7 Ways To Heal Your Body & Mind By Opening Your Heart
When I began my journey of emotional healing, my chest was literally in lockdown. My muscles were tight. My breathing was shallow, as was my capacity for feeling things in a truly “heartfelt” way.
Then I came to the practice of yoga and mindfulness and started what has turned out to be a life-altering journey — to learn to live life from an open heart space.
An open heart can illuminate the darkest of places, increase vitality, emotional balance, and the ability to meet life with fluidity and grace. When our hearts are open, we are in touch with our needs and desires. We are better communicators. We are more compassionate friends and lovers.
The heart becomes blocked when energy patterns (that yoga calls Samskaras) get stuck in our minds. Whether or not the idea of “blocked energy” resonates with you, I’m sure you’ve felt the adverse effects of having a nagging worry or thought coming to haunt you throughout your day. These thoughts are like energetic roadblocks, and they can deplete you. A heart full of unfinished events and worries is something that we hold onto out of anxiety — and in turn, it holds onto us.
Of course, when we don’t experience intense difficulty with the events in our lives, we can take them in, experience them, and allow them to pass as we move from situation to situation. But if a personal trigger is at stake, the heart and mind become fixated, and we become stuck.
How can we tap into, open, and begin to heal our heart space by releasing these imprints? Well, here are seven ways that anyone can begin to open and heal their heart to nurture the health of the body and the mind.
1. Consciously breathe into your heart space.
Spend some time each day consciously breathing. As you feel each inhale and exhale, don’t just “focus on the breath,” as we are often taught to do—direct attention to your heart’s center as if all your energy were resting there. Then listen. This is one of the first and most powerful things I did as I began my journey. Through being mindful of my heart space, I began to recognize old energy patterns, create space for new ones, and rewire my thoughts and behaviors.
2. Experience heart-opening yoga poses.
Yoga poses can regulate and balance energy flow into the heart center. If you practice yoga, you may have experienced the subtle and sometimes profound emotional and spiritual aspects of deep heart-openers.
Practice heart-opening yoga poses as you focus on breathing into the heart center. Try Cobra, Upward Facing Dog, Cow Face, Locust, and Fish Pose for more gentle heart openers. Try more advanced poses like Camel, Upward Bow, and Dancer Pose for deeper openers.
3. Practice more compassion than you know what to do with.
As my yoga practice deepened, so did my capacity for compassion. And I’m not just talking about feeling for those around me, but also myself. Many of us don’t realize it, but compassion is about accepting and making space for our assumptions and judgments just to be, rather than taking hold of our emotions and ways of thinking.
When we practice compassion and truly see ourselves and others, we can better see the stories our minds come up with and understand how they are based on old wounds. From there, we can exist in a different, more open-heart space.
4. Remember that gratitude isn’t just a cliché.
As I became more present and committed to letting go of old wounds, I began to experience gratitude in a much deeper way. Gratitude is a powerful way of shifting our energy and bringing warmth into our hearts.
Sometimes, tapping into what we’re grateful for seems cheesy or like a chore. But if we consciously pay attention to our lives in a certain way — focusing on seeing the light rather than the dark — we will feel much happier and more open to continuing this practice.
5. Get far outside of yourself.
Let’s face it: sometimes, we cannot muster gratitude. When we find ourselves in this space, there is something else we can do: give. Whether it is a meal, your time, or just a smile, give something of yourself to another. Giving has a way of connecting us to our heart center and the hearts of others as well.
6. Make connections — consciously.
Set an intention to deepen your connections with loved ones. Engage a person you would not usually make contact with. Reveling in life’s mystery and potential energy, look into another’s eyes, listen to their voice, and watch their actions. This is a simple but powerful practice for us to begin forgetting all the stale stories about ourselves and our relationships that we carry around in our heads, and helps us feel the power of “connectedness” at a deeper energetic level.
7. Get super silly!
Be that child you once were before the world told you who to be. Play your favorite music and dance. Sing in the shower. Walk barefoot in the rain. Laugh.
My inner child was walled off, along with my heart, before I began my journey. In an unforgettable moment during meditation, I experienced a significant shift and emotional release. At that moment, my inner little girl danced. She hasn’t stopped dancing, singing, playing, and laughing since then. That doesn’t mean that life is always a dream or I’m always smiling. It simply means my inner child is alive and well and, once again, a part of who I am.
Living from an open heart space creates more energy, vitality, and inspiration in our lives so we can feel our innate ability as humans to feel part of all beings in existence. An open heart space allows us to be authentically who we are, enabling us to experience the joy of deep connection, love, and peace.
About Hope Knosher
After practicing yoga, it lifted her mentally, physically, and emotionally. Hope felt a heartfelt calling to teach, speak, and write about the practice of yoga. She founded Hope’s Yoga and Healthy Living with Hope and began sharing her experiences and passion with others. Hope’s practice centers on sharing the heart of yoga and its healing qualities with students of all capabilities, including those experiencing cancer and health & wellness coaching. She also speaks about the life-changing benefits of yoga and the importance of holding hope. Hope’s Yoga was chosen as one of the “Best of Atlanta” by Atlanta Magazine. To learn more, please visit www.healthylivingiwthhope.com.
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