Somatic Heart Yoga

As an energy centre, the heart is about connection and relationship - within ourselves and the world around us. In this guided somatic yoga practice, you'll explore a series of gentle physical movements designed to bring space, freedom and movement to the physical heart space. By consciously, compassionately and non-judgementally opening both the front and back of the heart, you'll release the residual physical and energetic tensions that stem from our emotional lives. We do this with an understanding that these planes are just facets of our one system. This practice invites you to cultivate an attitude of unconditional warmth and welcome towards whatever arises in your body and experience.

Transcript

Here are a couple of suggestions for working with the heart or the heart area within our yoga practice. So let's start off sitting on the ground with the feet in front. And you can bring the hands around and orient your hand so that your fingertips are facing forwards. And then we'll lean back on the elbows a little bit on the hands and now bringing your mind to the center of your chest to the heart and imagining the heart reaching out into space reaching out to make connection because that's what the heart is all about connection and relationship reaching out into space and you can start to breathe in to the ribs nice deep breath in expanding your heart dropping your head back a little bit and really opening the front. Of the chest. The heart is reaching out into the world. To find a relationship. Nice deep breath in. And then we'll lift the wrists up off the ground just take a moment to stretch your fingers a bit and then bring the hands around so wrapping them around your lower legs let the head hang down so no forcing here just letting it hang And here you can think about the back of your heart space, The space in between the shoulder blades, The space around the upper and mid back opening up. And the heart is like moving backwards towards the spine, Finding a relationship. Out towards the back. Now when you've got lots of space, Movement, And freedom around the physical heart space, This allows space and movement and freedom around all aspects of the heart. Our emotional world, The tensions and tightnesses which come from different emotions we feel, And the relationships that we have, All benefit from when our physical body, Our energetic body, And our mental bodies, All have got lots of space, Movement, And freedom. So we can bring the feet over to the side here with the sole of the foot touching the top of your thigh starting a twist here hand on the floor behind looking over the shoulder and now with the other hand reaching up towards the ceiling Once you've found a comfortable level of twist now start to expand the chest again. So opening through the ribs your heart is reaching forwards now with your hand in the air we could just bend the elbow a little bit and you could feel like from the heart to the armpit and the shoulder and all up the arm into the fingers is helping that level of expansion and reach so there's almost like a hint of a back bend coming here but it's not a back bend it's a front lengthening it's a heart opening it's a reach out into the world a finding of relationship not just to the world but within yourself too so when the heart is finding relationship that includes ourselves and our whole body and that relationship to ourselves is critical in our yoga practice. It must be one of non-criticism and non-judgment. Kindness, A welcome, An attitude of welcome to whatever might be in our body, Whatever it might be in our experience. This is a heart yoga. Then when you're ready you can switch the legs over and twist and expand on the other side.