*anahata* heart mended: chakras + vagus nerve healing

Hello beautiful souls! It's almost Fall! This summer, in our yoga classes, we traveled to our most beloved national parks, from Yosemite and Yellowstone, to Olympic and the Arches, we found so much healing in the outdoors! I think that was my favorite series yet! Everyone seemed to enjoy each one so much! I knew another series awaited to bring much needed healing during uncertain times, or big life changes. This summer was a whirlwind of bittersweet moments as we prepared to send our daughter to college! Phew, I was not prepared for the dizzying array of emotions of letting her go, especially to a school several states away, in NY. But she is thriving, and my heart is happy! If you are feeling the same lately, with the state of the world, or closer to home, maybe job transitions, or family growth and shifts, juggling too much in this fast-paced world, you might be feeling swept away at times, like me, and desperately need to feel a deep grounding. Our society celebrates exhaustion, fast pace, constantly on the go, hurried days, full schedules. I'm the exact opposite. It's a lot, too much, and it feels like we're getting swept away, in flight, scrambling to find a safe place to perch and rest, only to get swept away again. One day our body is going to tell us when to rest either with injury or illness. Let's do what we can to prevent that!

I've always loved the chakras, and I've taught chakra classes before, but this time, we are connecting each chakra to the vagus nerve in specific ways, traveling up the chakras, from the root to the spine, to shift from our busy minds, endless to-do lists, and worries, and back into the body, where we are rooted, grounded, and at home, while releasing stored tension through vagus nerve stimulation! Join me for the next few weeks, on Fridays for a gentle flow, and Sundays for a warm, more energetic flow. Last week, we dove into the third chakra, our Manipura, Solar Plexus Chakra, and we found so much healing here in our abdomen's inner fire, our passion, personal power, identity energy center! This week, we arrive at the fourth chakra, our Anahata chakra! 

❇️ This week we’re diving into our Heart chakra! This swirling energy center lies in the heart, is green in color, and its element is air! It is here where we find love of oneself, compassion & empathy for others, resolve inner conflict, let go of negativity we have been harboring in the heart that may cause tightness in the chest. In our heart chakra, we find our nurturing nature, and kindness toward all living things!  We find forgiveness & inner peace. Anahata is the bridge between our lower & upper chakras, the bridge between heaven & earth. It is the link between body & spirit, earth & divinity. The heart chakra expands more when connected with pranayama or breathwork!

Connected Anahata Crystals: Aventurine, rose quartz, moss agate, jade, malachite, rhodonite, emerald.

Connected Anahata essential oils: Bergamot, eucalyptus, rose, jasmine, lemon, pine, rosemary, geranium, sage.

When Anahata is *In Balance*: 

We forgive others, practice self love, love for all living things, are kind & affectionate, nurturing, have inner peace.

When *Out of Balance*: 

We are co-dependent, hold onto grief, anger, guilt. Look for revenge, cold & distant, selfish, can't forgive or trust.

We began on our backs with a bolster beneath the spine, length wise under the spine, a big heart opener, as the shoulders melt over each side of the bolster, soles of the feet meet, in our Butterfly, blocks under the thighs, celebrating how far we've come, opening the root, sacral, and solar plexus chakras. Our hearts shine, radiating love out into the world. We created our Straw Breath, deep inhale in through the nose, from the toes up into the sacrum & belly, pause at the top of the breath, bring the lips close together leaving a small opening as if we're holding a straw in the mouth, and a long slow exhale through the mouth, through our straw, helping us to lengthen and slow down our exhale even more. Each round growing the inhale into the chest, and into the crown, our straw exhale becoming longer each round. Even though the eyes are closed, we notice what we see beyond the lids, finding peace in the darkness, knowing light is always nearby. We notice what we hear in the room, the hum of the furnace or air conditioner keeping us comfortable, the breath of our neighbor, pinpointing an instrument in the music. We notice what we smell, notes of rose & jasmine hovering overhead, tapping into our Heart Chakra. We scanned to our taste, noticing the last thing we may have eaten, or a sip of cup of tea, coffee,  lingering in the mouth, separating the teeth, the tongue falling from the roof of the mouth. Lastly, we noticed our sense of touch, what we feel against the skin, the warmth of the air against the skin, the softness of our clothes, the stickiness of our mat, supporting us, cradling us, serving as our anchor, as we shed the layers that accumulate on the body and mind from daily life, bringing us back home to ourselves, lighter, more free. 

