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February 5, 2022

My Favorite Heart-Opening Yoga Pose to Let in (more) Love.

I am a sucker for love.

And ’tis the season of love. Right? (I’m partially joking because love is always. It’s not just one season or month or day.)

But, still, love is more heavily on our minds and our hearts and some of us are still wondering where the heck it is. (Spoiler alert: you are love and until you realize that, you’re probably not gonna find it—sorry, not sorry.)

Alright, I better expand on that a bit. I’m not saying that “you can’t love another until you love yourself.” Nah, I don’t believe that. I’m saying that we need to start realizing that love is not a finite source or something we find. It’s something we are and it’s something we do. And if we go into the world searching for love with the belief that we are not love, how will we ever be able to receive it when (consciously or unconsciously) we believe we can’t give it (because we don’t have it)?

My love, we do. We have it. And we have an infinite amount of it because we are it. But I understand what it feels like to not feel like love—to feel lonely, to feel broken and depleted, to feel hopeless. It happens. We all feel these ways sometimes and that’s normal and beautiful and a part of life. But let’s not forget the tools we have. And personally, my favorite tool to get myself out of that nasty rut and into a mindset of abundance is my body.

Our bodies are incredible, magical, powerful tools. And we always have access to tap into the essence of our gorgeous, full-of-love selves. And, of course, the energy of love lies largely in our hearts. So, how exactly do we tap into the energy of our hearts through the body? We open. We open our big, beautiful, tender hearts to the world by physically opening the front of the chest.

In yoga, there are many different heart-opening poses. Some of my personal favorites are puppy pose, wild thing, or cobra. But they’re not necessarily easy. In fact, I wouldn’t consider any heart-opening poses to be easy because opening can be vulnerable. And no single pose is easier than another—it’s all extremely subjective.

But if you’re looking to open your heart and invite more love into your life in a way that doesn’t require much doing, then this is the pose for you:

Savasana.

Wait, what? Savasana?

Yes, but here’s the kicker: it’s not just savasana. It’s an open-hearted variation of savasana and it’s the tastiest and most delicious pose of them all. (And I don’t say that lightly.) Okay, yeah, yoga is subjective (I forgot), but for real, this is my go-to pose whenever I feel all the feelings (or just one of the feelings or a few of the feelings) and I need to tap into my true essence—love.

Here’s how to get into the pose.

1. Make sure you have some sort of prop to place beneath the back of your chest. I personally like to use two blocks, but you can also use a bolster, a rolled-up blanket, or even some books. Get creative.

2. If you are using two blocks, place one block on the medium level (or whatever level you prefer) near the center of your mat and then place the other block on its highest level (or, again, whatever you prefer) a few inches above the other block. When you lay back onto your blocks, make sure the lower block rests right betweeen your shoulder blades and the higher block is used as rest for your head. If you are using a bolster or a blanket, prop them up on some books or blocks to make sure the bolster or rolled-up blanket is placed on an angle.

3. With legs long, lie back on your props, place your arms by your sides (or over your head), and breathe—and open and feel and breathe some more.

Here are just a few of the benefits of heart-openers:

>> Increases openness to love.

>> Decreases feelings of aloneness.

>> Cleanses our emotions.

>> Improved heart health.

>> Boosts self-confidence.

>> Improves posture.

>> Reduces stress and anxiety.

>> Provides relief from depression.

As a reminder: It’s okay if opening your heart doesn’t make you feel good right away. It’s okay if it makes you feel more sad. It’s okay if it feels vulnerable and hard.

But remember, all the feelings we feel arise for a reason. And they’re called “feelings” because they’re meant to be felt. If opening your heart makes you feel more sad, then guess what? It’s working. You’re allowing yourself to open up to the feelings you were probably shoving deep down into your heart to close them away.

But as soon as we allow ourselves to feel those feelings we refused to feel, we can begin to let them go and truly make the space for more love.

But, my love, love was there all along. And always will be.

 

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