The Fourth Chakra is sometimes called the Heart Chakra. It is located along your spine right in the center of your chest next to your physical heart. It deals with issues of love, compassion and belonging and is weakened by all forms of grief, clinging and loneliness. Physically, it supports your heart, lungs, upper torso, shoulders, arms and hands.
The Fourth Chakra lies directly in the middle position of the seven-chakra ladder with three below and three above. The three lower chakras are sometimes called the body chakras, and the three upper chakras are sometimes called the mind chakras. The heart chakra is what links body and mind together. It facilitates the balance of emotion with logic and the real with the ideal.
Five Signs Your Fourth Chakra is Weak
1. You are often guarded and closed and never or rarely allow yourself to open up to others and be authentic for fear of being hurt or rejected.
2. You are unable to let a situation rest because it didn’t go your way, until you have assigned fault to all you see as responsible. You assign negative motive to everyone whose actions impact you, judging their actions as intentional.
3. Your relationships are characterized by your tendency to be clingy and needy, anxious that your partner doesn’t need you as much as you need them.
4. Your expressions of love for another person are conditioned upon them conforming to your expectations of how they should be. As long as they do, all is well. As soon as they don’t, you get upset or offended and react with aggressive or passive aggressive moves to try to manipulate them back into behaving conforming to your expectations. You see a need to try to fix other people and often try to do so.
5. You experience any of the following physical symptoms on a frequent or chronic basis: heart disorders, chest pain, asthma, allergies, pneumonia, bronchitis, emphysema, breast lumps/cysts, circulation problems, tension/pain between the shoulder blades, shoulder, arm or hand problems or carpal tunnel.
Five Things You Can Do To Strengthen Your Fourth Chakra
1. Reflection
Reflect to see if you have what I call the Jonah syndrome which is that attitude of “mercy for me, justice for you.” This refers to the story of Jonah who ran away from his responsibility and ended up being swallowed by a whale. He prayed for mercy and was given a second chance. Then after the people of Tarsus changed their ways and were not destroyed, Jonah was angry at God for not punishing them. Desire mercy for all, including yourself.
2. Redefinition
Turn an annoyance into a reminder of privilege. For example, a messy home that was just cleaned yesterday can be seen as a visible sign of how privileged you are to have kids at home who make messes, instead of an annoyance. Or maybe you get annoyed by a spouse who squeezes the toothpaste tube in the middle or leaves the toilet seat up. Next time you get annoyed, catch yourself and see it as a reminder of how privileged you are to have them in your life. Anything that annoys you can be the trigger for gratitude and love. This is true alchemy, the turning of the base into the precious.
3. Sound Vibration
Intone the “ay” vowel sound using the word “raise” and feel the vibration in your heart chakra as you hold out the “ay” sound and imagine a bright green light radiating from your heart chakra and sending healing and balancing energy to your lungs, heart, upper torso, arms and hands. The word raise also has meaning related to the heart chakra. Think of raising your sights beyond outside appearances to the deeper potential within all, including you.
4. Chakra Breath
Do the “Ten/Ten/Ten Breath.” Inhale slowly and deeply for a count of ten, then hold the breath in for a count of ten and then slowly exhale for a count of ten. Repeat for as many cycles as you want. This is a balancing breath that helps restore balance of body and mind.
