This is the time of year which always brings me back to the concept of the heart. The brilliance of Anahata (our heart center and 4th Chakra) and all that it means to be human. It is a time of year where everyone seems to see others and have an innate need to be nicer, more giving, more compassionate. When we love someone, we want to be near them—to give gifts, share experiences, and receive the other’s love. Out of love, we offer support during periods of illness, and encouragement during challenging times. We do not hurt or harm those we love. Love unites us. Giving, receiving, sharing, and uniting are love’s way. They are blossoms that bloom wherever love grows. With love in our heart it is possible to see beyond the faults and judgments which often color our relationships with others and with ourselves.
This past weekend we had one of our Advanced Studies & Vinyasa Flow Teacher Training sessions. Our focus for the December weekend is on the space of the heart and back bending. These students are reading The Living Gita which contains a section where Krishna comforts and advises his troubled disciple Arjuna by telling him about three paths. Each, he says, is a kind of yoga—a way to live in the world and at the same time maintain inner peace. They are the path of action (Karma yoga), the path of devotion (Bhatki yoga), and the path of knowledge (Jnana yoga). Karma yoga, he says, is the ability to conscientiously evaluate one’s motivation, to act with skill and determination, and yet not be attached to the outcome of the action. Bhatki yoga’s path is about uplifting human hearts. On the path of bhakti yoga, help is proffered and spirits are healed through love—through the soul’s love for that which is eternal, and through the love of the eternal for each soul. For some, its appeal stems from an inherent attraction to God. For others, gratitude toward yoga matures into love and respect for a teacher, for a system of practice, or for the natural universe and invites deeper introspection as to who/what God is.
One of my very first yoga teachers taught me the name Krishna is derived from the Sanskrit verb root krsh, which means “to draw or pull in, to draw to one’s self.” The idea of Krishna is not merely an embodied teacher, but an indwelling force that is constantly calling to us, drawing us to our self. Like a flower whose form and color attracts wandering bees, the concept of Krishna is the voice of beauty and truth within us—drawing us inward to drink from our own being. The call of the self is to know the Self. It is our soul calling to us and beckoning us to come home. It is a call issued by one’s heart—a call that clears away fears and past faults. In yogic terms, Krishna’s voice is the voice of love, truth, and self-acceptance, flowing through one’s own God-given soul. We are called to come home to our soul, to take the time to delve inward and make this most fantastical journey through the veiled layers (koshas) that cover our soul.
Did you know the heart is the most powerful source of electromagnetic energy in the human body, producing the largest rhythmic electromagnetic field of any of the body's organs? Well it is!!! The heart's electrical field is about 60 times greater in amplitude than the electrical activity generated by the brain!!! I don’t know about you, but when I learned this my mind was blown. Science has also found there is a direct relationship between the heart-rhythm patterns and the spectral information encoded in the frequency spectra of the magnetic field radiated by the heart. Thus, information about a person’s emotional state is encoded in the heart’s magnetic field and is communicated throughout the body and into the external environment. How cool is this??!! Again, my mind is blown.
The interaction between two human beings is a very sophisticated dance that involves many subtle factors. Most of us tend to think of communication solely in terms of overt signals expressed through facial movements, voice qualities, gestures and body movements. However, scientific evidence now supports the perspective that a subtle yet influential electromagnetic or "energetic" communication system operates just below our conscious level of awareness.
The ability to sense what other people are feeling is an important factor in allowing us to connect, or communicate effectively with them. The smoothness or flow in any social interaction depends to a great extent on the establishment of a spontaneous linkage between individuals. When people are engaged in deep conversation, they begin to fall into a subtle dance, synchronizing their movements and postures, vocal pitch, speaking rates and length of pauses between responses, and, as science is now proving (but many of us are already very aware), important aspects of their physiology also can become linked and synchronized. Tah-dah! It is always fun when science can show what we can feel and know within us to be true 😊 Okay….back to the yoga…..
Aside from the electromagnetic energies, we have the subtle body energies. This mixture of energies within our heart can be confusing. Some are fancies of the moment. Many express desires, habits, and attachments that condition the way we act. Some are attempts of the ego to secure itself. And still others reflect spiritual experience and aspirations. As we sort through these various energies, it is not always easy to know the difference between truth and attachment, between devotion and dependence. Our biggest problem here is our habit of projecting energy outward with an expectation of outcome which usually leads to great disappointment. Alternatively, if we cultivate love, not for what the world sees as glorious, but for the flower of life blossoming in us—then our devotion will surely bear fruit. In many areas of the world people greet one another by bowing their heads and bringing the palms of their hands together at their heart. Similarly, in the West, a sign of prayer is to lower the head and join the palms at the chest. These gestures reflect the belief that it is the heart, not the mind or ego, in which we see ourselves most truly.
To go a step deeper, in the Yoga Sutras, a silent dimension of the mind exists, called the buddhi, that brings the energy of the heart to awareness. In fact, in a sense, the buddhi consists of heart energy. When we have awakened it by quieting our senses and lower mind through prayer or meditation, we feel the various forces of life, including our own desires and emotions, moving within. And if we are very still, we will sense the presence of that which is eternal among those forces.
When we take the time and commit to peeling away our veiled layers, we uncover a genuine love and acceptance for all that we are…..the mess….the beauty of our being….of our life….of our history….of our path. We begin to see others as souls on the same journey, yet on a very individual road and we can offer compassion and empathy to them. One of my favorite yoga teachers once told me we can only be said to be alive in those moments when our hearts are conscious of our treasures. He also told me gratitude is the heart’s memory. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “Occasionally in life there are those moments of unutterable fulfillment which cannot be completely explained by those symbols called words. Their meaning can only be articulated by the inaudible language of the heart.”
'Tis the season…..
Let’s get to it. Your heart awaits you to discover its brilliance.
Peace and whole lot of Merry….
Merry Christmas.
Onward and upward.
Trish
