Listen to your heart: a simple exercise

“‘It’s impossible,’ said pride. ‘It’s risky,’ said experience. ‘It’s pointless,’ said reason. 'Give it a try,' whispered the heart.”  -Unknown

I don’t know about you lovely souls, but lately I’ve seen just how important it is to listen to my heart.

My mind has taken me on torturous roller coasters of doubt and shame… “I’m afraid I’m not a good enough musician to even be worthy of making music.” “I’m worried that integrating my yoga & music businesses is stupid and no one will get it.”

On and painfully on in a dark, twisted spiral of emotion. 

But a tiny voice in the center of my chest whispered to me, “Let all of that go and trust your heart.”  

I immediately placed my palm over my chest, as if to hear my body better with my hand.

"All of this is perfect, sweet pea. You’ve done everything just right, and things are unfolding beautifully."

OH MY!!  The sweet sensation of unconditional love washed over me.  That loving little voice was my heart reassuring me that none of my struggles, emotional freak outs, or mess ups have actually been mistakes. It was all just perfect.

PHEWWW, what a relief!  What makes no sense to my mind (or anyone else’s mind) is the pure and beautiful song of the heart. It’s the wisdom that makesmagicand miracles happen if you listen deeply. And dammit, THAT’S HOW I WANNA LIVE!  From the center of my creative, brave, mystical, expressive, & unconditionally loving heart.

Don’t you, beauty??

So here’s a simple exercise I created for listening to your amazing heart. :)        
(There’s a demonstration video below!!)

1) First, get grounded in your body and out of your head.  Feel your feet and legs, feel your hips and spine, feel your belly and chest, feel your arms and hands, feel your neck, head, and face. Bring all your awareness and attention out of your thoughts and into the sensations inside your body.

2) Send a grounding channel of energy deep into the earth.  Imagine that at the base of your seat (i.e. first chakra), you have a channel of energy flowing effortlessly, deep down into the earth, almost as if a magnet in the center of the earth is pulling this energy out of you. It’s infinite & free flowing and keeps you solid and safe on earth. 

3) Place both hands over your heart. Clear your mind and focus your awareness on the feeling of your heart center. Maybe you already will feel a blissful, loving sensation or will hear a sweet voice whisper something reassuring. 

4) Imagine a light glowing in your heart as you breathe deeply. With each breath you take, you add more light to your heart, and it expands to encompass your body. The light fills you and surrounds you with the loving energy of the heart. Feel the warm tingles of safety and compassion as you are surrounded by heart energy.

5) Hear a sweet & gentle hum coming from your heart.  You can just listen for this loving hum or you can actually hum with your voice. (Sounds like “mmmm” as in something yummy).  Enjoy the bliss and peace that you feel when you connect with your beautiful heart!

6) Finally, write down any messages or images that come to you from your heart and place it on your mirror, by your bed, or on your door.  Each day remind yourself of the sweet & gentle voice of your heart.

So that’s my simple heart listening exercise!  I made a little video to demonstrate this exercise (see below).  I hope you enjoy it, and if so, please share with friends!


Much love to you all!  From my heart to yours,
Gia xoxo
​
2-23-15

Photo Credit: Alice Popkorn via Flickr