What is the heart chakra (Anahata chakra)?

What are the seven chakras and what is the heart chakra? The Anahata chakra is the fourth chakra in your chakra system. Its element is air and is associated with feminine energy. It is the mid-point in the chakra system, connecting the upper three chakras (the crown chakra, the third-eye chakra, and the throat chakra) which are the chakras that connect you to spirit, with the lower three chakras (the root chakra, sacral chakra, and the solar plexus chakra) which are the chakras that ground you to earth or the physical word. It is the bridge that connects your physical body to your spirit or subtle body. Throat chakra healing along with each other chakra is integral to feeling balanced in this world.

Heart chakra meaning defined

The 4th or heart chakra is traditionally called Anahata, which is a Sanskrit word that can directly translate to “unstuck” or “unbeaten”, which makes total sense if you remember the love chakra embodies unconditional love and empathy. 

Heart chakra location

If you have ever wondered where is the heart chakra, you will find it in the center of the chest, behind the rib cage of any human being. This is exactly why it is known as the heart chakra.

What is the heart chakra responsible for?

The heart chakra, otherwise known as the chest chakra, governs our ability to forgive. It is the chakra of unconditional love for ourselves, our loved ones, and even strangers. A balanced heart chakra facilitates compassion, empathy, and a strong connection to the world around you.

Blocked heart chakra symptoms

If you are afflicted with a blocked heart chakra, you will find an array of heart chakra blockage symptoms that will affect your life whether it is apparent, or not. In order to understand how to unblock heart chakra, you must first identify the symptoms. Below we have listed a few examples for your benefit.

Holding a Grudge

This is not a reference to those who have been seriously hurt emotionally and hold a grudge for a bit, it is natural to do this – you are only human. The problem comes when your heart chakra is blocked, you start to hold a grudge for so long it becomes a habit that is unhealthy and difficult to overcome.

Avoid Love

If your heart chakra is blocked, your love energy cannot flow. This may lead you to feel overwhelmed by the idea of love and you might start rejecting offers for dates as a defense mechanism.

Push People Away

This is a subconscious reaction that some people with a blocked heart chakra. It stems from the fear of being let down and manifests by them pushing you away, or you pushing them away before they do not live up to your expectations.

Lack of Trust

This is one of the major symptoms caused by an unbalanced heart chakra. It is also a repercussion of being let down by others, usually because you have high expectations of others who do not live up to them. A blocked heart chakra might dampen your ability to trust.

Bottling Feelings

The heart chakra, when blocked, causes you to bottle up those feelings you otherwise would express. If this is ongoing for a long while, it may cause anxiety or depression. This could also mean you require solar plexus healing.

Commitment Problems

A commitment to love is not possible f your heart chakra is blocked. You might start to doubt all the reasons you ever wanted to be with your partner in the first place.

Lack of Empathy

Because the fourth chakra, is the chakra energy of love and empathy, if It is blocked with negative energies, you will struggle to empathize with those around you. You may also want to check if you require any throat chakra healing.

How to open the heart chakra

A closed heart chakra is not a happy heart chakra. In order to change this, you can attempt any of these heart chakra opening techniques. Heart chakra opening symptoms might include an intense and beautiful sensation of insecurity or even heartbreak. This is normal to feel and be assured it is only the blockages leaving your system.

Affirmations

What does heart chakra opening feel like, you might wonder… Well, to understand this you must first try to open it. The following affirmations are great examples to use when trying to open your heart chakra. These can be USD during meditation, or every morning when you wake up.

• “I am worthy and deserving of love
• “I am open to giving and receiving love”
• “There is an infinite supply of love“
• “I forgive myself, I forgive others”

Incense and Essential Oils

Aromatherapy works wonders for bringing balance to your heart chakra. This can be used whilst you are meditating by burning incense or rubbing oils on your wrists and over your chest. Heart Chakra opening scents include neroli, lavender, rose, sandalwood, and jasmine.

Meditation

Meditations are a beautiful way to open up your heart chakra. To start a heart chakra meditation you must be in a quiet and peaceful place. Sit in Asana position and visualize yourself surrounded by white light. You can then go on to change the color you are visualizing to green and imagine it running in and out of that energy center freely.

How to balance the heart chakra

Brief intro here. Use the phrases “heart chakra crystals”, “balancing heart chakra”, “heart chakra imbalance symptoms” somewhere in this section (including under the H3s below) once.

Crystal Healing

Crystals have amazing abilities to heal all sorts of physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual factors in our lives. You can use heart chakra stones in meditations or bring them along to your reiki healing session. Some heart chakra healing crystals are rose quartz (unsurprisingly), ruby, malachite, green aventurine, green fluorite, emerald, and rhodonite.

Reiki

If you are struggling with a blocked heart chakra that is unbalanced and out of harmony, you might want to contact your reiki healer for some energetic healing. If you are unsure, you might as well contact them anyway.

Yoga

There are several yoga poses, or asanas, that are useful in balancing heart chakra. These include Ustrasana, or camel pose, Rdhva Muka Svanasana, otherwise known as Upward-Facing Dog, and Chakrasana, also known as Wheel Pose.

Other heart chakra healing methods

There are other methods on how to heal heart chakra that is not as commonly practiced as the previous methods. If you are concerned with clearing the heart chakra of blockages, keep reading.

Visualizing Green

Because the heart chakra embodies the color green, an alternative method for bringing balance and harmony to this chakra would be to visualize gree everywhere. This is best done with your eyes closed in meditation.

Eating the Right Foods

You are what you eat and in the case of your heart chakra imbalance, this is particularly true. These foods include all green vegetables like kale, spinach, and broccoli. If a beverage is more up your alley, you can try some green teas.

Key takeaways

This chakra is a key component of our well-being. If you feel that you are struggling with your love life, whether is a romantic, friendship, or family-based kind of love, it is important to address this rather than neglect it. If you are still unsure if your heart chakra is blocked or not, you can try our chakra balancing test as a method of confirmation.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it mean if your heart chakra is weak?

Your heart chakra is the energy center of unconditional love, empathy, passion, and the ability to connect with others. If you are struggling with a walk chakra it means that it has been neglected for a long time and you might struggle to empathize with others and you might seem emotionally closed off. Other symptoms include avoiding opportunities for love or pushing your loved ones away.

Can your heart chakra be too open?

On the one side of the coin, you have a blocked chakra which leads to you neglecting this area of your life. On the other side of the coin, your heart chakra can be too open, which is also referred to as overactive. This means that you are pouring too much of your attention into this area leading to you neglecting your other important factors of life.

What number is the heart chakra?

There are seven main chakras in your chakra system. the lower three chakras are the root chakra, the second is sacral, the third is the solar plexus. Then we get the upper three chakras which are the crown chakra, the third-eye chakra, and the throat chakra That makes the heart chakra the fourth chakra, as well as the bridge between the physical word and the spiritual world.

What Colour is the heart chakra?

Many uneducated people will try to tell you that the heart chakra’s color is pink or red, because of the typical association of love to those colors. Surprisingly, the color of the heart chakra is green and its element is air, symbolizing freedom.

What is the throat chakra? (vishuddha chakra defined)

Out of the seven main chakras we have the Vishuddha chakra, or more commonly known as the throat chakra or the neck chakra. the throat chakra is the fifth chakra in our bodies. Its neighbors are the heart chakra and the third eye chakra. If you’re wondering – what are the chakras in the body? Then visit the link to find out more.

Throat chakra meaning defined

You will find the throat chakra meaning is all about expression and inspiration. The word Vishuddha is a Sanskrit word that can be translated to “purifying the body from harmful substances”. Being the 5th chakra in your body, the throat chakra, or thyroid chakra, it rebuilds and cleanses your energy by cleansing anything impure from your thoughts and your physical bodies – keeping our health optimal for longer. Blockages in this chakra might feel pain in your neck and shoulders, find it difficult to speak up about your feelings or to communicate all.

Throat chakra location

Where is the throat chakra located you might ask? Well, luckily this one is easy. The throat chakra, as per its name, is located in the middle of our n. It is one of the three upper chakras.

What is the throat chakra responsible for?

Self-expression of your inner truth, thoughts, and feelings, mindful communication with yourself and others, bringing balance between listening and speaking, your social skills, your morality, and the desire to seek and express the truth are all aspects that the throat chakra is responsible for.

Blocked throat chakra symptoms

Throat chakra blockages can lead to an array of physical, mental, and emotional aspects which can lead to your feeling insecure and lacking the confidence to speak your truth.

Feeling Misunderstood

Often what comes with an unbalanced vishuddha is the inability to properly express yourself or to get your points across to other people. This can lead you to feel misunderstood by other people – even your loved ones.

Throat and Mouth Ailments

If your vishuddha is unbalanced you might experience a sore throat, hoarse voice, lymph problems or laryngitis are all sicknesses that might occur. Because your mouth is near to your throat it is also closely linked to that chakra. This means you might develop ulcers or problems with your teeth.