We inhaled lifting up enough to remove our props, and regrinding to the earth, lengthening long overhead, toes reach forward, exhale knees into the chest, rocking side to side. Our Ujjayi breath followed, even lengths of inhale and exhale through the nose, our grounding, stabilizing breath. Inhale lengthen long, exhale Crescent Moon to the right, through center, and to the left. Inhale feet to the sky, T-pose, rolling ankles, right leg over left, Cowface legs, reach for shins, unravel the right leg out to the right side of the room, extending long, anchor with the right hand, left hand pulls left shin in toward the ribs, Half Arrow Pose. Right leg crossed back over the left, Cowface, hips scooch to the right, knees fall to the left, arms T out, Supine Twist. We came through center, found bridge pose, Heart lifts to the sun, and down, knees hug in. Inhale T-pose, left over right, and honored the left side! We found our Floating Bridge lifting the hands overhead as the hips lift, and down as the hips melt to the earth.

We rock n rolled along the spine to meet in a comfortable seat, we crossed the legs or found a Half Lotus, to begin our self-healing practice! We formed our Padma Mudra, our lotus flower, opening the fingers out while keeping the pinkies and thumbs together. The Lotus flower is rooted deep in the soil of the pond, and grows up through the muddy, dark waters, all the way to the surface of the water, reaching for the sunlight, where its blooms open and blossom, soaking in the nourishing light! We placed our mudra at our heart chakra to connect to our Anahata energy center. We rubbed the palms together to create some heat, some healing energy, remembering that our hands are tools for healing, and cupped the hands to the eyes, sending healing energy to the soul. Hands floated to the crown, sending healing energy to the mind, calming the chatter. The mind can become stuck in the past, ruminating over things that have been, or travel too far forward into the future with worry, but the body is always present, so here we connect and stay present. Left hand floated to the forehead, and the right to the base of the skull, gentle pressure into our vagus nerve, serving as a nervous system reset button, finally bringing the hands to the heart sending gratitude to the heart and lungs, for the work they do every moment of every day, for us. We set an intention for our practice. We inhaled the hands overhead, and to the right for a twist, peeling the right shoulder back to open the chest 5% more, opening our Anahata chakra, heart chakra, sending compassion, understanding, love out into the world. We arched the right hand to the sky and toward the opposite knee to open the side body, and then brought it to the left knee, crossing the arms, arching the back and dripping the chin. We honored the other side, and then came through center, planted the fingers behind us, opened the chest, arching the spine into a backbend, gaze to the sky, and then melted forward into a fold.  

We walked the hands toward the knees, bringing the knees close together into our Hero’s pose, sitting onto the heels, inhaled fingers to the sky, melting into side bends, right hand down, left hand overhead, through center, left hand down, right hand overhead. Inhale through center, cactus the arms, opening the chest, heart lifts to the sky, exhaling arch the back, curling forward cradle the head, forearms meet, repeating 2 more times. We released the hands behind the glutes into a backbend, and exhaled forward into our puppy, melting the heart. 

We walked the hands in, into our Table Top, moved in yummy ways, with a warm up flow of Cat-Cow, adding in organic movements, hips swaying side to side, child’s pose waves, listening to what the body needs! We lifted the right hand high, exhale thread the needle, hover, inhale lift, exhale thread, grounding onto the right temple and shoulder, left leg stretches out to the left of our mat. Come through center, right hand high, right foot reaches to the back of our mat, Supported Side Plank, opening the chest, right hand high, right hand down, legs stay as they are, walk to the hands to the long side of our mat, melt the hips back, 1-leg Childs pose, heart melts to the earth. Hands float to the top of our mat, knees come in, a round of Cat Cow flow, and honor the left side!

