“Your heart knows things that the mind cannot explain.” ~Anonymous
Heart center meditation is a gentle way to approach your true-self and gain access to your hidden inner wisdom. Because of how are minds work, we tend spend the majority of our lives lost in thought, where we sometimes miss the whispers of our heart and the information and guidance it can provide.
Living so much inside of our heads can lead to increased stress, anxiety, and depression. Heart-centered meditation is an invitation step away from your mind and engage with your heart.
In Eastern traditions, the heart chakra is said to embrace all facets of love, including love for self, love for others, and divine love. The heart center is known as the energy point for love and compassion. By anchoring our awareness to our heart during meditation, we open ourselves to a greater sense of love and compassion.
The HeartMath Institute has found that the heart, more than just a pump, is a complex information processing center that sends signals to the brain and plays a key role in our emotions. Focusing on the heart, and practicing heart-centered breathing, are tools that allow you to regulate your emotions, neutralizing or shifting away from negative emotions, while intentionally self-generating positive emotions. These practices not only reduce stress in the moment, but with repetition, long-term improvements are made on emotions, behavior, perception, performance, and overall health.
This heart-centered meditation incorporates both heart-focused breathing, which settles the nervous system and produces calm, as well as inquiry, allowing your heart and intuition to speak to you.
While doing this practice, remember to be gentle with yourself, to be open and curious about what your heart might have to say, and as best you can, try not judge yourself or the experience, but to let it be just as it is.
Benefits of this practice include:
Heart-focused breathing
Increase calm and clarity
Detachment from thought
Connection to your heart
Decrease negative emotional states
Enhance self-awareness
Access intuition
Compassion for self and others
Thanks for meditating with me!
Copyright Kimberley Mapel