The Heart Chakra, the Breath & Learning to Open Again

Learning to Open Again

“Whatever we hold within the heart eventually speaks through the body.
The breath gently helps us soften, feel, and reconnect.” 🤍

This week in my yoga classes, we’re exploring the heart chakra, Anahata.

The centre connected to love, compassion, connection, forgiveness, grief, softness, and emotional openness.

The heart chakra lives within the chest, lungs, breath, and heart space.

And honestly, I think many of us move through life with guarded hearts without even realising it.

Not because we don’t want love or connection…….. but because life teaches us protection.

Disappointment.
Heartbreak.
Loss.
People pleasing.
Emotional overwhelm.
Feeling unseen.
The pressure to stay strong.

Over time, the body adapts to those experiences.

The chest tightens.
The shoulders curl inward.
The diaphragm becomes restricted.
The breath gets smaller.
The nervous system stays alert.

And slowly, we stop fully opening.

Sometimes emotionally.
Sometimes physically.
Sometimes both.

This is something I’ve experienced deeply myself.

Yoga was the doorway that first helped me reconnect with my body and breath.

And through breathwork, I began understanding how emotions and experiences can stay stored beneath the surface long after the moment has passed.

The body remembers.

Sometimes through tightness in the chest.
Sometimes through shallow breathing.
Sometimes through emotional numbness or difficulty receiving love, rest, softness, or connection.

The heart chakra is often described as the bridge between the lower and upper chakras.
Between survival and spirit.
Between fear and love.

When balanced, we may feel:
open,
grounded,
compassionate,
emotionally connected,
and able to give and receive without abandoning ourselves.

But when blocked, we may feel:
guarded,
emotionally shut down,
fearful of rejection,
resentful,
overly attached,
lonely,
or disconnected from ourselves and others.

And often the body feels this before the mind fully understands it.

This is where the breath becomes so powerful.

Because the breath directly affects the nervous system.

When we feel emotionally unsafe or overwhelmed, the breath naturally becomes shallow, fast, or restricted.

The body moves into protection.

But when we consciously deepen the breath…
expand the chest…
slow the exhale…
and soften the diaphragm…

the body begins receiving a different message.

A message of safety.

And slowly, the heart begins softening too.

Not because we force healing.

But because the body no longer feels it must stay guarded all the time.

a reminder that even after darkness, the heart still reaches for light.
A moment of softness, warmth, and reconnecting to what lives within us. 🤍

Ways to Support & Open the Heart Chakra 🤍

Something important I’ve learned is that opening the heart chakra is not about becoming emotionally exposed all the time.

It’s about creating enough safety within ourselves to stay connected.

Some gentle ways to support this centre are:

• slowing down enough to feel your emotions instead of constantly distracting yourself
• practising self-compassion instead of self-criticism
• allowing yourself to receive support
• spending time in nature and open air (the element of the heart chakra is air)
• moving the body through gentle heart-opening yoga postures
• placing awareness on the breath and chest space
• journaling emotions instead of suppressing them
• noticing where you are still holding grief, resentment, or emotional armour

And sometimes…… simply allowing yourself to cry, rest, or soften can already begin opening the heart.

A Gentle Breath Technique for the Heart Chakra

One of my favourite techniques to reconnect with the heart space is simple coherent breathing with heart awareness.

You can try this gently at home:

Place one hand on the chest and one hand on the belly.

Close the eyes softly.

Inhale slowly through the nose for 5 seconds.
Exhale slowly through the nose for 5 seconds.

Continue slowly.

As you breathe, imagine the breath moving in and out through the heart space.

Softening the chest.
Softening the jaw.
Softening the nervous system.

And gently ask yourself:

“What would it feel like to soften here?”

Not to force anything.
Not to fix anything.

Just to listen.

Even a few minutes of conscious breathing can begin shifting the body from contraction into openness.

This is why I believe yoga and breathwork complement each other so beautifully.

Yoga creates awareness through movement.
Breathwork creates awareness through breath.

And together, they help us reconnect with ourselves gently, slowly and honestly.

The heart chakra reminds us that healing is not about becoming harder.

It’s about learning how to stay open with wisdom.

How to feel deeply without losing ourselves.

How to soften without collapsing.

And maybe most importantly………. how to finally allow ourselves to exhale. 🤍

With love,
Mariannela
Shala Collective a place to exhale……