🍐Our first flow spiced up our energy, kept us warm, and rooted to the earth as we flowed from our downward dog, into plank, creating waves as slowly as possible, into pranam, low cobra, downward dog, into our Tadasana, rooting the feet into the earth, feeling that grounding energy all the way up to the crown. Inhale hands reach overhead, sidebend to the right, through center, and to the left, through center, inhale cactus the arms, open the heart, exhale curl in cradle the head, inhale cactus, exhale cradle in, inhale cactus, find a bind behind the back, lift the heart, exhale forward fold, hands clasped to the sky. Palms plant, move through flow, pranam or chaturanga, meeting in Downward Dog. Inhale right leg lifts, exhale right knee taps the left elbow, inhale lift, exhale tap right elbow, inhale lift, bend the knee open the hip, maybe flip into Wild Thing, coming through center, right leg high, knee to chest, thread the right foot through to the left, Fallen Star. Right knee to chest, step the right foot forward, Warrior I, hands to the sky, inhale cactus the arms, exhale hands reach forward, thumbs to the sky, inhale left hand pulls in toward the chest like we're pulling back an arrow, open the chest, exhale left hand reaches to the back of our mat, keeping the bend in the right knee. Repeat 2 more times, arrow pulls, and pivot to the back of our mat, Warrior 2, bend into the left knee, right hand to right leg, left hand high, Exalt our Warrior, cartwheel the hands around, Side Angle, left hand to a block, bend in the left knee, chest open, right hand high. Straighten the left leg, arms out to a T, hinge from the hips, left hand reaches forward and down, Triangle pose, heart lifts. Right hand grounds, left hand floats, right leg floats, Twisted Half Moon. Right foot grounds back of the mat, right knee down, Low Lunge, hands reach up, palms together, elbows bend, palms drape down to back of the neck. Hands ground, melt to the right heel, Skandasana, float the hands at the heart or melt the heart forward, lift through center, WideLeg fold, palms under the nose, flat back, inhale right hand lifts, exhale thread to the left shin, left hand walks forward, twist your heart through. Come through center, left hand lifts, exhale to right shin, twist. Hands walk to the top of the mat, heel toe right foot out, Dragon, rocking forward and back, left knee grounds, open out to the right, binding for the back foot, heart open. Through center, right foot between the palms, float forward into the palms, left toes high Standing Splits, with curtsy taps behind right leg, 3 times, and then ground left shin down, Cowface, right knee stacked over left. Inhale hands reach up, bend right elbow, left arm behind the back, fingers reaching for opposite. Inhale lift, exhale forward fold. Inhale lift, unravel the arms and legs out to a Straddle, V-shape, inhale hands high, exhale fold forward. Inhale hands walk in, feet in, grounded Boat pose, inhale hands reach forward, exhale right hand pulls arrow back, heart opens, inhale forward, exhale left hand pulls arrow back, 2 more times, rock n roll along spine, move through your flow, meet in Tadasana, and honor the left side!

Our Somatic practice gives us tools to regulate our nervous system, to stimulate the vagus nerve that begins at the base of the brain and runs throughout the body touching every organ system! We agitated emotions stuck in the body, to help them release, and to serve as a reset button. I usually alternate between these tools each week! We began in our Tadasana, brought the right hand to the left upper side of the chest, and extended the left arm forward, palm facing the sky. With a deep inhale, we kept the hips forward, as the left arm slowly traveled out to the left side, gaze following, to the back, paused at the back with the gaze over our left shoulder, and on the exhale slowly brought the arm back toward the top of our mat. We repeated this two more times, inhaled as the arms reached overhead, palms gathered at the heart. We brought the left arm to the right upper side of the chest, extended the right arm forward, palm facing up, and with the inhale slowly traveled the right arm out to the side as the gaze followed, to the back, and paused opening the chest. With the exhale we brought the right arm slowly back to the top of our mat, and repeated 2 more times!  We rubbed the palms together to create some healing heat, and we brought the fingertips to the crown, massaging the fingertips all over the crown and behind the ears, even the base of the skull. We moved into the temples, massaging circles here, we dripped the fingers to the jaw, the hinge where we open and close the jaw, the perfect release for jaw clenchers like myself, and maybe you too. We pulled down on the ear lobes, pulled the middle of the ears out to the sides, up to the top of the ears pulling toward the sky. With one hand to the base of the skull, pressing into the vagus nerve, the other hand brought the index and middle fingers to the hairline at the forehead and began rolling the fingers down the forehead, between the eyebrows, down the bridge of the nose to the tip, repeating 3 times, and switching out the hands. We brought our fingertips to the base of the skull, pressing into our vagus nerve, and melted the fingertips toward the ears, along the jawline, and down the front of the neck to the collarbone. We repeated this 2 more times, releasing tightness in the throat. We tapped into the collarbone, with slow rythmic taps, all fingers in unison, into one of our acupressure points in the body. We brought this tapping to the sternum, center of the chest. We slowly tapped here, either with the fingertips or Bilateral Butterfly taps using cupped hands over one another on the chest, activating both hemispheres of the brain, continuing as we inhaled, paused to bring the hands to the heart, stacked on top of one another, and as we exhaled we audibly hummed a "AHH" sound connecting to our Anahata Chakra, in our bee breath🐝! If you hold tension here in the chest, this is a nice release! Humming is a somatic release, also good for respiratory infection season to break things up in the lungs, and humming has shown to reduce anxiety better than sleep! We crossed the arms at the chest, and squeezed into opposite shoulders, down to the biceps and triceps, and into the forearms. We brought the hands to the shoulders again for a squeeze, and swiped the hands down the arms, chest, abdomen, low back, and legs, making sure anything still tethered to the body is fully released. On the way up, we formed fists, pounding into the body, until in Tadasana. We released everything from last year, last month, yesterday, that we need to let go of, swipe it away, let yourself be freed of it, so we don't carry this heaviness any longer! Allow it to melt down your back! Let it drift into the breeze, the water, no longer needed in this moment!

