Hear your heart !
The Vedic sciences of Ayurveda, Yoga, and Tantra all view the heart as an important hub in the body, where a diverse range of physical and energetic pathways intersect.
The heart is also the primary emotional center—with a particular affinity for feelings of love, empathy, loneliness, grief, and sadness.
In recent years, scientific research too has discovered that it’s not just our brain that controls us, the gut and the heart are much more influential on our being than previously thought, just like a second brain the heart communicates with the rest of the body and brain via hormones, nervous system and electromagnetic field.
The Heart involves all 3 doshas:
Kapha - the principle of stability - which is responsible for the structure of the heart and blood, and the strength of the heart.
Vata - the principle of motion - which governs the beating of the heart, initiates the electric impulse to contract the heart, and the circulation of blood.
Pitta - the principle of transformation - which is responsible for the purification of the blood, and for the digestion of emotions felt in the heart.
Know your food, spices & herbs that promote heart health !
Beetroots & Blueberries
Beetroots - for me, nothing beats a sweet blood red beet to bring vibrancy to your plate & palate! Their sweetness will pacify those with excess Vata or Pitta. Too earthy for Kapha.
Blueberries - they significantly lower blood pressure and improve arterial elasticity.
Cinnamon & Roses
Cinnamon Ceylon - a powerful blood tonic that Vata and Kapha can benefit from. Too hot and pungent for Pitta.
Roses - it's not a coincidence that the rose is associated with romance :) It is particularly cooling for Sadhaka Pitta - the subdosha of Pitta residing in the heart.
Arjuna & Hawthorn Berry
Arjuna - Ayurveda’s foremost rejuvenative for the heart, traditionally used to support healthy cardiac function while also imparting courage and emotional fortitude
Hawthorn Berry – balances mostly Vata and therefore helpful in heart weakness, arteriosclerosis, valve weakness, hypertension, palpitations, and act as a vasodilator.
Hrid Basti: Love your heart
Hrid means heart and basti means retaining something inside or to bathe.
This therapy is the process of continuously bathing the heart region with warm medicated oil & decoctions.
Organic flour is used to create a reservoir that is placed over the sternum. Warm, medicated, herbal oils are poured inside the reservoir, concentrating the healing benefits of the oil where you need it most. At the end of the procedure, the dough is removed; a gentle massage is given over the area. The person is made to rest for a while.
Sankalpa: Finding Your Heart’s Desire!
“Be silent, hide away and let
your thoughts and longings rise and set
in the deep places of your heart.
Let dreams move silently as stars,
in wonder more than you can tell.
Let them fulfill you – and be still.”
Last month, in the yoga lineage I honor and share - i.e. Jivamukti Yoga - we studied the Sanskrit term : Sankalpa, also known as intention.
Sankalpa literally means a vow to your highest truth and a stretch towards that which you are longing for. The yoga tradition offers a way to access the heart’s wisdom to bring about your heartfelt desires, and therefore your Sankalpa. Yoga offers a process of deep listening. It takes patience to sit and wait for your intention / sankalpa to naturally arise and not to impose this on yourself with your conscious mind.
How do you nurture your heart ?
Contact me for personalized guidance.