The heart chakra out of all the chakras does hold the answer to solving a lot of problems within ourselves. And it’s also the area that can alleviate the effects of triggers because a lot of our problems lie within how and what we think of ourselves.
When we have a poor or harshly judgmental self-image, or we have been bullied, mistreated, or lost everything, the only solution I believe is:
Self-love.
When talking about self-love, the chakra this is associated with is the heart.
Why is healing the heart chakra a solution to dealing with triggers?
All of our chakras have a role to play in alleviating pain and bringing us back into alignment.
But, I find that a lot of our conditioning and self-inflicted wounds are caused by a poor self-image.
Our self-image is derived from how and what we think of ourselves – how we perceive ourselves with others and what we expect of ourselves. As you know, we are naturally hard on ourselves. It’s intuitive.
Expectations are a tricky thing
We’re also quick to complain that others are expecting too much of us and we often downplay or suppress the pressure we put on ourselves to perform, reach, achieve, accumulate, or solve something.
High, challenging, or impossible expectations are a factor that influences our self-image. It instills in us to have a competitive relationship with our inner voice, which in this context manifests as our inner critic.
That inner critic is the one that confirms whether we’re a coward for not living up to those expectations or a winner when we do.
Being separate from yourself
I have found in my experience that when triggers happen, or even panic attacks, they can sometimes be inflamed or amplified based on how I’m feeling about myself.
In your case, You may not even be aware that you’re feeling good or bad about yourself. You may not even be aware that you like or don’t like yourself at that moment.
When this happens, the reason might be that you’re not present at the moment to acknowledge it. It’s like you’re disconnected from yourself or in denial.
Loving yourself more
It may sound corny to some, but I find the best way to come back to a good place – when someone or something triggers you, or you’re triggering yourself with rumination- is this:
Say to yourself
- “I value myself”
- “I am grateful for everything I have”
- “I return to me. Always”
- “I am already enough”
- “I choose HAPPY”
These mantras work to support the heart chakra.
You need to remind yourself when all else fails – because triggers can be powerful on some days – that:
- you love yourself
- you respect yourself
- nothing can touch you
- that you trust yourself
Know that self-love is your protector.
TIP Asking yourself “Do I trust myself?” and replying “Yes, I trust myself”, can be very empowering. This is a great mantra to practice when you are in doubt or when you are facing a competitive FOMO (fear of missing out) trigger. I’ve found this to work well with FOMO when it comes to impulsive spending
You do need to talk yourself up to yourself. Muster the courage to do it.
The healing energy of natural, energy Crystals
What crystals to carry with you during the day, to support your heart chakra:
Rose Quartz
This is a beautiful light pink crystal. It is so feminine and truly my favorite. For me, it is the color of romance. Girlish and pretty, I find it comforting, as it connects me to my inner girl-child. It does make me feel loved and cared for, especially on extra sensitive days.
Green Aventurine
This is a very ‘lucky’ crystal that is light, blue-green. Green is a soothing color that….
Malachite
This emerald green crystal has beautiful dark green, rhythmic wavy lines running through it as though it’s washing through the grain of the stone. It does resemble elegant, waves. It is a stone associated with wealth and the heart and is known to heal by supporting the release of anger and strife – all connected to what we might hold in the heart.
I recommend you wear them as crystal bracelets. You can get some beautiful, chic, and delicate ones like these.
Wear them on your left arm – the powerful, beautiful, healing qualities are drawn in through your left hand.
TIP If you want to send or give out this energy to the world, wear it on your right arm.
Crystals are a beautiful and subtle way of holding these energies close to you when you’re unable to burn incense, or sage, or meditate to clear your energies, align your chakras, or return to the center.
It can help you at work or generally when you’re outside of your home and away from your protective space.
How to eat for your heart chakra
Whether you are experiencing a trigger, dealing with the aftermath of a panic, or keeping your mental health in check, it is good to be aware of how your diet affects your mental health.
While there are many approaches to this and we’ll get into that in another article, it can be a delightful and self-soothing approach to ‘eat for your chakras’.
I take the art of healing and aligning the chakras quite seriously but, there’s always room for levity…in a supportive way of course.
Thinking of food and the different colors of different foods can be inspiring and uplifting.
So, I encourage you to indulge in as many things that bring you ‘up’ and fill you with joy and a feeling of being enriched.
And if you love food as much as I do, then eating for your chakras will inspire you to get cooking and search for recipes that will be a delight for your senses as well as support the energies of your healing centers.
For your heart chakra, I recommend you eat foods that are pink, light green, or deep green.
The foods listed below are delectable and have so many nutritionally healing qualities too.
Foods for healing the heart chakra:
- Kale
- Celery
- Avocado
- Peas
- Mint
Recipes for healing the heart chakra:
- Green Superfood Smoothie
- Green Goddess Salad
- Kale and Avocado Smoothie
- Green Kale Pepper Pesto
- Green Pea Fritters
Journalling for healing the heart chakra
I cannot overstate the value of journalling every morning. It is brilliant for setting intentions, but also for practicing gratitude first thing in the morning before anything else happens.
I believe you can practice gratitude any time of the day. You can even journal to write out your thoughts during the day if something happens and you need to self-soothe. You should be able to do this whenever your need to and that also means being able to do it more than once a day if that is necessary for you.
There are no rules.
The morning, however, is better because it gives you a gentle and thoughtful start to the day -as opposed to sprinting through breakfast, shower, and commute to work or rushing into your home office to check emails.
Try morning journalling as a way to set intentions, release what is on your mind, and unpack your dreams if nothing comes to mind – it’s perfectly okay to be faced with a ‘blank’ page – just give thanks for what you have within you and around you, at that moment, on that day.
Trust me, it’s enough. Whatever you journal is the right thing. It will always be enough, like you.
When journalling for the heart chakra, I like to write mantras or affirmations in bright pink with either a pink art pen or a neon highlighter. As long as it makes me feel – the way it makes you feel is important, not what you think is ‘right’ – like it’s from and for the heart. That means it needs to be pretty, romantic, pink, beautiful, soft, feminine, and of course a high, positive frequency.
Related reading: How to start bullet journalling – for beginners
Journal prompts for the heart chakra:
- Write in pink or the color of green aventurine
- Start with an affirmation that affirms your love for yourself eg. “I LOVE myself”
- Write a second affirmation that affirms your commitment to taking care of yourself eg. “I give myself what I need right now because I LOVE myself”
- Write a third affirmation that affirms you are feeling loved right now eg. “I am LOVED, I am cherished, I am filled up with JOY”
- Once you have stated that upfront, you should immediately sense a shift, even just a subtle one. You should feel confident and less anxious (if you are prone to that)
- After this, you can carry on in free flow or bullet point form and journal out the rest of your thoughts.
Conclusion
I hope these tips have helped you gain insight into how you can support, heal and align your heart chakra.
Do download my free journal printable here, with all the above journal prompts for your heart chakra. Download and print these as many times as you like.
If you liked this article you’ll love this one on Healing the root chakra – what to do when you experience a trigger
I hope you enjoy these and feel free to leave me a comment if these helped you, I value all feedback.
If you liked this post, then you’ll benefit from reading about culinary nutrition – food and they we way cook has an affect on our emotions at different times of day. It’ll definitely get you thinking.
