Listen to this article:
Key Takeaway
The Green Chakra, or Heart Chakra, symbolizes love, balance, and connection, guiding us towards unconditional love and joy.
Love, compassion, and joy are the kinds of things that everyone wants to experience in their daily life. The best way to tap into these qualities is by working with the Green Chakra (Heart), also known as the Anahata Chakra, to build more unconditional love in your life. When you learn to tap into the energy center of the heart, you will be guided on a path of connecting with your true purpose and joy.
Free Cheat Sheet: The 7 Best Ways to Unblock Chakras
Download nowContents
- 1 What is the green chakra?
- 2 Benefits of an open heart chakra
- 3 Why is the heart the green chakra?
- 4 Green Chakra Blockages and Imbalances – What to look out for in this energy center
- 5 How to create Harmony in the Heart Chakra
- 6 Green for the Green Chakra
- 7 Self-Love Ritual for the Fourth Chakra:
- 8 Emotional Healing Through The Green Chakra
- 9 Exploring the Historical and Cultural Importance of the Color Green in Heart Chakra Practices
- 10 Frequently Asked Questions:
What is the green chakra?
The Heart Chakra is the fourth chakra of the seven chakra system that runs along the spine of the physical body. It is represented with the color green and resides right in the heart center of the body. The heart chakra is the midway point between the lower and upper chakras, representing true balance and the true center of our beings.
As an energy center, the heart is associated with feelings of love, both for others and for yourself. This particular chakra is connected with self-love because from a healthy sense of self-love, you are able to give and receive love with an open and loving heart.
Located right in the centre of the chest, this chakra allows you to connect with your own sense of Self. To deepen this enquiry, the heart asks you the following questions:
- What do you love with your full heart?
- What brings you true happiness?
- How does love and joy feel within the container of your physical body?
- What am I grateful for today?
Benefits of an open heart chakra
All of the chakras are functioning at their highest potential when energy can flow freely through the body. In some chakras it can be difficult to feel the energy flow, but in the heart chakra it creates a physical sensation that cannot be missed.
Open and free flowing energy through the heart chakra results in a sense of inner peace, unconditional love and feelings of harmony. It is what makes you feel grateful for life and grateful for love. It allows you to create healthy relationships both with yourself and with others. This chakra is associated with feeling the emotions of compassion, kindness and happiness.
An open heart chakra will allow you to feel connected to life itself. It is from this connection that the heart chakra can grow and expand into feelings of deep and unconditional love.
Why is the heart the green chakra?
As part of the rainbow bridge of the chakras, the color green is connected with the heart. The green chakra is associated with feelings of love but when out of balance, love changes into jealousy. It is not a coincidence that people say ‘he is turning green with envy’ when one is out of balance with their heart.
Tapping into Green Energy
To awaken the gentle energy of the heart chakra, you can connect with the green colors that are found in the natural world. Simply by spending a short time in nature you will see many shades of green that are soothing to the eyes and the heart. There are even studies that show time in nature can reduce stress. Stress is commonly linked with heart problems, so by bathing in the forest you are helping to heal your heart as well as soak up the beauty and serenity.
Green Chakra Blockages and Imbalances – What to look out for in this energy center
A blocked heart chakra or overactive or underactive heart chakra, will produce physical, mental, emotional and energetic symptoms to let you know that something is out of balance.
Physical Imbalances of the Heart Chakra
On a physical level, the heart chakra is connected with the physical heart and also the lungs. It resides right in the center of your chest and is connected with the way you breath, your rib cage, and the upper middle spine. The thymus gland, located just above the heart and at the base of the throat is also connected in with the heart chakra. The thymus gland is responsible for controlling the immune system.
Chakra Test: Discover Your Strongest, and Weakest, Chakras
Take the free testIf the heart chakra is out of balance, physical symptoms such as heart pain, heart attack, rib pain, difficulties breathing fully into the lungs or an over or underactive immune system may occur. These manifestations need healing on a physical level, but also a deep investigation into what the heart chakra is holding onto.
Energetic Imbalances of the Heart Chakra
On an energetic level, heart chakra imbalances can lead to emotional pain, jealousy, difficulty creating or maintaining a loving relationship. A blocked green chakra will stop all love and energy from flowing, therefore slowly leading to lack of passion, joy and kindness.
You can often feel when someone has an open or closed heart chakra, as it will affect the way they hold themselves in the world. Someone with a hurt heart chakra may hunch over and cross their arms as a way of protecting their heart space.
How to create Harmony in the Heart Chakra
Here are some ideas to create a balanced green chakra:
Forest Bathing
Spend 20 to 30 mins in a natural environment each week to create regular connection with the living world. If you can, go bare foot and soak up negative ions to reduce stress.
Yoga poses for a balanced heart chakra
Ustrasana (Camel Pose)
This is a wonderful way to open your heart to the sky above and let the unconditional love flow through you.
Natarajasana (Dancer’s Pose)
This is another beautiful heart opening pose that also focuses on the balance between the earth and sky realms and holding yourself in your center.
Bhujangasana (Cobra pose)
This pose can be gentle or strong depending on how much you choose to open your spine and heart here. It is great for overall well being of the spine and for opening the body from the second chakra all the way through to the sixth chakra.
