is not a coincidence that people say ‘he is turning green with envy’ when one is out of balance with their heart.

Tapping into Green Energy

To awaken the gentle energy of the heart chakra, you can connect with the green colors that are found in the natural world. Simply by spending a short time in nature you will see many shades of green that are soothing to the eyes and the heart. There are even studies that show time in nature can reduce stress. Stress is commonly linked with heart problems, so by bathing in the forest you are helping to heal your heart as well as soak up the beauty and serenity.

Green Chakra Blockages and Imbalances – What to look out for in this energy center

A blocked heart chakra or overactive or underactive heart chakra, will produce physical, mental, emotional and energetic symptoms to let you know that something is out of balance.

Physical Imbalances of the Heart Chakra

On a physical level, the heart chakra is connected with the physical heart and also the lungs. It resides right in the center of your chest and is connected with the way you breath, your rib cage, and the upper middle spine. The thymus gland, located just above the heart and at the base of the throat is also connected in with the heart chakra. The thymus gland is responsible for controlling the immune system.

If the heart chakra is out of balance, physical symptoms such as heart pain, heart attack, rib pain, difficulties breathing fully into the lungs or an over or underactive immune system may occur. These manifestations need healing on a physical level, but also a deep investigation into what the heart chakra is holding onto.

Energetic Imbalances of the Heart Chakra

On an energetic level, heart chakra imbalances can lead to emotional pain, jealousy, difficulty creating or maintaining a loving relationship. A blocked green chakra will stop all love and energy from flowing, therefore slowly leading to lack of passion, joy and kindness.

You can often feel when someone has an open or closed heart chakra, as it will affect the way they hold themselves in the world. Someone with a hurt heart chakra may hunch over and cross their arms as a way of protecting their heart space.

How to create Harmony in the Heart Chakra

Here are some ideas to create a balanced green chakra:

Forest Bathing

Spend 20 to 30 mins in a natural environment each week to create regular connection with the living world. If you can, go bare foot and soak up negative ions to reduce stress.

Yoga poses for a balanced heart chakra

Ustrasana (Camel Pose)

This is a wonderful way to open your heart to the sky above and let the unconditional love flow through you.

Natarajasana (Dancer’s Pose)

This is another beautiful heart opening pose that also focuses on the balance between the earth and sky realms and holding yourself in your center.

Bhujangasana (Cobra pose)

This pose can be gentle or strong depending on how much you choose to open your spine and heart here. It is great for overall well being of the spine and for opening the body from the second chakra all the way through to the sixth chakra.

Chakrasana (Full Wheel)

This strong back-bend pose is known for opening the entire chakra system, and is beneficial for awakening the heart chakra energy.

Crystals for the Heart

Rose Quartz

The most commonly known crystal for heart chakra work has to be rose quartz. It’s beautiful pink hues radiate unconditional love. Hold it close to your heart in meditation, or wear it as a necklace to bring balance into the heart.

Other crystals for the heart charka:

Pink and green are the two most common colours for the heart. Here are some green colour crystals you can add to you life for balancing and healing your heart.

Green for the Green Chakra

To have a balanced green chakra, you can start by wearing more green pieces of clothing. If you don’t own any big green statement pieces, you can always start with a green scarf or a new pair of green shoes.

As well as wearing green, you can also add energy to the green chakra by eating green foods. Try to include green apples, dark leafy greens, kiwi fruit, brocolli, zuchinni and avocado as the green color in these foods will create a balanced heart chakra energy.

Also for the green chakra, you can play with painting, drawing, or creating mandalas and murals from pieces of nature.

Self-Love Ritual for the Fourth Chakra:

For a wholesome heart healing, commit to a one week period where you want to focus on yourself and your heart chakra. Buy yourself a bunch of pink roses, take them home and place them in a spot where you will see them everyday.

Each day as you connect with your roses, speak out loud one to two positive affirmations that feel right for you. For example these could be:

After a week or two as the rose petals begin to dry out, pick the petals off and save them to dry. On a chosen night, run yourself a hot bath and throw the rose petals in. You will be bathing in the essence of your affirmations and self-love that you cultivated throughout the week.

If you would like to add a little extra scent to the bath, you can drop in a few essential oils.

Rose, geranium, ylang ylang and lavender are beautiful essential oil scents to start with!

Frequently Asked Questions: