Do you have trouble loving yourself or others? What about forgiveness? Let me give you a sneak preview on how the heart chakra may be part of the culprit!

Many may know it is not so easy to love themselves or even love others. This is why I want to help you open up your heart chakra also known as your 4th chakra (Anahata). By balancing this chakra it will hopefully help you to start loving yourself and others and be more open to forgive.

Learning to love yourself and others plays a major factor for a happier, healthier life.
So where is this chakra located? The location of this chakra is actually so fitting. It is located in the middle of your chest with its energy emanating your physical heart.

It is very important to keep all of your chakras in balance but to love others, forgive yourself and others you need this chakra vortex to be radiant emerald green open and balanced. Let’s face it, we all want to be loved, but to love ourselves is so important to our overall health. We must love and accept ourselves before we can love and truly accept others.

When you can open up your heart chakra you may find life is that much easier, as you look at it with a different view. When you learn to forgive yourself, you emotionally let go of that baggage on the subconscious level. Also, to forgive others it will have the same ripple effect as forgiving yourself. Who does not want to feel light, happy and lessen their worries?

There is also that good old saying “think with your heart not your head”. I like to say “yes to this all the way”. When we think with our head our “ego” gets in the way and it is usually not a true meaningful thought or decision. Just because you think with your heart, does not mean you give in and are always going to be the nicest person ever. It just shows that you can think and react in the best interest for any person or yourself keeping your head/ego out of the way. This is a tough one for most. It’s just practice at slowing down and really thinking about the situations that you are in. You can do it. Just give it a try.

I would like to guide you on a short balancing session of your heart chakra to help you open up and re-balance it so you can start loving yourself and others. Lorraine and I also offer Chakra Balances, which touch on all of your Chakras.

But let’s start with just the heart chakra first.

I would like you to notice the way you feel now and then again at the end of the balancing. Just take a small note.

Let’s start by finding a comfortable spot. Next, try and still your mind.

Breathe in your nose and out your mouth. I want you to visualize the center of your chest where your heart chakra would be located. Take a look and visualize the colour. Is it green? Or does it have dark spots on it? Is it uniform? And take a look at the size of it. Is it big or small?

Now, I want you to picture a stream of white light coming from above that is going to come through the top of your head and down inside of the heart chakra and clean out all of the dark spots and imbalances. Keep using this white light until there is only sparking green light.

Now reshape it so it resembles a sphere or 3D disc and it is all uniform. You want to make sure that the size of it is not too big and not too small. Use your intuition and make it the size that you feel is right. There is no right or wrong here.

Now take a few deep breaths in and out. Just relax for a minute or two.

How do you feel? When you took that last breath did a smile come across your face? I would love to hear from you and any stories you may have about balancing and clearing your heart chakra. Or by doing this exercise daily, has it helped you with loving yourself and others. Have you found it is easier to let go of little stuff and forgive?

Leave a comment below about your experience. I love hearing from you!

Remember to Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Sending love from the Heart!

The holidays are over and you are back in the swing of things again. Are you feeling relaxed and ready to tackle the world? Or is your mantra still “I’m so stressed!”

You didn’t get a breather and life is speeding up rather than slowing down, right?

We are being stretched in a million different directions and rarely feel calm, peaceful and balanced. So what can we do when becoming a hermit isn’t an option?

Try These 3 Tips

1. Declutter Your Mind

When we talk about hoarders, we automatically think of people who collect crap in their homes.

We never consider all the junk we collect in our minds.

I bet there is a lot of stuff in your mind that you don’t need to hold onto. To-do lists. Cringe-inducing memories. Grievances against colleagues/family members/friends/fill-in-the-blank.

To-do lists are the easiest to deal with. Write it down. Once it’s recorded, you don’t need remember it. Et voila! Less clutter in your mind. (I would suggest keeping one to-do list – less stressful than trying to keep track of multiple lists)

As for the bad memories, grievances and resentments that you have stored up? Burn them! (Not literally. I don’t mean set fire to your head. ;))

Write each one down on paper. Pour in all the emotion you are feeling – don’t hold anything back. Then set fire to it (outdoors, in a safe place) and watch it go up flames. It’s gone! You won’t believe how cathartic this is.

Think of this as spring-cleaning for your peace of mind.

2. Step Back and Look At the Bigger Picture

In those moments of stress, worry or rage, take a deep breath and take a mental step back. Then ask yourself, “Is it really that big a deal? Is this life-altering?”

For example, you’re rushing to work because you have a meeting. You are stressed because the traffic/subway/bus isn’t moving and you are going to be late.

Your blood pressure rises and your anger builds and your mood gets blacker.

Been there myself. Not a comfortable feeling. Certainly the opposite of calm and relaxed.

Ask yourself, “In the grand scheme of things, is it really a big deal if I’m late? How important is this to my life overall?”. The answer puts things into perspective quickly.

It doesn’t have to be about being late; it can be about mostly anything. Stepping back and looking at the situation from a broader perspective can help reduce stress and worry and bring you back to calmness.

3. Unplug From Technology

We’ve all heard this. It’s probably the hardest thing for us to do. We all like being connected to our family, friends and community.  We don’t want to miss a thing.

But there is a reason unplugging is touted by many. It makes a huge difference to achieving a little more balance in your life.

Start small. Turn off your phones and devices for a short time and do something that brings you enjoyment or peace. Whether it’s with others (dining with friends, playing with your kids) or solitary (taking a walk or meditating), it doesn’t matter.

Doing something you really enjoy with others puts you wholly in the moment, leaving no room to worry about anything else.

A solitary activity gives you time alone with your thoughts, with no distractions, and allows you to reconnect with yourself.

Both types of activities center you. Doing one thing, and one thing only, is calming as you aren’t stressed out trying to multi-task. And you won’t miss much. That text/tweet/facebook update will wait.

These aren’t earth-shattering tricks. They are simple but effective. Keeping it simple makes them easier to implement. Try them out, you might be surprised how much they help bring you peace, calm and balance and restore your balance.

Do you have any tricks for restoring balance, peace and calm? We would love to hear them – and try them! Post a comment below, on our FaceBook page or on Twitter.