In the series of live streams where we worked on one chakra each evening, the fourth evening was devoted to the heart chakra. I lit a green candle, dressed in green, put jasmine oil on my chest and brought out green and pink crystals. From the beginning, I felt very gentle. That is what the heart chakra truly is: gentleness, love and inner peace. And the most important thing I want you to take from this article is simple: you set the limit on how much others love you. The amount you love yourself determines how much love can come to you.
Below, I explain what the heart chakra is, the signs that it is closed or, conversely, too open, what supports it, and the meditation we did together in the live stream, step by step.
What is the heart chakra (Anahata)?
The heart chakra is the fourth chakra, positioned in the centre of the chest. It is the middle chakra: below it are the three chakras that hold you in 3D — root, sacral and solar plexus — and above it are the chakras of communication, intuition and connection with the divine. The heart bridges them. I explained the first of these extensively in the article on the root chakra.
Its main colour is green, the colour of life. But pink also belongs to the heart. It is represented by a lotus with 12 petals, with two triangles in the centre, one pointing up and one down: the same shape as the merkaba, the union of the divine masculine and divine feminine, like yin and yang. The Sanskrit symbols you see online in each chakra really exist too: in a very advanced heart meditation, I saw its symbol in my mind's eye.
The heart chakra is associated with:
- love — for yourself, others and God;
- compassion;
- emotional balance and inner harmony;
- forgiveness;
- inner peace.
I want to pause on peace for a moment. To manifest love or anything else outside yourself, you must first make peace within yourself. If there are conflicts in your life, there are probably conflicts between parts of you. The heart is where they reconcile.
You set the limit on how much others love you
If I had to describe what the heart is about in one sentence, it would be this: others love you as much as you love yourself. You are the creator of your reality: the amount of love you emanate is what returns to you. If you do not love yourself, others will not love you either.
But be careful: this love must not come at your expense. It needs to be genuine, including for you.
Do a small exercise now, as you read: breathe and tell yourself, “I love you with all my heart”. When I say this, I feel waves of love from the universe coming over me. I really feel them. Perhaps you do too.
I believe the greatest experience in this life is truly falling in love, because it presses all your buttons and all your traumas, both known and unknown. That is why the heart chakra has so much work to do: self-love, compassion, love for others, love for God and forgiveness. It is enormous.
Signs that the heart chakra is out of balance
A chakra can be underactive (closed) or overactive (too open), and neither is good. At the heart, this looks like:
When the heart chakra is overactive
- You give to everyone without giving to yourself. You do good for everyone and forget yourself. The French have a saying: doing good properly begins with yourself.
- You are jealous. Jealousy is an energy that is not healthy: behind it are fears and usually “I am not good enough for him”. Then you try to control.
- You do not set healthy boundaries. Nobody trained us in this. Many of us know how to set boundaries in one area of life and not at all in another. For example, I knew very well how to set boundaries in business, but not at all in my personal life: a world of difference.
- Emotional dependence and codependency in relationships.
A tip about boundaries: look at the areas in which you are very good, and transfer those skills to the ones you have not worked on. If I know how to set boundaries in business, I can learn to set them at home too.
When the heart chakra is underactive
- You run away from love. This is especially true of avoidant people: they run away and are not interested.
- Fear of intimacy — both physical and emotional: fear of saying what you feel, of “baring yourself”.
- Fear of rejection as the main fear.
- You feel unworthy of love. Sometimes, even if you love yourself on the surface, the idea that you do not deserve to be loved remains hidden in the subconscious, perhaps because your mother or father could not give you love. It is not necessarily your fault or theirs: perhaps your mother was in her own pain. But you, small and dependent, could not process this and took it upon yourself. This program is removed.
- Resentment and bitterness. We remain stuck in the past, in particular events. And what prevents me from starting again in a new way? The ego and past experiences that still hurt.
The emptiness in the chest after a difficult relationship
Some people actually feel a hole in their chest. This is especially seen in those who have left a relationship with a manipulative or narcissistic partner, when the wound is recent. Love relationships that ended badly or without closure leave deep wounds here. And what do we do to protect ourselves? We close the heart. The problem is that when we close the heart, we cut ourselves off from light, our divine nourishment.
If you are going through this, here is my guide to narcissism and releasing ties to a narcissist. And if the wound is very deep — if there was abuse or you feel you cannot get back up alone — also seek a psychologist or psychotherapist specializing in trauma. Energy work goes hand in hand with therapy; it does not replace it.
