Practices for Anahata Chakra

Month 5

Anahata chakra can be awakened very simply through the practice of ajapa japa. Japa means “repetition” and ajapa is the repetition of a mantra until it ultimately becomes the spontaneous form of your conscious awareness. Another important practice in anahata awakening is bhramari pranayama. Although it is called a pranayama, bhramari is actually a meditational practice. It is not directly related to controlling prana, as are other forms of pranayama. In the scriptures, the heart center is termed, “the center of unstruck sound” and also “the cave of bees.” In bhramari, the humming sound oi the bees is produced and traced towards its source. This develops deep mental and emotional relaxation and is extremely effective in cardiac disorders. Anahata chakra is the center of bhakti or devotion. It is awakened in accordance with the degree of devotion to guru, God, or personal deity, in whatever form or non-form one may visualize or understand the spiritual intelligence of the universe. All practices of yoga, especially when done with the blessings ol the guru, will automatically awaken devotion in the spiritual heart (anahata chakra). There are many excellent books on bhakti yoga which will help to inspire the aspirant to follow this path. Any biographies of saints, yogis and bhaktas will also be useful. An excellent description of the process of bhakti yoga is given in our publication entitled, A Systematic Course in the Ancient Tantric Techniques of Toga and Kriya.

Preparatory practices

Asanas that help to purify anahata chakra include: shalabhasana, dhanurasana, matsyasana, gomukhasana, kandharasana, baddha padmasana, sarpasana, supta vajrasana and sirshasana.

