Open your heart

“Open your heart” is a statement we often hear and wonder about. I wonder sometimes if my heart is open, and sometimes I’m sure I don’t think I want it to be.

In yoga, we do a lot of heart openers. Sometimes I do sequencing around the idea of opening the heart chakra, the Anhata. Does this leave practitioners vulnerable? How open does a wounded heart want to be?

Sun salutations and back bends open our heart, can we open ourselves and at the same time feel protected? I think so. I think we can blaze our energy out in all directions and still hold a container of safety around ourselves. We can claim our space, allow our energy to fill the space around us and maybe even have it bounce right back in. This makes us stronger and sure of our selves, not more vulnerable. We open our hearts for our own personal healing, not just to give it all away.

If we build our strength aligning and opening our body and mind with an open heart, my hope is that our strength and personal integrity make us more able to protect ourselves and face obstacles, not less.

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