With Valentines Day on February 14^th, it’s no wonder that folks have “heart” on their minds. Heart, Love, Passion. No coincidence that the Heart and Stroke Foundation chose February for its main funding drive – everywhere you look, there is something that reminds us of the Heart.  We speak of “Heart” as a physical and/or emotional entity, but there is another way to look at it: as an Energetic entity, too.  The Heart is all these things!

The physical aspects of the Heart and its functions are straight forward.  The heart is made up of a specialized muscle called the cardiac muscle.  It beats every day from early on in the womb until the moment we die. It is akin to a pump, as it “pumps” blood through the lungs and body (via arterial and pulmonary circulation systems) so that nutrients and oxygen are sent to every cell in the body.  Then, it accepts the blood back via the venous circulatory system to start over again.  The four chambers in the heart must fill with blood and move it through with steady rate and rhythm.  If the blood stays still too long, it will clot – a good thing if it is on the outside of our bodies (think scabs), but not so great if it is inside. If blood moves too fast, it won’t have time to move through each heart chamber and lungs to oxygenate and then move into the body. If the heart rate is too fast, as in fibrillation attacks, the heart shakes like jelly and moves blood nowhere!  This can’t last for long, as the brain and other vital organs need a steady supply of blood in order to remain healthy and functioning.

The Heart can be described mechanically (ie. the pump), electrically (rate and rhythm), and physically as part of the body’s circulatory system. Any issue in any of these areas can spell disaster.  Luckily, there are ways and means of fixing and supporting most of these issues. Things like valve replacements, stents, angioplasty and ablation techniques can help with physical issues.  Electrical issues can be helped with pacemakers, ICD’s and cardioversion zaps to the heart, or medications to normalize the rate and rhythm of the heart beat.  Circulatory supports come in the form of helping the quality of the blood in the body and the blood pressure in the circulatory system. Often, medications are used to achieve these things. Anticoagulants (ie. blood thinners) reduce clotting time, blood pressure medications keep a normal pressure in the system to prevent a hemorrhage (ie a blow-out) or fainting (ie. a collapse), and iron supplements help improve anemia which then increases the ability of the red blood cells to carry oxygen throughout the body.

What about the other Heart qualities?  Emotional Heart and Energetic Heart are not always acknowledged, yet they are as vital for our health and happiness.  To help understand these qualities, it is useful to use the model of the Heart Chakra energy centre.

In Ayurvedic teachings, the Heart Chakra is a vortex of universal energy influencing the mid-chest area.  It is not physical in nature, yet it has a profound influence on the physical, emotional and energetic health and wellness of the Heart.  Let’s look at some of the information we have about this Chakra.

The Heart Chakra sits in the middle of the seven major chakras – it is the balancing point. This chakra’s basic issue is To Love, so opportunities to give and receive love help it to thrive.  Love and Compassion are cornerstones of its presentation. In archetypal language, the Heart Chakra represents The Healer. The qualities assigned to the Heart Chakra include: unconditional/divine love and harmony; forgiveness; healing; compassion; understanding; transformation; warmth; sharing; sincerity; devotion and selflessness.

It is said that the energy of Love from the Heart Chakra is transmitted through the hands. There are many ways that Love is shown through the hands: holding someone, wiping a tear away, cooking and feeding others, playing together, creating art, music or literature that one truly enjoys, holding hands in prayer or meditation, offering energy healing and care, building a home, garden or family.  These are but a few ways to express Love.

The Shadow side of the Heart Chakra deals with Grief and Sorrow.  When overwhelmed with these emotions, it is difficult for the person to give and receive love.  Many folks find grief overwhelming – and shut down.  The emotional pain is too much.  How we have handled past losses in our lives influences how we handle current grief and sorrow. Knowing that the balanced heart gives and receives love indicates that in order to go beyond our grief, we must find ways to come back to Love.  For ourselves and for others.  For our Heart.

To delight the Heart Chakra, the colour Green is used for balancing, harmonizing, renewal, restoring peace and allowing release of pent-up emotions. For supporting its functions of Love and Compassion, the colour Pink is used. The complementary colour is Magenta which helps dealing with emotions and spirit.  Magenta is formed by the Red of the Root Chakra and Violet of the Crown Chakra meeting at the Zeal Point at the back/base of the skull. Remember: the Heart Chakra is the middle point of the major chakras, which explains why Magenta is a great colour to complement it..

On a more physical level, the Heart Chakra is associated with the heart, blood circulation, immune system (think Thymus gland in the chest), lower lungs, rib cage, skin, upper back and hands. Those who do energy healing work understand that the emotional energy from the Heart Chakra can be directed to a client through their hands. They can feel it and so can their clients.  People know when they are being truly cared for in a loving manner and when they are being cared for in a robotic or matter-of-fact manner.  “Coming from the Heart” is true!

To help our Hearts with staying open and our plans flowing along with grace and clarity, Robbi Zeck ND, has suggested some things to try.  These are taken from her book, “The Blossoming Heart”:Create beauty in the environment in which you 

• Create beauty in the environment in which you live
• Say something positive or smile to at least one person each day
• Do what you love and Love what you do
• Clear out your clutter
• Recognize your gifts and talents
• Make time to be quiet and still
• Every evening before sleeping, acknowledge all that you are grateful for
• Every morning on waking, say thank-you for another day of living and loving
• Play, have fun, laugh
• Celebrate your wins, big or small
• Show the people you love, your love
• Open yourself to love and the sensations of beauty within yo

May your Heart, Mind and Soul find love and beauty in your world every day.