Likewise, if you have physical heart problems, see a doctor first. Heart chakra work can support you emotionally, but does not replace treatment.
For the overall picture of all the chakras, I have written about the seven signs of blocked chakras.
I want the PDF guide to cleansing the seven chakras →
Why a closed heart keeps you away from the soul
People who are very caught up in their minds have great difficulty opening their hearts, because they have put lock after lock on them. Here is the core: the soul sustains the body — it feeds it with energy. Why do we meditate, work on ourselves and practise spirituality? To cleanse internal noise, rein in the mind so it functions only when we need it, and be able to hear the soul's subtle voice.
The mind shouts. The soul does not shout: it speaks very gently and calmly. It gives you a nudge, then another, then a third; it gives you clues. We do not want to hear them and go our own way, because we know better. It becomes harder and harder. That is why I tell you: if you are very caught up in your mind, step out of it and open your heart. You can do this gently, as I show here, or life will bring you to the lesson anyway, by a more roundabout route. It is your choice.
What supports the heart chakra
Spirituality is not only about courses. Simple things also help enormously: a crystal, a lovely scent or a warm atmosphere at home. Scents calm the body, especially if you are sensitive to smells. Here is what I use for chakra 4:
- Green. A green candle, green clothes and green decorations. Pink too, as the second colour.
- Jasmine essential oil. It smells extraordinary and is one of the main oils for the heart. I put a few drops directly on the chakra, in the centre of the chest. I recommend getting genuine oils of the highest quality so you can feel them vibrationally too. The one I use is here. And rose oil also works with the heart.
- Jasmine tea with a little honey: a treat for the heart.
- Green foods. When we eat, we are really seeking energy: photosynthesis. Spinach, cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, green beans, avocado, dill, parsley, mint and green tea. Fruits: green apples, kiwi, grapes, melon, limes and pears.
- Green and pink crystals: rose quartz, emerald, malachite, jade and pink tourmaline. You can keep them beside you or use them in the bath.
- The Tibetan singing bowl — purify the field through sound.
- The 528 Hz frequency. You will also find other frequencies associated with the heart online, such as 639 Hz; I worked with 528 Hz. The first night I slept with it was a complete “boom”: I felt that vibration cleansing everything within me that was not love.
- A hand on the heart. I noticed this in family constellations: when someone is struggling, I ask them to put a hand on their heart, and they calm down immediately. Contact with your own body warms you and makes you feel loved. It is the simplest exercise in the world.
A gentle warning: when you begin working with the heart, old things may surface. If you grew up in a family with violence, deprivation or tension, you absorbed those energies as a child. Children take them upon themselves to save their parents. When you start working on yourself, you become aware of them and they begin coming out. At first, my body shook in evening meditations, and I was frightened by how much was leaving me. Do not be afraid. If it becomes too much, take a break and ask a specialist for help.
See the heart chakra collection →
Affirmations for the heart chakra
We all have an inner critic, a scratched-up running commentary built over the years. You change it with affirmations, said in the mirror or in meditation. Say them aloud and observe what you feel in the body; I feel my body rejoicing:
- “I love and accept myself as I am.”
- “I open my heart to receive and give love.”
- “I release all emotional pain and choose to live in peace.”
- “I forgive myself for choosing to live through those experiences.”
The last is the hardest. I was only able to forgive others when I genuinely forgave myself. The mind cannot conceive that the soul also chooses very difficult experiences: it perceives them as self-betrayal. But we chose our family and relationships to learn certain lessons, and we see those lessons only after they are over. I wrote more about this in the article on the prayer for forgiveness.
Meditation for opening the heart chakra: the steps
At the end of the live stream, we did the heart-opening meditation together. You can do it at home too:
- Centre yourself and close your eyes. Feel yourself in the field of love.
- Bring your awareness down into the heart chakra, in the centre of your chest. Observe it. Rotate it gently.
- Make the gesture that suits you. You can embrace yourself or put your hands on your chest: whatever feels comfortable.
- Open to the field of love and repeat: “Today I choose to love myself.” Then: “I am love.”
- Open your heart, because both outside and inside it there is only love. Keep rotating the chakra.
- Let the flow of love open the locks. A flow of love springs from the heart, opening every lock placed on it one by one, both inside and outside. Open the gates. Feel new paths opening: love creates paths.
