Take Heart
Right now we are all familiar with some version of common refrains making the rounds in both public and private spheres.
“This has been a tough year.”
“I’m so ready for this year to be over!”
“Everyone is totally exhausted.”
There is no denying the unprecedented amount of loss, hardship and heartache that’s occurred this year due to the COVID pandemic and social upheavals. There is real pain. It is seen. It is felt.
It’s what we do with that pain and how we care for the pain that determines whether or not it has staying power.
Care for it patiently and with intention, and we can experience some healing and grace. Repress it, ignore it or act out in rebellion against it and the pain is likely to increase and throw life off course.
CARING FOR OUR HURTS
Take heart and set an intention to engage in practices that acknowledge, hold and create space around emotional pains and negative thought patterns.
In his book, True Love: A Practice for Awakening the Heart, Thich Nhat Hanh writes about caring for pain with the energy of mindfulness. “When you have a pain within you, the first thing to do is to bring the energy of mindfulness to embrace the pain. ‘I know that you are there, little anger, my old friend. Breathe-I am taking care of you now’” (57; ch. 10). He goes on to say this can be done at any time and done in sitting meditation, walking or lying down.
I love the word “embrace.” This word is centuries old and has French, Latin and Greek origins. From the French Embrasser, meaning “clasp in the arms, handle, cope with.” The word’s immediate definition is “to hold closely.” A secondary meaning is “to accept.” And most interestingly, a third meaning, “to include as a constituent part.”
So, in other words, really take in these pains, transform and allow them to dissolve into the bigger picture of yourself.
POWER OF THE HEART
Caring for your heart and emotions is real, important and practical. Emotional health affects us on an energetic level and impacts overall vitality. The heart, of course, is a vital organ helping to circulate blood through the body. It also has energetic effects beyond that role.
The heart generates a field of electromagnetic energy which extends out around us several feet. Its rhythms and fields are known to interact with people and the environment. This field encompasses us all the time.
The heart is powerful, creating a magnetic field 100 times greater and an electrical field 60 times greater than the brain.
HEALING HEART MUDRA
In addition to embracing our pain through mindfulness, there are other tools as well. One such tool is “healing heart mudra.” I learned this from yoga teacher Melinda Madhuri Matzell during her Chakra Energetics workshop at Kripalu this January.
What is a mudra? My definition is that a mudra is a physical gesture which conducts energy. This particular gesture conducts energy to and from the heart. I have practiced the mudra at the beginning as a way to center and set intention. I have practiced at the close of asana practice, or on its own. I have found the practice to be a great resource- soothing, inspiring, steadying and uplifting.
PRACTICE:
Sit comfortably on a cushion, bolster or chair with straight back. Cover your heartspace with your left hand, elbow parallel to ground. Hold your right arm out to side, make a gentle fist, with index finger pointing up. Breathe your natural breath, gradually deepening and with steady pace that feels nourishing to you.
This practice can be done with eyes open or closed. Engage in the practice until it feels complete to you.
The left hand placed over the heart is like saying, “I am here for you.” The right arm and hand acts like an antenna open and receptive to loving, life-force energies.
INTEGRATE
Mindfulness and literally holding your heart sets a powerful precedence for loving-kindness and self-care. Little by little, devoting time to these practices cultivates a steady and resilient path for the mind, body and spirit. The tools are there for you to use and intervene. You are equipped to embrace your hurts.
-Namaste-