Hands of Love and Light: Activating the Heart Chakra

"The hands of those I meet are dumbly eloquent to me. The touch of some hands is an impertinence. I have met people so empty of joy, that when I clasped their frosty fingertips, it seems as if I were shaking hands with a northeast storm. Others there are whose hands have sunbeams in them, so that their grasp warms my heart."

                        —Helen Keller from THE STORY OF MY LIFE

Helen Keller, blind and deaf, experienced life through her hands, her sense of touch. Visualize yourself living in such a way, relying on your hands, your sense of touch to explore life.

Take a few moments to close your eyes and imagine this life. Imagine knowing your children by the feel of their bodies. See yourself greeting a long-lost friend without sight or hearing. Visualize yourself in a kitchen chopping vegetables for a salad. Think about reading, feeling the words rise up from the page. Imagine meeting someone for the first time and only knowing them by their handshake. Now, look at your hands. A simple truth of your life is that you do know your children by touch. Consider how your hand automatically reaches toward the forehead of a pale, listless child to check for fever or how you reach out with open arms to welcome a friend to your home. Think about how your hands almost miraculously prepare dinner as you mull over the day’s events, talk on the phone or listen to the radio. As you read, sense how your hands cradle the book, offering the words to your eyes. Perhaps Helen’s words about hands brought memories to mind, of handshakes that were frosty and of others that warmed the heart. Now take a moment to consider how the actions of the hands might connect to the feelings in the heart.

In yogic philosophy, the “feelings of the heart“ reside in the “Anahata Chakra.” “Chakra” is the Sanskrit word for “wheel” and refers to the seven spinning energetic vortexes that form a vertical column along the path of the spine and radiate within the body. Each chakra radiates a unique energy or quality that is essential to your whole being – body, mind and spirit. The fourth Chakra, Anahata, is the vibrational essence of your true self – authentic and surrounded by unconditional love and support. The green, vibrant light of Anahata resides in the heart and lungs. Your blood returns to this center to receive “prana” (breath, nourishment, energy) and then circulates this prana force through the body, mind and spirit.

The task of Anahata is to integrate and balance the various aspects of our being, to create a sense of wholeness where spirit and matter are energetically balanced. Love and energy flow into this chakra physically and emotionally, nourish us, and then radiate from this center, spiraling through our body and mind, then out into the world. The love we graciously receive ultimately illuminates all of life.

You may gain a deeper awareness of the connection between your heart chakra and your hands through a simple meditative practice. Sit comfortably and take a few deep steady breaths. Place the palms of your hands upon your chest. Inhale deeply, feel the chest rise and nourish a sense of love and receptivity. Exale, open the hands gently away from the body as if making an offering. Feel the sense of love flowing out from the core of your being. Let your hands and breathing unite in this meditative movement. Notice the growing sense of spaciousness in your heart. Notice the energetic sensation in your hands.

Our hands are the active presence of our heart in the world. Take some time to consider all that your hands accomplish during the course of the day. Consider how much effort you expend telling your hands what to do, controlling the actions of the hands with your mind.

Begin a short practice to link hands to heart in everyday life. Create an intention to pause before beginning a task. Pause before preparing a meal, before folding laundry, before starting work, before answering the telephone. Pause, breathe and vigorously rub the palms of your hands together. Feel the connection between hands and heart. Let go of doing, of controlling. Move into a state of being at ease with the flow of your life. Then move to the task at hand. Notice what happens.

While we often think of yoga as the practice of postures on a mat, sometimes our most powerful practices lie off the mat, in the opportunities presented by everyday life. The practice of yoga is the practice of being present for our lives, moment by moment.

We activate the heart chakra by connecting action and thought with our authentic presence. This activation is like turning on a light in a darkened room. Hands, head and heart work in unity and whatever is happening is a moment of true giving, true receiving. Through these simple practices love moves from an emotional feeling to a vital, energetic presence where every action of the hands is a tangible expression of loving-kindness. May there be such a love in our hearts, in our lives, and in the world.

This article first appeared in Healing Springs Journal. For more information on this publication, please link to: http://www.healingspringsjournal.com/.