Difficulties Expressing

On one hand, when your throat chakra is blocked you might feel shy or awkward when trying to get your point across. You might even feel like you shouldn’t. On the other hand, you might come across as overpowering, taking over conversations, leaving little room for others to voice their opinion.

Negative self-talk

An unbalanced thyroid, or throat chakra, is unable to detoxify your energy and this can lead your inner voice to start a negative banter filling you with self-doubt.

Thyroid challenges

The throat chakra is located in the neck, very close to your thyroid gland. In a nutshell, the thyroid is responsible for the release of hormones, your metabolism, and how you burn energy. A blockage in this could make you feel fatigued,

How to open throat chakra

How to open your throat chakra, you might wonder? If you are venturing on the journey to heal and balance the 5th chakra you have to start with a throat chakra opening. Read further to learn everything you need to know about the methods for opening throat chakra. This will, in turn, enable you to unblock the throat chakra.

Mantras for Throat Chakra

Chanting goes back to humanity’s primal days. It is effective for inducing yourself into a state of trance. A great chant to use when opening your throat chakra simply calls you to face your fears and bring wisdom in, “Om Mane Padme Hum“. Another one is “Ham” which is pronounced huuu-uuum. 

Meditation to Open Throat Chakra

Another throat chakra opening method would be meditation. If you prefer you can follow a guided meditation which is designed for opening your vishuddha. What helps is envisioning a blue light in your neck growing bigger and brighter.

Positive Affirmations

Often a throat chakra imbalance sends us down rabbit holes of negativity inside our minds. You can rewire your thought patterns with a few daily affirmations designed to maintain harmony and balance within your through chakra. Some examples of affirmations to balance the throat chakra are as follows:

• “I communicate confidently and with ease.”
• “I set clear boundaries.”
• “I am balanced in speaking and listening.”

Certain Aromatherapy scents

Aromatherapy is quite a versatile healing method. It can come in the form of incense, a candle, or oil. Whatever method you prefer, to heal your throat chakra you can use scents like eucalyptus, lavender, peppermint

Surround Yourself In Blue

Because the throat chakra is associate with the color blue, if you were to keep a whole bunch of blue things around you it will help open your vishuddha. Visualizing blue during your meditations is also a great trick.

How to balance throat chakra

Now that you have learned how to open your vishuddha, you can tend to the throat chakra imbalances. In order to balance your throat chakra and bring your self-confidence back, you can try the following remedies or you could visit your local energy healer.

Yoga

Yogis have used yoga for many generations as a method for tuning in to our body’s needs. If you are looking to balance that chakra you can practice yoga. There are specific asanas, yoga poses, which help bring harmony into your chakra system. Poses like a shoulder stand, cat-cow with lion’s breath, or the plow are great options.

Meditation to Balance Throat Chakra

As much as the throat chakra, when blocked, inhibits our ability to speak our inner truths, it also clouds our ability to hear our inner voice. By practicing meditations for mindfulness we can go within ourselves in order to hear our voice and understand what it is saying.

Crystals for throat chakra

Crystals and gemstones will never cease to amaze us. They have a never-ending ability to treat and heal certain physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects of ourselves. Lapis lazuli, aquamarine, celestite, blue lace agate, and turquoise are, amongst others, great blue crystals used for healing your vishuddha. Throat chakra stones can be used during meditation or reiki sessions to help channel the energy.

Reiki

If none of the above methods are working for you, you might want to seek out a reiki healer. Their healing energy can help remove blockages from your vishuddha and promote good energy flow. Reiki could also help you with heart chakra healing.

Other throat chakra healing methods

How to heal throat chakra using slightly more alternative methods is covered in this next section. These fifth chakra healing methods are more accessible and something you can incorporate into your daily lives. Read further for everyday methods for balancing throat chakra.

Do Not Speak Badly about People

Gossip is a heinous topic. The way we speak, and the words we choose have a massive impact on our energy. Speaking badly about people is only going to lower your vibration but it is inviting negativity. Your throat chakra will be overwhelmed and a blockage will occur. Well, prevention is better than a cure so you better think of this next time you are tempted by some juicy news.

Write It Out

If you struggle with speaking your thoughts and feelings out loud you might want to start with getting them out onto a piece of paper. Journaling can be mightily healing because it allows you to get your thoughts out so you can read them later and learn to understand your emotions.

