Disclaimer:
I do not expect anyone to do these exercises if they are physically incapable
of performing the moves. Never begin an
exercise routine without consulting your physician.
The
yoga for this chakra all open up your chest cavity and stimulate your
heart. These are designed for any type
physical condition. They should be done with a slow smooth motion.
Hold the poses as long as possible without great strain.
Open your chest (This is easy to do
at the office)
Sit
near the edge of a chair and interlace your fingers behind you, with your palms
facing your back. Leaning slightly forward, lift your arms and rest them on the
back of the chair. Inhale and lift your chest. Exhale and relax your shoulders
away from your ears. If your hands do not reach the top of the chair, clasp the
sides of the chair back and pull your chest forward, relaxing your shoulders
and opening your upper chest. Hold for 10 to 15 breaths, feeling lightness in
your heart. With an exhalation, slowly release your hands and bring them down
by your sides.
Bhujangasana (Cobra Pose)
Setu Bandha Sarvangasana (Bridge Pose)
Urdvha MukhaSvanasana
(Upward-facing Dog)
I
will not give instructions for these poses here, as it is given much better on
the sight(s).
One
of my favorite methods of opening my chest is to stand up, lean slightly back
and drop my hands down to the side. Let
them fall back as far as they can. You
will feel your chest open up, and just breathe deeply into the chest. This helps relax and refresh you when stress might
be mounting up.
Breathing Exercises
This link is to be read prior to doing the breathing exercises. It is some precautionary considerations before commencing any type of breathing exercises.
Here the site discusses the importance of breathing.
Please take the time to read this whole article before performing any of
the exercises that they list on the site. For the purposes of this chakra pay special
attention to:
Bhastrika—Bellows Breath
Nadi Sodhana—Alternate nostril
breathing
Practice
any or all of the breathing techniques listed here. You will be surprised at how they make you
feel. The can relax or energize and are
good tools for everyday life.
Activity
for the Heart
Any
aerobic activity is good for the heart.
If you are an athlete just keep it up.
If you have not done aerobic activity in a long time start out with
walking. It is cheap, just the cost of a
decent pair of athletic shoes, and your time.
This will help with lung capacity, strengthen the heart, lower
cholesterol, and improve digestions. If
you are just starting, start slow. Just
10 minutes the first few days, then increase to 15 for a few days, and continue
increasing until you reach 30 minutes.
This should be down at least 4 days a week for good benefit, but more
won’t hurt and it will help. Give this
at least a month to really show you how good your heart will feel. The idea isn't how far you walk but how
long. As you gain strength, you will want
to start pushing a little to increase your heart rate. However, don’t push so hard that you become
significantly out of breath. Sweat and
breathing a little hard is of benefit, once you have built
up your strength.
Aroma Therapy
- Marjoram (Origanum Marjorana,
Majorana hortensis,(Sweet)
- Thymus mastichina (Spanish)
- Orange (Citrus Sinensis)
- Rose Otto (Rosa damascena)
- Yarrow (Achillea Millefolium)
Methods
for dispersing are:
- hot melted candle wax; don’t get
oil in flame, just drop on top of melted wax
- oil diffuser ring on low wattage lamp
- drop oil on low wattage lamp bulb
itself
- simmer (not boil) in water
Light Meditation
Get
comfortable. Either lay on the floor
with hands at a 45° angle to your body, in a recliner or in bed. Playing soft music, and use one of the aroma
therapy methods defined above. Begin the
meditation by placing the tip of your tongue on the roof of your mouth right
where the teeth and gums come together. Take
a deep breath in through the nose for a
count of 4, hold the breath for a count of 7, and exhale through your mouth
with a whooshing sound for the count of 8.
(Remember the breathing advice given earlier.) The counts should be evenly spaced, and not
strained. Adjust the rhythms to
accommodate you ability, but maintain an even counting cadence of the three
cycles of this breath. This is a relaxing process, not a strained process. Adjust
the speed of the cycle to suit your ability. Repeat this breathing cycle 4
times. While inhaling, visualize that
you are drawing in nice clean, relaxing air.
While holding the breath visualize the nice clean relaxation circulating
through your body. While exhaling,
visualize that the nice clean air is pushing all of the negativity and tension
from your body. After the 4 cycles, return
your breathing to normal. Totally relax
your body. Pay close attention to the
jaw line, brow, and shoulders. Notice
any areas that are painful and tight and breathe into them while you feel them
relax and release. Tune into the beat of
your heart. Keep trying; you will feel
it more than hear it. Now as you feel
the beat of your heart, visualize a lotus coming up out of your spine, and
blossom just in front of your chest (I’m not good at images without something
fresh in my mind. So here are
some pictures you can look at.) Now
visualize a pink lotus. Watch as it
begins to spin clockwise. Visualize it
open to its first flush of full bloom, (we don’t want it past its prime, as in
too open). It is open and strong. Visualize a green light forming around the
pink lotus, protecting it from outside negativity. Now watch it spin, and feel the strength of
your heart grow as the spinning continues.
It spins at a steady pace about the speed of your heartbeat. Relax and feel it spin and the strength
flow………. When you are finished breathe
deeply and feel the energy of the breath revive you and energize you.
Here is some music you
might like to play for your meditation.