🌳Our final flow began in Tadasana, inhale cactus the arms, exhale cradle the head, arching the back curling forward, inhale cactus, right hand reaches for the right foot, left hand high, melt the torso forward, right toes to the sky, into our Dancer, lift through center, right foot back, bend into the left knee, Crescent Warrior, hands reach up, cactus the arms, palms plant top of the mat, left foot sweeps through center and up, 3 Limb Downward Dog, bend the knee open the hip, Wild Thing, through center, left knee to chest, thread it to the right, Fallen Star, through center, Downward Dog. Knees ground, float up, moving into our Dancing Camel, flowing right to left, Full Camel, Downward Dog, move through your flow, meet in Tadasana to honor the left side beginning with our Dancer.

🌵Our cool down moved us from downward dog, rolling forward into our Plank, and with control lower to the belly, palms form a pillow, forehead to our pillow, pelvic rocks side to side, through center, hands ground under the shoulders, we lift Low Cobra, 2 times, third time High Cobra, gaze over right shoulder, and to the left, melt down, inhale left hand reaches out to the left, roll onto the left hip Broken Wing, right foot plants outside left leg, right knee to the sky, through center, Broken Wing to the right, through center. Right hand reaches back for the right foot, left forearm to the top of the mat, inhale lift the chest and right toes to the sky, Half Bow, and lower, switch out the hands, inhale left hand holds left foot, we lift, Half Bow, and lower. Inhale both hands to both feet, we lift, Full Bow, maybe rocking forward and back, exhale we melt down. Pillow with the palms, forehead to our pillow, right knee reaches up toward the right elbow, Half Frog. Right hand reaches forward, left arm threads under the right, we open to our backs, Supine Twist. Through center to the belly, pelvic rocks, Half Frog on the left side, and open to the back for a twist. 

🌿We lengthened long, hugged the knees into the chest, extended the feet to the sky into our T-pose, crossed right leg over the left, bending at the knees, hugged the thighs together and reached for shins gently pulling the knees toward the chest, Cowface, unravel the right leg out to the right, Half Arrow, folding back in over the left, stacked knees, and twist to the left, through center, T-pose, honoring the left side! We ended in Crescent Moon sidebands to the right and to the left, and made time to come into any final poses we needed before our final rest such as legs up the wall, bridge, plow or wheel! 

🌴We connected our now open & balanced Anahata heart chakra to the words “Lokah Samastah Sukhino Bhavantu” translated to “May all beings everywhere be free from suffering.” We made it to our PEAK POSE: Savasana! Together, we completed a full body cleanse! We found meditative peace, a calming of the mind, insight into ourselves, we experienced growth fearlessness, release, and freedom. Yoga helps us shed what we no longer need, so we may see our most purest selves! Connect to divinity! 🙏🏻To slow down means to heal! That is why savasana is the peak pose, the most important pose, the goal. To find peace. In the stillness! We surrender. We discover ourselves again without the layers, the armor, the walls. They all come down, revealing our divine self.🙏🏻

🐉 I loved creating our Anahata + Vagus Nerve Healing playlist! Listen here!! 

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4nP3ghWvTlmiThgMxUx0KS?si=i2cOAtaVRLayfp6X7bdb3Q&pi=u-fhfxLtJTRrWK

🍃Come practice with me Fridays for a gentle flow at 11:30, and Sundays for a warm, active flow at 10:00!🫶🏻 ✨🌿