Key takeaways

Your throat chakra is responsible for how we portray ourselves amongst other people. If unbalanced it may lead us to feel and act insecure and afraid. An imbalanced throat chakra also has physical ailments that tag along. Inclusive of ulcers of the mouth, teeth and gum issues, sore throat, even laryngitis. If you wish to bring back your ability to communicate in social settings as well as with yourself we strongly advise getting your throat chakra cleansed and realigned. If you are unsure if our throat chakra is blocked, or perhaps you need some third eye chakra healing instead, you can always try our chakra test to find out.

FAQs

What does the throat chakra control?

It controls how we speak to ourselves and others. It controls our sense of confidence and trust in our inner voice. It also controls our social skills.

What does it mean when your throat chakra is weak?

A week throat chakra is also known as a disturbed or underactive throat chakra. This happens when I have been left unattended whilst bombarded with an immense amount of negative and harmful energy. This includes the way we speak about others and ourselves.

What happens when your throat chakra opens?

You might feel more confident in expressing your thoughts and feelings. You will feel a sense of happiness and peace. You will be able to listen to other people without taking over the conversation. You will feel more confident in social situations.

How do you know if your throat chakra is blocked?

You might feel fear when faced with situations where you have to express how you feel or your personal opinion. Physically, you might experience a sore throat too frequently for it to be normal flu.

What is the mantra for the throat chakra?

There are a few mantras that work for opening and balancing your throat chakra. One of them goes as follows; “Om Mani Padme Hum”. It helps you to face your fears and summon wisdom.

How many different types of stressors are there?

There are two different types of stressors that drastically affect our physical, emotional, and mental health. They are known as eustress and destress. There has been a common misunderstanding on what the term stress means. All forms of stress are seen as a bad thing, by most people. But, the effects of stress are your body’s physical reaction to a stressful situation. Both Eustress and Distress result in a release of cortisol and end up with either a fight-or-flight response, but there are many differences between the two. Read on to discover more!

Eustress

You wouldn’t believe it, but this is a stress response that motivates you, it is positive stress. Eustress can be described as the result of nervousness, it comes from the anticipation of a new job opportunity, your upcoming wedding, picking out the right dress, your bat mitzvah. Eustress can feel exhilarating but it is a short-term experience. It should be seen as the root of motivation and without it, we are decreasing our physical health and emotional and mental well-being. Even though eustress is a necessary part of our drive, if it goes on for an extended time, it can develop into distress which is not as positive.

Distress

This type of stress is far more unpleasant. It can be triggered by traumatic events like the death of a loved one, being let go from your job, an unhappy marriage or divorce, failing an exam, and more. It can be described as feeling anxious, scared, or overwhelmed. Symptoms of distress can impact our overall health, they include an increased heart rate, or heart disease, headaches, upset stomach, mental illness, and more.

What are the main 3 types of stress?

Stress is often put into one big box and little difference is deciphered from it. There are many different types of stress but there are three types of stress that take the lead as the main types of stress. Read on to find out more about the different categories of stress. according to the American Psychological Association, APA.

Acute stress

Acute stress can easily be categorized as a type of eustress. Presenting less intense symptoms than other types of stress, if it is experienced too frequently, it can develop into acute episodic stress.

Acute Episodic Stress

This is the result of experiencing acute stress too often, it makes you feel moody and you’ll tend to snap at people. This might have you feeling perpetually inadequate.

Chronic stress

Post-traumatic stress disorder is an example of chronic stress. It leaves your body in a permanent state of vigilance because you are too accustomed to frequent stressful or traumatic situations.

Example symptoms of Acute stress

• Increased heart rate
• Tension in the muscles
• Tension headaches
• Back pain
• High blood pressure
• Emotional distress

Acute stress is usually short-lived, but if it goes on for a long period you right develop an acute stress disorder like Post-traumatic-stress-disorder, PTSD. It is the most often experienced type of stress which is often the result of an event you are anticipating or happened unexpectedly.

Example symptoms of Episodic Acute stress

• Unwarranted aggression o
• acting hostile unintentionally
• Disorganized
• Issues in your relationships
• moodiness

If your life is more than often stressful, or maybe you are going through a phase or stressful situations you stand the chance to develop episodic acute stress. This is a sure sign that you must re-assess your lifestyle and try to keep your stress levels at a minimum or you might reach burnout. Because Episodic Acute Stress is ongoing your mood will be irritable and unpredictable, you might flare out at your colleagues or your loved ones in the heat of a stressful moment and then later that guilt will add another weight to your stress. Often what is experienced is a perpetual feeling of being inadequate or the villain in every situation – not so good for your self-esteem.

