Transcription:
Heart Chakra: The Key to Connection and Compassion (The Real Kind)

Deborah Howell (Host): Welcome to Stoughton Health Talk. I'm Deborah Howell. And I invite you to listen as we talk about the keys to our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual bodies, and get introduced to the heart chakra, which is such a vital force inside all of us.

Joining me is Amy Crull, a Reiki master teacher, yoga teacher, and holistic health coach. Amy, such a pleasure to have you on with us today.

Amy Crull: Thank you for having me. I'm excited to be here.

Deborah Howell (Host): Me too. Before we dial into the heart chakra, can you give us a quick rundown of the entire chakra system?

Amy Crull: Yes. So, there's seven major chakras located throughout the body and they are a lot of time depicted with a rainbow. So kind of going up your spine, you see the red, orange, yellow, green, blue, up to the purple, up to the crown of the head. So that's the areas we're talking about. It's these centers or vortexes of energy that are in the body.

Deborah Howell (Host): Got it. Now, the heart chakra is so important. It's been said it's the key to connection and compassion, the real kind. What is real compassion, Amy?

Amy Crull: Well, I think it comes with, first of all, giving that compassion to. I see so many women, so many people where they're much more tolerant of everybody on the outside, but very intolerant of themself on the inside. So I think it's just starting there. And it's little things. Not really judging yourself, but just observing and saying, "Oh, how did I react in that situation?" "What's my self-talk doing throughout the day?" And just start by observing it, not judging it. And then just start to maybe bring in some more ways of nourishing yourself, you know, taking that time to go for a walk or breathing, just taking some deep breaths. A lot of that goes a long way to fostering that compassion.

Deborah Howell (Host): So say that I'm self-talking and I'm doing something negative. I'm like, "Oh, you're so stupid to do that." And then, I notice it, as you said, just listen to it. Do I not correct at that point, I just listen to it?

Amy Crull: Well, I think you start off by doing that, right? You just say, "Oh, okay. That's what I'm doing." And then, I always like to bring some levity to it and be like, "Oh wow. My inner critique is just on overdrive today." And a lot of times you can say, "Oh, there she goes again," you know. And I always like to tell people, give that critiquer, give her the day off, give her a cup of coffee and say, "You know what? you can take a break today. I'm just gonna go with it and just see how it goes." You know what I mean? Like you almost have to like--

Deborah Howell (Host): I love that.

Amy Crull: Yeah, just kind of bring some levity

Deborah Howell (Host): Yeah. Okay. "There she goes again." Okay. Now, where in the body is the heart chakra located?

Amy Crull: So this is going to be the chest area, right? It's the heart, obviously the heart. But it also covers the lungs, covers the diaphragm. And then it also includes the shoulders and arms. So it's the only chakra that includes a horizontal aspect to it. So that's pretty neat. We have the arms where we can show that compassion show that love, right? And it also includes the thymus.

Deborah Howell (Host): Interesting. So these are all the organs associated with the chakra. You've named them all, right?

Amy Crull: Yes.

Deborah Howell (Host): Okay. So what other things can you tell us about this chakra?

Amy Crull: So it is associated with the color green. And so sometimes if we are having that problem with self-compassion, you can just connect to that green color. A lot of times it helps people to think of like rolling hills of green. It just brings a really nice serene feeling. It's also formed when your age is four to seven. So this is when we're starting to become social beings. And it's identified as the social identity. And the element associated with it is air. So if you're someone who has allergies, if you're someone who has asthma, this is the area that is going to be affected by that because it's including the lungs and including your diaphragm. Another thing that I forgot to mention, it also includes breasts. So anyone with breast cancer, that will be included in this area as well.

Deborah Howell (Host): So do you tap into this area? Are there themes associated with this chakra to tap into?

Amy Crull: Yes. This theme would be understanding versus judgment. I would like to tell people, I listened to an interview with Brené Brown and Russell Brand. It's amazing interview, if you ever want to look it up on youTube. And in it, she talks about Do you think people are doing the best they can. And it's very interesting when you ask people that because people are very one way or the other. They'll say "No. No way they are," or "Yes, I think they really are." And that is kind of a checkpoint, I think, for people to say, "Huh, do I think people are doing the best they can?" And then it kind of shows where I am judging. And if you can get yourself out of that and just say, "You know what, I don't know what people are doing the best they can. But maybe for today, I'm going to assume they are," and that will just kind of bring about more compassion, take you out of that judgment and that can really help.

And this is the bridge. So this is the bridge between those lower chakras and then going into those upper chakras. So our lower chakras are that very human aspect. And now, we're starting to bridge into this more getting into consciousness, this idea of we're all one.

Deborah Howell (Host): Yeah, universality.

Amy Crull: Yes.

Deborah Howell (Host): And if you can just meet people where they are, that's a start.

Amy Crull: Yeah, definitely.

Deborah Howell (Host): What are some ways we can connect with this chakra?

Amy Crull: There's some crystals that'll really help you. The number one that I always recommend to clients and to people is rose quartz. That is the crystal of the heart. And even just having that in your pocket or some people will wear it on a necklace that sits right on their chest, it really helps just foster that compassion, forgiveness, unconditional love. And then anything that's green because, this is the green chakra. So emeralds, jades, things like that. Oils that'll help, essential oils that would help would be that rose oil, bergamont, geranium, lavender, and you can just diffuse those or put a few drops and then actually put on your chest.

So yoga poses would be heart openers, anything that opens up your chest. And just a nice one to do is lie down, put a pillow underneath your back, and then just let hands and arms fall to the sides and that'll just really open up that chest. I always tell people that's a great one because we're always bent over our computers, we're always bent over our phones. So it's just a really nice way to open up the chest.

Deborah Howell (Host): You could also use a foam roller to sort of really open it up.

Amy Crull: Yes, definitely. Yes. I love that idea. Even a rolled up towel will do the same thing. And one more yoga pose you can do is eagle arms. And if you're not sure what that is, just go ahead and Google it. But what I love about that is it opens up your upper back. So a lot of people have that tension in their upper back that they can't really get to, and that yoga pose is wonderful for that.

Deborah Howell (Host): These are wonderful suggestions. Is there anything else you'd like to add to our conversation today, Amy?

Amy Crull: Yes. Other ways to connect could be drinking some rosebud tea, taking that time for yourself. And another thing is to buy yourself some flowers. Another thing is to give yourself a hug. So, arms, just as much as you can stretch them around you and then rubbing the sides of your back is a great thing to do just to connect your heart chakra.

Deborah Howell (Host): I'm doing it right now and it feels great.

Amy Crull: Oh, good.

Deborah Howell (Host): You know, I always feel better after we talk, Amy. Thank you so much for joining us today.

Amy Crull: Yes. Thank you.

Deborah Howell (Host): And for more information, head on over to our website at stoughtonhealth.com to get connected with one of our providers. And that concludes this episode of Stoughton Health Talk. Please remember to subscribe, rate and review this podcast and all the other Stoughton Hospital podcasts.

I'm Deborah Howell. Have yourself a terrific day.