Heart opening yoga poses will open the chest and provide a backbend or an arch in the spine, such as in Cow Pose (Bitilasana) when we drop the stomach and look up during Cat and Cow. Upward Dog is another heart opening posture that is part of the Sun Salutation and likely a regular part of your practice already.
The following practice is composed of seven heart opening yoga poses designed with Valentine’s Day in mind. You may try the sequence as a whole or try incorporating any of these postures into your next routine. During heart openers, try repeating a mantra that begins with, “I am opening my heart to…” and fill in the ending with what you wish to welcome into your heart, such as love, compassion, or nourishment.
1. Somatic Calming Chest Opener:
Begin your heart opening sequence with some movement that will calm the somatic nervous system and welcome a state of relaxation. Lay on your side with your knees bent at ninety degrees and your arms extended in front of you. Then open one arm all the way over to the other side for a gentle yet deep chest opener. Repeat opening and closing your arm as much as needed and repeat on the other side.
2. Bridge Pose (Bandha Sarvangasana):
Lay flat on your back, bringing your feet flat with your arms resting at your sides. Tilt the pelvis, engaging the core, and using your glutes, lift the hips up into your Bridge. You may repeat the posture as many times as you wish.
3. Relaxed Cobra Pose (Bhujangasana):
An alternative to Upward Dog is a relaxed Cobra Pose. Turn over onto your stomach, and face forward, resting on your forearms with your elbows beneath your shoulders. Keep your core engaged and don’t allow the shoulders to slump so that you’re really opening your chest and throat.
4. Floor Bow Pose (Dhanurasana):
In between Cobra and Floor Bow, you may rest your temple on your crossed arms, sure to turn the head to the other side after a moment so that you get a stretch in your neck on each side. For Floor Bow, bend your knees, reaching the arms back to grasp the tops of the feet, and engage the core looking straight ahead and pressing the legs into your hands in order to arch the spine and get a stretch along the entire abdomen. Rest and repeat this posture at least twice.
5. Puppy Pose (Uttana Shishosana):
Shift to Child’s Pose, and when you’re ready, lift your hips into a Puppy Pose; Puppy Pose is a very relaxed heart opener and can substitute Downward Dog on sleepy days.
6. Warrior I with a Backbend:
To transition to standing smoothly, you may lift your hips up into your Downward Dog and walk the hands back toward your feet, coming into a forward fold and rolling up slowly. Step one foot back into Warrior I (a lunge), placing the hands in front of the heart in prayer. Reach your arms up toward the sky and then bring the hands down toward the shoulders, bending the elbows and arching the upper back, incorporating a backbend or heart opener into your traditional Warrior I. Bring the hands back to your heart, stepping the back foot forward and repeating this on the other side.
7. Dancer Pose (Natarajasana):
From standing, catch one foot in your hands, stretching the quadricep. When you feel balanced, reach the opposite arm straight overhead, really reaching as if raising your hand eagerly. Use that arm to propel yourself forward by leaning forward and kicking your foot back into your hand. Dancer Pose is a somewhat advanced posture that challenges your ability to balance, stretches multiple parts of the body, and leaves you feeling energized.
To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance.
– Oscar Wilde
You may notice that besides the Somatic Calming Chest Opener and the Puppy Pose, heart opening postures are active and require you to keep the core engaged in order to protect the spine. In addition to activating the heart chakra and opening yourself up to love, heart openers are the epitome and embodiment of showing love toward oneself.
