We’ve been opening our hearts in yoga this week.
Yoga philosophy views the heart centre as the bridge between basic physical desires and higher spiritual wisdom.
We breathe into the heart, we meditate from the heart, and we connect to others through our hearts.
Your heart produces a magnetic field which can extend from one to three metres away from you.
The magnetic component of the heart’s field is about 100 times stronger than the magnetic field produced by the brain.
Many research groups like the HeartMath Institute, talk about the Heart-Brain – the 40,000 sensory neurons in your heart that communicate extensively with your brain.
One of our goals in yoga is to attain heart coherence.
Heart coherence is a synchronized, harmonious state involving the heart, brain, and your autonomic nervous system.
Positive feelings like love, gratitude, and appreciation create a smooth, orderly, and coherent heart rhythm pattern.
In contrast, stress, frustration, and anger produce erratic, jagged heart rhythms.
Most interesting of all, is the influence one person in a heart coherent state can have on the people, animals and the environment around them.
This is often referred to as social coherence – a synchronised state of physiological and emotional alignment where people tune into each other’s energetic and heart rhythms through care, empathy, and focused attention.
In yoga class, we cultivate individual and social heart coherence.
Believing that each yoga class can positively influence the collective emotional field of humanity and the environment through heart coherence.
