Heart Lessons

I was in a yoga class the other day and my instructor talked about 5
qualities of the heart: full-heartedness, open-heartedness,
strong-heartedness, clear-heartedness and light-heartedness.

Too often, we give up our passions and dreams - our full-heartedness
- in order to live a half-hearted life. Why? Perhaps it seems safer,
more comfortable, less risky. But what if it were no more emotionally
healthy than it is to live with one of our heart valves operating at
only half-capacity? T

Our open-heartedness often takes a beating as well. The small and
large losses of life can cause us to close down our hearts, as if this
will protect us from feeling too much, from being hurt or jealous or
angry. Unfortunately, it makes it more likely that we will hurt
ourselves, and that whatever emotions we are afraid to experience will
begin to exert control over our lives in ways we are not even aware of.

A strong heart is a courageous heart. The word "courage" comes from
the same root as "coeur" which means "heart". When we are
strong-hearted we are not afraid to stand up for ourselves, to speak
our needs, or to speak for those who are not able to do that for
themselves. We take risks in order to follow what is true and we do
not shrink from discovering all of who we are.

Clear-heartedness is that wonderful place of alignment with our core
selves that cuts through confusion and allows us to shine brightly,
attracting that which resonates with our uniqueness and often
inspiring others to do the same. Clarity is often born from confusion,
and a heart that instinctively "knows" what it feels like to be clear
can be the best navigator we have through difficult times because when
all else fails to make sense, we know we can trust our gut sense.

Light-heartedness is the ability to not take ourselves too seriously,
to laugh at the absurdities of life and to know that no matter what is
happening - be it wonderful or painful - that there is more good to
come, more joy to experience and more ways to appreciate that which
seeks to sustain us.

All of these qualities of the heart allow us to bring forward move of
who we really are in our most compassionate and truest forms. Isn't
that what it's all about?

Author: Joy Kirstin