The 4th Chakra – The Heart Chakra – Anahata
The Anahata Chakra is located in the region of the heart muscle. This chakra is associated with love and compassion. In the 4th chakra love is experienced as all-encompassing: the love of the Creator, love of God and Goddess, loving a child, a sibling, a parent, a friend, a pet, a stranger, and the love of humanity.
The Heart Chakra is the center of the body. It’s the place where the lower chakras (body) meet the higher chakras (mind). The element air is associated with this chakra. If you remember, the third chakra represents fire, passion, will. However without air, a fire will burn out. In the same way, without heart, you cannot have true will power. Take the saying, “put your heart into it.” Without this passion supplied by the heart chakra, true transformation is difficult.
The element air represents breath, or prana. The air we breathe comes in through the lungs near the fourth chakra. This air is essential for life as the breath brings oxygen to our cells via the lungs. The heart muscle then pumps the blood throughout the body- thus giving and sustaining life.
Anahata Chakra – Bija Mantra Yam (sounds like yom)
Listen to the Bija Mantras: Swami Jnaneshvara Bharati – Chakra Bija Mantras
Bija Mantras.
The 1st, 2nd and 3rd chakras have been chakras of the body and survival. The 4th chakra is the chakra of love and service. In this chakra, we begin to expand out into the world – giving and receiving between other humans and sentient beings.
It is important to remember that keeping this chakra open requires a balance of 
both giving and receiving. In order for love to flow openly and freely, we must maintain a good balance in our relationships. Each person must feel as though they are both giving and receiving in close to equal amounts. Once one person in a relationship begins to feel as though they a receiving less than they are giving, the flow of love may become restricted.
This chakra is associated with the color green. The color green has the fourth longest wavelength (520 nm) and forth slowest frequency (570THz) in the visual color spectrum. This chakra emits a pink rose light.
The symbol for the Heart Chakra is a green twelve petal lotus flower.Within this flower lies a six-pointed star consisting of both a downward and an upward triangle. The upward and downward triangle represent the union of the feminine and masculine forms. It also represents the heart chakra because it is the place in the body where the lower and upper chakras meet. This six pointed star, formed by the upper and lower chakras, also represents the 6 chakras and their integration in the forth chakra.
Blocks in the Heart Chakra
Because the Heart Chakra is the center of the being, blocks in this center can throw our entire system out of alignment.
Blocks in this chakra can cause emotional detachment, inability to love or show affection or self hatred and loathing. The Anahata Chakra Goddess is Kakini.
In order to open this chakra you must allow yourself to love and show compassion 
towards others. There is a never-ending supply of love in the universe, it must only be tapped. Open yourself up to love by first giving your love to others. Only by giving your love can you receive love in return.
This is not only true of other people, but true of yourself also. You must treat yourself with love, patience, compassion and kindness in order to keep this chakra open and balanced.
Yoga Poses to Work the Fourth Chakra
Poses that open the chest center will work the fourth chakra.
FOURTH OR THE HEART CHAKRA
Sanscrit name: Anahatra (unstruck)
Location: Chest, hart, cardiac plexus
Symbol: A circle surrounded by 12 lotus petals, and inside it a six-pointed star
Central issues: Love, unconditional love, self-love, forgiveness, relationships, intimacy, devotion, depression and loneliness
Color: Green and pink
Essential Oils: Sandalwood, rose, cedarwood
Crystals and Stones: Rose quartz, emerald, jade, aventurine, malachite, rhodonite
Stars and Astrological Signs: Planets Venus, Saturn, Sun and the signs Libra, Leo and Sagittarius
Sound or mantra: Yam (sounds like yom – rhymes with tom)
Sense: Touch
Body: The feeling body
Orientation to self: Self-acceptance
Goals: Stability, trust, physical health, prosperity, grounding
Rights: To love and be loved
Developmental stage: 4 to 7 years
Identity Social identity
Level of relationship Loving relationships with others, with oneself and with all life
Demon: Grief
Element: Air
Hormonal glands: The thymus gland
Organs: Hearth and circulatory system, lungs, bronchial tubes, shoulders and arms, diaphragm, thymus gland, the immune system, the skin, the upper back
Excessive: Demanding, jealousy, poor boundaries, overly sacrificing, possessive
Deficient: Antisocial, withdrawn, cold, shy, critical, judgmental, intolerant, loneliness, depression, fear of intimacy and relationships, lack of empathy, narcissism, bitter
Balanced: Compassionate, loving, self-loving, empathetic, peaceful, balanced, good immune system
Physical Dysfunctions: Disorders of the heart, lungs, thymus, breast, arms, asthma, allergy, circulation problems, immune system deficiency, tension between shoulder blades
Addictions: drugs, sugar, overeating, bad language
Traumas and Addictions: rejection, abandonment, loss, shaming, constant criticism, abuses to lower chakras, unacknowledged grief, divorce, death, conditional love, loveless environment, sexual and physical abuse, betrayal
Spiritual challenges: To learn compassion, the value of forgiveness, unconditional love
HEALING STRATEGY: Self-discovery, codependency work, forgiveness, inner child work, work with arms, reaching out, taking in, breathing exercise
AFFIRMATIONS:
I freely and easily give and receive love. Totally forgive others and myself for all past 
errors and judgements.
I am worthy of love.
I am loving to myself and others.
There is an infinite supply of love.
I live in balance with others.