Practice 1: Chakra and kshetram location

Stand sideways in front of a mirror. Put one linger of one hand on the center of the chest. Here you will find anahata kshetram. Put one finger of the other hand on the spine, directly behind the kshetram; this is anahata chakra. Sit down, press both iingers firmly for one minute, and then remove the fingers. The sensation at the chakra and kshetram will continue. Concentrate on the sensation at the chakra and mentally repeat, ‘anahata, anahata, anahata’, for a few minutes. Practice 2: Anahata purification Assume a comfortable sitting posture. Hold the back straight but without strain. Keep the eyes closed. Breathe slowly and deeply, feeling the expansion and contraction of the chest as you breathe in and out for some minutes. Then become aware of your breath moving in and out of the anahata region. As the chest expands, feel that the breath flows in through the center of the chest and back to anahata chakra. As the chest contracts, feel that the breath flows from anahata chakra in the spine, through the center of the chest and out of the body. Practise this for some minutes, mentally repeating, ‘anahata, anahata, anahata’. Practice 3: Bhramari pranayama The humming breath Sit in a comfortable meditative pose. Adjust your position and relax fully for some minutes. Plug the ears with the index fingers. Face forward and hold the spine as straight as possible. Close the eyes. Relax the whole body. Keep the teeth slightly separated and the mouth closed throughout the entire practice. This allows the vibration to be experienced more distinctly in the brain. Breathe in slowly and deeply. Then, while breathing out, produce a humming sound. The sound should be smooth and continuous for the full duration of exhalation. The humming need not be loud. The important thing is that you hear the sound reverberating within your head. The exhalation should be slow and controlled. At the end of exhalation, stop the humming sound and breathe in. Keep the eyes closed and the ears plugged. Again repeat the humming sound with the next exhalation. Try to relax fully during the practice. Do not strain in any way. Continue for 5 or ю minutes. Practice 4: Ajapa japa meditation Sit in siddhasana, siddha yoni asana or any posture which feels completely comfortable. Close your eyes and relax for a few minutes. Now become aware of your natural breath as it enters and leaves the body. Do not try to control the breath, just become a witness of the natural breathing process. Now become aware that the sound of inhalation is so and the sound of exhalation is ham. The natural mantra of the breath is so-ham. You have only to discover it. Be simultaneously aware of the natural breath, coupled with the idea of so-ham-so-ham-so-ham. You must be totally relaxed in this practice. Do not lose awareness of the mantra or your natural breath, even for an instant. Do not be concerned with the thoughts and feelings that arise. Allow them to come and go as they will. Remain ever aware of the natural breath and the ongoing mantra. Now become aware of the psychic breath which is flowing in the front of the body brtween the navel and the throat, and between the throat and the navel. With inspiration, this psychic breath rises from the navel to the throat and its mantra is so. With expiration, the psychic breath descends from the throat back to the navel. Its mantra is ham. Maintain awareness of the breath passing through the psychic passageway and producing the sound so-ham- so-ham-so-ham. Continue this practice for ю or 15 minutes more, allowing your breathing to be totally relaxed. Note: Ajapa japa can be practised at any time, but it should be done for 5 to ю minutes per day - either in the morning sadhana session or at night, immediately before sleep. It should be continued for at least one month. Practice 5: Meditation - entering the heart space Sit in siddhasana or any other comfortable posture. Close your eyes and relax yourself completely for some time. Concentrate your awareness in the throat region. Now become aware of the breath in the throat. Only be aware of the sensation of the breath in the throat for some time. Now add the awareness of the ingoing breath from the throat downwards. You are not concerned with the outgoing breath. Your attention is occupied only with the ingoing breath in the throat. Become aware of the inflowing breath in the throat passing within the network of the diaphragm. Be aware of the diaphragm - the rising and falling muscular floor separating the chest and lungs above from the abdominal organs below. With each inspiration, it drops into the abdomen a little, increasing the pressure there and causing the navel to expand. Simultaneously, the lungs are expanding fully in the chest. Be aware with expiration that the abdomen contracts, the diaphragm is rising and the lungs are emptying completely. Develop awareness of the diaphragm for some time. Now, also become aware of the akasha, the space within which the diaphragm is operating. With the ingoing breath you feel this space is filling up. Only be aware of the process of filling up the space. This process of filling up is only a basis for the awareness of this vast space. The process of feeling the breath is only the basis for experiencing the heart space. Become aware of the space in the heart; take your awareness directly there. Feel the space within the heart. It is contracting and expanding with the rhythm of the natural breath. Breath is only the basis. The process of filling up is only the basis. Go on to comprehend the whole space. Then you are aware of the space alone. Feel the contraction and expansion of this vast space. It is taking place on the rhythm of the natural breath. The breath is natural and spontaneous. Do not alter it in any way. Do not make it longer or shorter, deeper or more shallow, faster or slower. It has to become a spontaneous and voluntary movement of breath. In this practice the awareness of the space in the heart is important. If the awareness of the expansion and contraction of the heart space is constant and stabilized, after some time, many visions and experiences will manifest there. You do not have to visualize or imagine anything. The vision will come by itself when the awareness of the heart space is constant. The vision is of a lake and a blue lotus. If you are able to feel the space of the heart contracting and expanding, then maintain your awareness there. If that is not possible, then you have to feel the breath which is filling up the space. That is the first stage of the practice. The second stage is the direct feeling of the space and its expansion and contraction on the rhythm of the breath. The third stage is the awareness of the blue lotus and the still lake. It will come by itself. Keep yourself ready for that experience. Now become aware of the natural inflowing and outflowing breath in the throat. Withdraw your awareness from the heart space and bring it to the natural breath in the throat. Maintain awareness of the inflowing and outflowing breath in the throat for some time. Practise for 5 or 10 minutes. Chant 0m 3 times. Allow the sound to manifest fully and spontaneously from deep within. For a few minutes, listen carefully for the inner vibration of the sound. Release your posture and open your eyes. Practise Practise these techniques for awakening anahata chakra for one month and then proceed to those for awakening vishuddhi chakra. All the practices given for awakening ajna, mooladhara, swadhisthana and manipura chakras can be done if sufficient time is available. If not, then we suggest that you do a few selected techniques from each chakra sadhana as follows: ajna - trataka and shambhavi mudra mooladhara - moola bandha and nasikagra mudra swadhisthana - chakra and kshetram location, vajroli or sahajoli manipura - chakra and kshetram location, uddiyana bandha and nauli (if possible).