- Open your heart to God. You are safe. You are made of love, and if you exist, you are loved.
- Find your inner child in your heart. There is someone very dear in your heart: your inner child. Bathe them in love. Give them their first bath of love, like a newborn baby. Stroke their head, look into their eyes and give the love they ask for. Wrap them in the light of your heart, feel the pure scent of a newborn, and hold them to your chest.
- Feel your inner child feeling loved — and falling asleep peacefully in your arms. And you, as an adult, feel this love too.
- Bring the gifts out of the heart. As an adult, you are safe to open your heart and bring out all the love left unspoken and unexpressed, first of all towards yourself.
- Return slowly. And in the evening, go to sleep with your inner child in your arms and this feeling of love.
If you want to work more deeply with the inner child, here are my guide to healing the inner child and the PDF guide to release practices for the inner child. The easiest route to the heart is still through the child: embrace them, soothe them and play.
Do the meditation with me
If you want the exercise guided by me, with the field open, start the live stream below. The meditation begins around minute 62.
I will activate all seven chakras with the PDF guide →
Frequently asked questions about the heart chakra
What is the heart chakra and where is it?
The heart chakra (Anahata) is the fourth chakra, in the centre of the chest, midway between the three lower and three upper chakras. It holds love for yourself and others, compassion, emotional balance, forgiveness and inner peace. Its colour is green, also pink, and its symbol is a lotus with 12 petals and two triangles in the centre.
How can I tell whether my heart chakra is blocked?
When it is closed: you run from love, fear intimacy and rejection, feel unworthy of love and carry resentment. When it is overactive: you give to everyone without giving to yourself, feel jealous, do not set boundaries and enter emotionally dependent relationships. Both are imbalances.
How do I open the heart chakra?
With the meditation above: bring awareness into the chest, say “Today I choose to love myself” and “I am love”, let the flow of love open the heart's locks, and embrace your inner child. Support the work with daily affirmations, a hand on your heart when you struggle, green, jasmine, pink crystals and music at 528 Hz.
Which essential oil is good for the heart chakra?
I use jasmine: I put it directly on the chakra in the centre of my chest, and also make jasmine tea. Rose also works with the heart. Choose genuine, quality oils so you can feel them vibrationally.
Why is forgiveness important for the heart chakra?
Because resentment and bitterness close the heart. Forgiveness begins with you: only when you forgive yourself for the experiences you lived can you truly forgive others.
Every day, embrace yourself and allow yourself to open gradually to the field of love. Everything around you that is not love is an illusion. Put a hand on your heart, breathe, and remember: you set the limit on how much you are loved. Sending you a kiss, and I look forward to seeing you at the next live stream.
The heart chakra: love, closeness and personal boundaries
The heart chakra is a reference point in the spiritual language used to discuss love and relationships. Here, we use it as a theme for reflection, rather than an anatomical structure or medical explanation for pain or other symptoms. The practical question is how you can remain available for closeness without ignoring your needs.
How we use this symbolic map
Sometimes you call it a “closed heart” when you no longer want a conversation that hurts you. A boundary can be a protective choice. You do not have to prove love through unlimited access to your time, body or resources.
Closeness shows in behaviours
Think of a relationship in which you can express a preference and receive a refusal without punishment. What do the people in that relationship actually do? They listen, ask for clarification, respect each other's schedules or repair a conflict. These gestures are more useful for assessing closeness than a label about a blocked chakra.
If receiving support is difficult, begin with a small request. You can ask to be listened to for ten minutes, without solutions. If you are offering support, first check whether the person wants it and how much time you have available.
Journaling exercise
Divide a page into three: “What I give”, “What I need”, “What I no longer accept”. Fill these in with examples from the past week. Choose one sentence to say in a conversation. For example: “I want us to talk, but I can continue when we speak without insults.”
You can accompany the exercise with a quiet pause. You do not need to produce a special sensation for your answers to deserve attention.
Frequently asked question
Do I have to forgive to work with the heart chakra? No. You can reflect on love while maintaining the distance and boundaries you need.
Continue with a resource suited to your theme
If you want to continue reflecting with Adevăr și Lecuire materials, see Release Practices and Complete Cleansing of the Seven Chakras (PDF). Read the description and what is included before buying, then choose a time when you can use the material at your own pace.
For a public reading, you can begin with Chakras: a symbolic map for reflection.
Also explore the available materials and the Adevăr și Lecuire articles.
