Heart Chakra

What the heart chakra governs

In the middle of the chest at heart level, the heart chakra is associated with health matters such as heart complaints, asthma and weight problems. But blockages and imbalances in this chakra generally show in a person's behaviour. Sitting at the very centre of the seven main chakras, the heart chakra acts as a bridge between all the chakras above and below it. Because it stands for the love, compassion and connection we feel towards other people, trouble in its working can bring feelings of loneliness, insecurity and isolation. It sits in the middle of the breastbone and is linked to the air element; it is connected to the skin. Running, hunting and the use of strength are represented by air. The air element's quality is movement and its nature is to create flow. It vibrates in green. This chakra is linked to the planet Venus and to the signs Libra and Taurus; its yantra is a hexagon and the principle it stands for is balance. Through it the three lower physical centres join the three upper spiritual ones. A person at this level has got past the anxieties of the lower centres: the root chakra's urge for security, the sacral chakra's desires and the solar plexus's appetite for power. When it is blocked, a person becomes cold, indifferent and unloving.

Signs it is out of balance

It can make us feel lonely, insecure and isolated; we can run into relationship trouble and make the wrong choices. Physically the classic complaints are: heart complaints, asthma and weight problems.

Working with it

The traditional approach combines posture work, breathing, meditation and stones: rose quartz and lapis are the crystals most often used for the heart chakra. None of this replaces medical treatment - it sits alongside it.