Chakrasana (Full Wheel)
This strong back-bend pose is known for opening the entire chakra system, and is beneficial for awakening the heart chakra energy.
Crystals for the Heart
Rose Quartz
The most commonly known crystal for heart chakra work has to be rose quartz. It’s beautiful pink hues radiate unconditional love. Hold it close to your heart in meditation, or wear it as a necklace to bring balance into the heart.
Other crystals for the heart charka:
Pink and green are the two most common colours for the heart. Here are some green colour crystals you can add to you life for balancing and healing your heart.
- Green calcite
- Green aventurine
- Jade
- Emerald
- Malachite
- Amazonite
- Apatite
Green for the Green Chakra
To have a balanced green chakra, you can start by wearing more green pieces of clothing. If you don’t own any big green statement pieces, you can always start with a green scarf or a new pair of green shoes.
As well as wearing green, you can also add energy to the green chakra by eating green foods. Try to include green apples, dark leafy greens, kiwi fruit, brocolli, zuchinni and avocado as the green color in these foods will create a balanced heart chakra energy.
Also for the green chakra, you can play with painting, drawing, or creating mandalas and murals from pieces of nature.
Self-Love Ritual for the Fourth Chakra:
For a wholesome heart healing, commit to a one week period where you want to focus on yourself and your heart chakra. Buy yourself a bunch of pink roses, take them home and place them in a spot where you will see them everyday.
Each day as you connect with your roses, speak out loud one to two positive affirmations that feel right for you. For example these could be:
- I am worthy of self-love and compassion
- I love myself unconditionally
After a week or two as the rose petals begin to dry out, pick the petals off and save them to dry. On a chosen night, run yourself a hot bath and throw the rose petals in. You will be bathing in the essence of your affirmations and self-love that you cultivated throughout the week.
If you would like to add a little extra scent to the bath, you can drop in a few essential oils.
Rose, geranium, ylang ylang and lavender are beautiful essential oil scents to start with!
Emotional Healing Through The Green Chakra
The heart chakra plays a role in shaping our emotional state. It’s not about loving others; it’s also about loving ourselves. When this chakra is in harmony, we feel a sense of tranquility and emotional wellness. However, when it is imbalanced, we may grapple with feelings of inadequacy, sorrow, or even bitterness.
To promote healing via the green chakra, it’s vital to cultivate self-compassion and forgiveness. This could involve dedicating time each day to reflect on our attributes or engaging in activities that nurture our hearts. Heart-focused meditation can be immensely beneficial, as can affirmations that reinforce self-love and self-acceptance.
Keep in mind that everyone’s journey, toward healing, is personal and distinct.
There isn’t a right or wrong approach; to this end, make sure the methods you select align with what feels right to you. When we focus on the chakra and how it impacts our well-being, we invite a better understanding of ourselves and build stronger emotional strength.
Exploring the Historical and Cultural Importance of the Color Green in Heart Chakra Practices
I’ve always been intrigued by the color green. It’s more than a hue; it embodies life, rejuvenation, and vitality.
Across cultures, green symbolizes nature’s heart. It signifies spring, representing renewal and flourishing. This aligns harmoniously with the heart chakra themes of love, healing, and equilibrium. In Egypt, green was linked to the heart. It was believed to possess potent healing properties. They adorned themselves with malachite, a gemstone for protection and well-being.
In tradition, green is associated with harmony, prosperity, and purity. These attributes are crucial for the heart chakra. The harmony it brings mirrors the function of the chakras in harmonizing our physical well-being. Prosperity extends beyond material wealth to encompass love and health—a heart chakra offers this abundance.
Interestingly, in societies, green can sometimes connote jealousy or envy—a contrast to the heart chakra core of unconditional love.
The heart chakra strives to find equilibrium, as having a deficiency of energy can trigger undesirable feelings such, as envy.
Exploring the cultural significance of the color green broadens our comprehension of the heart chakra. It goes beyond adorning ourselves with attire or being surrounded by green items. It involves establishing a bond with the nature of green found in both our surroundings and the human past. This profound link can elevate our heart chakra rituals, infusing them with significance and potency.
Pop quiz! 🧘🤔
The Heart Chakra is also known as the Anahata Chakra.
The color associated with the Heart Chakra is red.
Crystals like rose quartz can help in balancing the Heart Chakra.
Frequently Asked Questions:
How do I know if I have an imbalance in my heart chakra?
You will feel an imbalance in the way of:
lack of love in your life, or lack of love for yourself
jealousy toward other people
heart pain, difficulty breathing (make sure to seek medical advice for these symptoms)
emotional pain
inability to create or sustain loving and healthy relationships
How can I heal my heart chakra?
To bring the heart chakra back into balance, you can use a range of healing tools and techniques such as:
yoga poses- cobra pose, dancer’s pose, camel pose and full wheel
using specific crystals such as rose quartz, jade, emerald, malachite
Self-love rituals and positive affirmations for the heart
Wearing the colour green
Using mudras (hand gestures) for the chakras
Lighting a green candle
Chanting mantras