Found the way to open the heart

[Arya]

I think I've finally found the way to open the heart center.

 

Well it is... 

 

Sticking your chest out.

 

Yeah, that's mostly it.

 

Of course you have to temper your mind and speech but this is it. I'm not kidding, it's as simple as lifting your chest up.

 

Also, it gives you a hourglass figure like of a female.

 

Please do this exercise(yes, it's very strenuous) all day and if you can, kindly report back to the thread. I will love feedback.

 

How can such a simple thing be veiled for so long from me?

[Silent Answers]

If you're usually hunched over, like a lot of people today, then you'll definitely benefit from being more aware of your posture. Raising the chest, relaxing the shoulders and pulling the shoulder blades back will give you a refreshing feeling of relief, compared to the usual fatigue and insecureness of a hunched back and shoulders.

 

That said, I personally wouldn't advise to go forcing that as much as you can all day. You'll likely develop back pains. This posture is foundational in most yoga stretches, so I'd recommend first building it up as an exercise until it becomes a more natural posture for you to hold.

 

Also as a sidenote for back pain sufferers, a hunched posture will leave a person lacking abdominal muscles, especially if you've been practacing reverse breathing as this tends to relax that area. This adds to back pain and tension.

 

As for opening the heart, there's a bit more to it than posture...but this *is* just as essential in leading a happy, healthy life.

[soaring crane]

Yesss ... the posture is a visible, tactile expression of the emotional state. I practice this with my groups when we do qigong walking. Head high, eyes front, chest out, strong, confident strides ... We exagerate these things in the sessions, and the idea is that a little bit of it creeps into and takes hold in the day-to-day.

[taoguy]

I do not know about "opening" it that way, but I find that it only opens when you get that "emptiness feeling", as if you were merged with the void.

 

When I was meditating a few years back, I realized posture was very important, because if you're hunching over, it is a subconscious instinct to "hide away" from others, while if you notice the lions who lie down on the plains with their entire necks and bellies exposed... Also, there's a higher tendency to feel duller...

 

If you're talking about electrical conductivity, I know Yang Jwing Ming talks about how it improves if one relaxes both the front and back, allowing the fascia (that corresponds to the microcosmic orbit) to conduct bioelectricity more easily. That's why physical relaxation is so important...

 

I always thought the heart center was the second dan tian, which should be in the middle, rather than the front though.

Edited November 1, 2015 by taoguy

[MooNiNite]

i opened my heart chakra in London about 5 years ago. It was through meditation, after training for 2 hours a day for about 6 months. It was quite the experience at the time. 

[thelerner]

One thing I miss about formal group meditation practice is I don't have a sensei correcting my posture, which even after years tended to be every 4rth or 5th time. 

[Everything]

I think I've finally found the way to open the heart center.

 

Well it is...

 

Sticking your chest out.

 

Yeah, that's mostly it.

 

Of course you have to temper your mind and speech but this is it. I'm not kidding, it's as simple as lifting your chest up.

 

Also, it gives you a hourglass figure like of a female.

 

Please do this exercise(yes, it's very strenuous) all day and if you can, kindly report back to the thread. I will love feedback.

 

How can such a simple thing be veiled for so long from me?

That kind of reminds me of how Blood Elves in World of Warcraft walk. Well, they are actually High Elves. Very emotionally sensitive. Very delicate. Even the males were like a female indeed. But that did make them very sexy. But walking like that does make you more sexy. Women like a cocky man. It's sexy to them. I mean all the males who brag and boast and put their chests out get all the women, untill some bigger guy tops their boasting and you know. Steals the girl. Hehe. I'm not into those kind of games tho. I'll keep my chest right where it is. Other guys are seriously way more horny then I am. I don't think it's a fun life to fight just for sex. I want love not sex. Love is like a never ending orgasm. An orgasm is like a bad cough of joy. But who knows. Maybe sex is the gateway to love? If so, holding up your chest just would certainly flower your heart. Edited November 1, 2015 by Everything

[soaring crane]

another smallish (but big in effect) change to posture specific to the heart region is keeping the armpit kuas open.

[johndoe2012]

This is treating a symptom not clearing the root cause.

[Flolfolil]

Also engage the transverse abdominis by doing a "suck in your stomach" action.  This will help you to create the lifting action in the chest.

[Cheshire Cat]

[...]

 

How can such a simple thing be veiled for so long from me?

 

Imho, opening the heart isn't about the posture; to a certain extent could be produced by energy work; but ultimately, it's the business of the mind.

 

It's about training the mind so that it produces compassion for sentient beings: the basic method is to visualize yourself helping others in your meditations until your concentration gets strong enough to actually create spontaneously a deep love for others which will compel you to act for the benefit of beings.

 

There's also a theistic method which I've never tried (it involves love for God).