Heart Opener

This pose opens the front of your body, inviting deeper, fuller breaths. Heart openers expand the chest and rib cage, creating receptivity and freedom.

On an emotional level, the heart opener can support you in standing tall. We must continually practise standing up for ourselves — facing the world while keeping our own values intact. The heart opener assists in this, helping your heart remain open to receive the blessings in your life.

When your back rounds and your chest collapses, it creates a posture of meekness and submission. Opening your heart does the opposite, signalling confidence and authority. Long hours at desks, bent over keyboards, often lead to a rounded spine and back pain — making it essential to counteract this posture with heart openers.

If your heart has closed for protection after a period of pain or hurt, it needs gentle practice to trust, open, and receive again. This pose offers a subtle but powerful way to do just that — in your own private space and time.

THE POSE

If you have a prop like a bolster, blanket or block handy, a restorative heart opener is a wonderful place to start your exploration.

Place the prop so that it will support your back from the bottom of your shoulder blades up when you lie down on it. The legs can be in any position: outstretched, knees bent, goddess pose. You may want another prop to support your head.

Stay in this position for several minutes as your back melts over the prop and feel your body release tension as your breath deepens and your front body opens.