Example symptoms of Chronic stress

• Anxiety and Depression
• Heart disease
• Fatigue and Insomnia
• Lowered immune system
• Lack of Appetite, or over-indulges
• Upset stomach
• Lack of concentration
• Feeling out of control, overwhelmed, helpless
• Backache and headaches

Long-term emotional stress tends to develop into Chronic stress. this means that our nervous system is permanently on hyperdrive because you do not get enough time to recover in between your fight or flight episodes. As with acute episode stress, you need to look at your life and find the root of your stress. Sometimes, little can be done to change that but you are always able to seek out some professional guidance on how you can manage the effect that chronic stress has on your physical health. Acute stress is easily noticed, because of the sudden change in your physicality. You just closely monitor your stress levels in case it develops into chronic stress, impacting your well-being.

What are the different types of stress disorders?

Along with the different kinds of stress, there are many different types of stress disorders. If you think you might have a stress disorder the first thing in the line of treatment is understanding what disorder you have.

1. Adjustment Disorder

Adjustment disorder is a condition that develops when your life suddenly changes direction. Symptoms and changes in behavior will last a few months while you learn to adjust to the changes. Understanding how to manage those symptoms will help you to adjust faster. You stand a risk of slipping into a depressive episode if your symptoms persist for over a year

Symptoms of Adjustment Disorder

• Social withdrawal
• Behaving out of character around others
• An empty, joyless feeling inside
• Depression, anxiety, fearfulness

Examples of Adjustment disorder

• Emigration, culture shock
• Sudden unemployment
• Moving in with your romantic partner
• Divorce or a breakup
• Death of a loved one

2. Acute stress response

This usually occurs within an hour after an intense traumatic situation. It almost as if the person is in a state of shock and their defense mechanism is to detach. Acute stress response symptoms will typically last for a few hours, or days, but if they go on for tooling you run a risk of developing Post-traumatic stress disorder, PTSD.

Symptoms of Acute Stress response stress

• Selective and limited concentration
• Seemingly detached
• Drained, unenergized
• Feeling disorientated and confused

Examples of Acute stress response stress

• Traffic accident of any kind
• Being yelled at unexpectedly
• Being physically and psychologically attacked

3. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Post-traumatic stress disorder is a stress disorder as well as an anxiety disorder. It can develop after a particularly intense traumatic event that remains unresolved. It has the potential to last for months, or even years, with constant flashbacks to the memory of the event – stirring p unwanted feelings.

Symptoms of PTSD

• Restlessness or insomnia
• Perpetual fear
• Anxiety
• Hyper-vigilant
• Spooked easily
• Bad dreams or flashbacks
• Detachment and joylessness
• Avoidance

Examples of PTSD

• Car accident
• Seeing a dead body unexpectedly
• Armed robbery
• Rape
• Caught in a fire

How to determine levels of stress

Your level of stress is measured by what stage you are at. there are five different stages of tress. If you are getting help from a professional, they will first determine what stage your stress levels are at. The stages are:

1. Fight or Flight, Alarm Stage

This is usually as the traumatic or stressful situation is happening, our bodies go into a state where our instincts take over and we either feel compelled to run away or to fight ack – both are defense mechanisms.

2. Resistance Stage

During this stage, your body is trying to calm itself down. It does this by producing hormones with anti-inflammatory properties. This is when you are better able to comprehend that caused stress.

3. Recovery stage

This is also referred to as the coping stage. It is where you try to return to a state of stability and composure. You might add something which boosts your mood and energy levels into your routine like a daily walk and getting sufficient amounts of sleep.

4. Adaption stage

At this stage we would have realized that even though you can’t change the situation, life goes on and so much you – if you can’t beat ’em, join ’em.

5. Burnout

If you fail to introduce coping mechanisms into your daily life then you are likely to reach burnout. You might work in a fast-paced industry, to which you have adapted. Because of the perpetual state of high stress, you are likely to display signs of distress, exhaustion, cynical and pessimism.

Types of stress management techniques

There are numerous stress management and self-help techniques that you can practice from the comfort of your own home, whilst at work or on public transport – in the case of a panicked episode. Read this article, how to stop stressing out over everything, if you are looking for some stress alleviating techniques that work.

Our conclusion/Final points/Key takeaways

Stress can be one of the most debilitating aspects of life. Most people do not realize how many subcategories of stress there are and because of that – it usually goes unnoticed.

Please make sure you contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) National Helpline if you or anyone you know is experiencing excessive stress.