HYH Week 4: BE Restored: Breathe Into the Heart
Led by Gabie
This week in our Harvest Your Health Challenge, we invite you to BE Restored, exploring the heart of our practice through love, compassion, and mindful breath. Our focus is the Heart Chakra (Anahata)—the center of connection, forgiveness, and emotional balance. Through intentional pranayama, meditation, and gentle asanas, we restore spaciousness in the heart and cultivate warmth toward ourselves and others.
Heart Chakra | Anahata
The Heart Chakra, located in the center of the chest, governs love, compassion, and connected relationships. Associated with the element of air, the color green, and the qualities of emotional balance and forgiveness, Anahata invites us to open fully to life and relationships.
When balanced: We feel loving, compassionate, and able to form healthy, connected relationships.
When imbalanced: We may feel lonely, bitter, or emotionally closed off.
When overactive: Over-giving, jealousy, or dependency can arise.
Through breathwork, gentle movement, and mindfulness, we cultivate openness and softening of the heart.
Ayurvedic Healing for the Heart Chakra
In Ayurveda, the heart is nourished by Vata-balancing routines, warmth, and emotional care:
Sip warm teas, enjoy soothing soups, and maintain regular rest.
Practice self-massage with warm oils to invite softness and circulation.
Green foods, rose tea, and time in nature nurture the heart and promote emotional balance.
Gentle, expansive practices encourage openness and release tension in the chest.
Daily Practice Tip: Spend a few quiet moments with a warm cup of rose tea, focusing on the heart center and inviting love and compassion inward.
🌿 Yogic Philosophy | Pranayama: The Breath of the Heart
Pranayama, the fourth limb of yoga, is the bridge between body and soul. Breathwork soothes the nervous system, balances energy, and awakens the heart.
Connection to the Heart Chakra:
Element: Air (Vayu) → Breath is the most direct way to open and balance Anahata.
Emotional blockages like grief, sadness, or fear often contract the heart; pranayama helps release tension and expand spaciousness.
Practices like Nadi Shodhana (Alternate Nostril Breath), Ujjayi, and Dirga Pranayama (3-part breath) cultivate presence, compassion, and emotional openness.
Benefits of Heart-Focused Breathwork:
Balances emotions → calms anxiety and stress.
Opens chest and lungs → improves circulation and energy flow.
Cultivates presence → strengthens love, forgiveness, and gratitude.
Takeaway: Breath is the medicine of the heart. Through mindful pranayama, we move energy, love, and compassion through our body, inviting balance and connection.
Meditation | Loving-Kindness (Metta) (5–7 minutes)
Close your eyes and place your hands over your heart. Breathe slowly, feeling the chest rise and fall.
Bring to mind someone you love deeply. Silently send them these words:
“May you be happy. May you be healthy. May you live with ease.”Turn that same love toward yourself:
“May I be happy. May I be healthy. May I live with ease.”Expand this love outward—to a friend, a stranger, even someone you find difficult. Finally, radiate compassion to all beings everywhere.
Sit with the warmth of love flowing from your heart.
Essence of the Week
Week 4 of Harvest Your Health invites us to restore balance through love and mindful breath. The Heart Chakra teaches us that emotional health is nurtured through presence, compassion, and intentional connection with ourselves and others. As we practice, we expand the chest, soften tension, and cultivate warmth that radiates into the world.
At Studio BE, weekly tea pairings and mindful exercises help anchor this practice—green and rose teas support heart energy and encourage moments of reflection and self-care.
Journal Prompts | Reflect & Open
Who can I offer compassion to this week?
How can I practice more love toward myself?
Who or what am I grateful for today?
How can I open my heart more fully this week?
Closing Thought
As we move through BE Restored, remember: love, compassion, and mindful breath are not just feelings—they are practices. Breathe deeply, soften your chest, and allow your heart to expand. When we nurture Anahata, we invite connection, forgiveness, and joy into every aspect of our lives.