Nicole Nussbaum Yoga Videos

Happy Valentine's Day! Let's talk about the heart chakra, y'all! The heart chakra (aka Anahata) is all about balance. Anahata is the 4th of 7 chakras, so it serves as the fulcrum between the 3 upper and 3 lower chakras; the mind and body connect here. "More than just a meeting, this is an interpenetration who's final goal is integration of spirit and mind with soul and body" (Anodea Judith, Eastern Body Western Mind). What colors do you see everywhere on Valentine's day? Pinks, reds.. Anahata is actually represented by shades of green: the color of "growing plants, which push toward the heavens from their roots in the earth" (Judith). Earth and heaven meet at heart's center.
I love practicing and teaching balancing poses. I build my balancing poses from the ground up. For dancer pose (pictured), I begin in a strong and stable tadasana. Toes lifted, feet plugged into the earth. The next step for dancers pose is bending the knee and connecting your hand and foot. Hands and arms are an extension of heart chakra; feet and legs are an extension of root chakra. By uniting these forces and kicking foot into hand and hand into foot, we are immediately and unapologetically asking our bodies for grounding as we move into a less stable place. Dancer pose cracks open the chest, giving Anahata full power. Dancer is such a vulnerable asana. It not only exposes our heart, but it asks us to access our second chakra (hips) AND PSOAS (total minefield for past trauma) while removing our stable ground. We must use compassion to allow that vulnerability to express itself in wobbling, trembling, or falling. It is okay. Taking the free hand to your heart allows for an injection of loving energy and compassion for yourself. Just like all yoga poses (*~and loving relationships~*), dancer is not a Thing to achieve. It is a constant maintenance of forces: exposure versus protection; grounding versus lifting. I want to feel safe and secure while sharing my heart with the world. Balance. That'